First United Methodist Church in Dothan, Alabama, near the Florida border, volunteered to serve as a shelter as Irma churned its way north. The church in the Alabama-West Florida Conference had plenty of space and could provide love and support.
But it had no cots or bedding. That’s where people, including members of nearby Covenant United Methodist Church, came through.
“I learned a lot about the power of social media,” said the Rev. Jim Sanders, the church’s soon-to-retire senior pastor. “People shared and shared, and all of sudden, cars started showing up with cots and blankets and pillows and food. It was amazing. It was just a beautiful story of the church coming together.”
People, mostly local evacuees from mobile homes, spent an anxious night Sept. 10 at the church as the storm passed through. In the end, the brunt of the storm passed Dothan by and left mostly downed trees and power lines in its wake. By the afternoon of Sept. 11, the church no longer needed to serve as a shelter.
Sanders was relieved but gratified to see the “church being the church.”
Heather Hahn is a reporter for United Methodist News Service.