Pastor Eddie Collier shows Bishop Jonathan Holston how high floodwaters reached inside the parsonage at Nichols UMC.
NICHOLS – The scene repeats too often outside homes along the two dozen or so streets that wind through the waterlogged town of Nichols.
Piles of broken furniture, soggy drywall, carpeting soaked to ruination. Moldy mattresses, saturated upholstery, bags stuffed with who-knows-what, made all the heavier by water from the swollen Lumber River.
The Marion County town is home to 22 businesses and six churches – including Nichols United Methodist – all damaged to some degree by floodwater.
Need help? Call the disaster response hotline of the S.C. Conference of the United Methodist Church at 800-390-4911 or email screcovery@umcsc.org. Spanish-language hotline: 844-344-2270.
“There is so much need,” said the Rev. Reggie Lee, congregational specialist for the Marion District of the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, which includes Nichols. “I have been awed to see so many people – people who have lost so much – still able to maintain some sense of joy throughout it all.
“I’m just hoping we can help them redeem their situation.”
S.C. Resident Bishop Jonathan Holston took some time recently to visit Nichols and other communities to see for himself the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew and the flooding that ensued.
S.C. Resident Bishop Jonathan Holston gestures as he speaks with (from left) the Rev. Reggie Lee, Marion District congregational specialist; the Rev. Tim Rogers, Marion District superintendent; the Rev. Eddie Collier, pastor of Nichols UMC (hidden); and Nichols Mayor Lawson Battle.
He also sought to reassure those most affected by the storm – and those working diligently to help them begin the long, slow process of recovery.
“The tremendous response to those in need after Hurricane Matthew is evidence of love in action,” Holston said. “Finding places for people to stay, mucking out homes, tearing down walls – this all demonstrates how we live out our faith in Christ.
“We are loving our neighbors and hearing the cry of the needy. I am grateful for the evidence of God’s faithfulness in the midst of great loss and devastation.”
Holston was joined on his visits by the Rev. Kathy James, director of connectional ministries for the S.C. Conference of the UMC, and Matt Brodie, the conference’s disaster response coordinator. Over two days, the group visited Orangeburg, Bluffton, Hilton Head and Nichols.
ERT member Misty Vazquez helps haul debris at an Orangeburg home.
In his visit to South Carolina’s Midlands and Lowcountry, Holston met with members of the conference’s Early Response Teams. Those volunteers were helping those affected by the storm and its aftermath since within hours after its Oct. 8 landfall on the S.C. coast.
The bishop also met with members of the congregation at St. Andrew by-the-Sea United Methodist Church on Hilton Head Island and Cathy Earl, executive secretary for U.S. disaster response for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which has provided the S.C. Conference with a $10,000 grant to help with relief efforts.
In addition to the work of five Early Response Teams on about 150 homes, the S.C. Conference has distributed more than 4,500 cleaning buckets and more than 4,000 health kits around the state, primarily in the Walterboro, Charleston and Marion districts.
How can you help?
- Volunteers are desperately needed to serve on or with Early Response Team. For more information, call Chuck Marshall at 864-216-1876 or sp_disasterresponse@umcsc.org.
- Donate financially to the S.C. Conference’s disaster relief efforts and to UMCOR’s Advance U.S. Disaster Response, which allows UMCOR to respond quickly and appropriately to emergencies in the United States.
- Pray for the safety of those affected by the storm, emergency responders, Early Response Teams and others providing relief efforts.
Piles of waterlogged possessions, drywall and other materials sit outside the parsonage at Nichols UMC.
