Harmony church hosts meals in wake of flood
Grace Church of Harmony spent Tuesday and Wednesday serving neighbors food.
The church served a spaghetti dinner Tuesday night and lunch and dinner on Wednesday with potential for other dinners if the need continues, according to Elaine Wise, church member and organizer of the meals.
Wise and her fellow church member volunteers served about 50 people per meal and others who simply stopped for takeout.
Wise said the pattern from Tuesday night's heavy rain looks similar to the flooding from 15 years ago when Hurricane Ivan hit.
“When this flood hit and we saw the number affected by it, it was an automatic that we would serve meals,” Wise said. “The water may be receding, but the cleanup is just starting.”
Wise said the overall damage appears to be less than that of the flooding from Ivan, but there is no measurement of pain and suffering.
“Lumber floating, people just staring at the water wondering how much loss there was and if it was going to keep coming up,” Wise said. “Lots of debris coming up, which creates as much damage as anything.”
Wise said last time, most people who came to dinners enjoyed the company of those they can relate to, those who were also struggling with loss. She said being a church also offered access to their pastors, if they sought a higher listener.
“Being able to walk away from your problems for a half-hour, get a hot meal, and you can walk back to it refreshed,” Wise said.
Josh Meeder, a Harmony business owner and resident, said he spent much of his Tuesday night working pumps and trying to keep the water at bay in his shops.
“Both buildings' basements were flooded almost to the floorboards,” he said. “It's really helpful after being up for 36 hours straight to not have to go home and cook a meal.”
Matthew Reisinger, a Harmony resident, said he woke up Wednesday morning to a few feet of water in his basement. He said the dinner is just one example of the type of town Harmony is and the way residents stick together.
“It's a tight-knit community, and everybody just wants to help everybody out,” Reisinger said. “There's more than enough people that are willing to help and do what they can for you.”
Meeder said Harmony should bounce back from the flood quickly because its residents are used to the disaster by now. He said he does have concerns about stormwater management making the floods worse.
“The floodwaters are at record level highs, so there's nothing you can do about that, but the smaller amounts still — the runoff with all the hard surface and all the development of Butler County along the watershed — it's problematic,” Meeder said.
Wise said the church and its volunteers will continue to provide more meals if necessary.
“We're called to be God's hands and feet wherever we are,” Wise said. “We're available for whatever anybody needs.”
