HARMONY - While many of the hungry, thirsty, dirty and overwhelmed people who one year ago sought aid at Grace Church of Harmony think Sue Casker and Marilyn Weyman coordinated the mammoth relief effort there, the two women know a larger power was in charge.

"It was phenomenal how God used Grace Church to bring our community together to serve those flood survivors," said Weyman.

Anyone who came anywhere near Grace Church after the widespread floods of Sept. 17, 2004, knows the worship site in Main Street in the historic borough became the command center for the borough's incredible relief effort.

Areas of Harmony closest to the Connoquenessing Creek suffered the heaviest damage from Hurricane Ivan's remnants, with many people recording more than five feet of water in their homes and businesses.

Church members immediately flung open the brick building's doors to feed, cleanse, clothe, house and provide for any and all who sought help as a result of the flood. Weyman said Grace Church became a mecca for both the displaced and the generous as well as a free supply house for those trying to clean up.

For three weeks after the flood, Grace Church served three meals a day in the building's multipurpose room.

Weyman said the food was delivered largely by generous Pittsburgh-area restaurants and was prepared at first by church members who volunteered for the task. As time wore on, other churches in the Harmony-Zelienople-Evans City area brought prepared food to Grace Church and served dinner to flood survivors.A farmer who would not give his name picked and delivered more than 100 ears of corn on two occasions. Casker and Weyman coordinated the meals."Those people knew they could work (on their flooded homes and businesses) all day and still look forward to a hot meal and fellowship with other flood survivors," said Weyman. "And don't call them flood 'victims.' I learned that these people are survivors."After three weeks, residents only needed one meal per day, then three meals per week. The kitchen that had provided sustenance for so many closed at the end of October.Another important function provided by the church was as an emergency shelter for those displaced by the storm.Weyman said during the first five or so days after the Sept. 17 rains, a number of people showered and slept at the church. Most got accommodations through the Butler County Chapter of the American Red Cross, but some stayed in their flood-damaged homes and came to the church to shower.

Residents also flocked to Grace Church for cleaning supplies. Weyman said the church gave away more than 1,000 gallons of bleach and many other cleaning items.She said those not affected by the flood donated cleaning supplies, whether they were affiliated with the church or not. Others donated money."People came together wanting no recognition," said Weyman. "People would come and donate money. Several different people came in and donated several hundred dollars at a time. The church would want their names and addresses, and they would just quietly say 'no.'"Weyman said the memory that sends chills up her spine and renews her faith in a loving God is that if an item or service were needed, it would appear almost immediately."God just put people and things in place where they were needed," said Weyman, recounting how a heart attack victim with no local family needed a ride to a Pittsburgh hospital from Ellwood City Hospital.

But the streets in Pittsburgh were flooded and many were impassable. Just then, recalls Weyman, a truck driver who is familiar with Pittsburgh walked in and, hearing what was going on, volunteered to drive the woman.Weyman also recalled how the hard physical labor required in the cleanup effort resulted in neighbors helping neighbors to lighten the load."Men would go out and work in the mud and grime, including boys from age 10, to some in their 80s, and not complain," said Weyman.She said those who counted on Grace Church last year still approach her to say they were treated with dignity, respect and empathy by all whom they encountered."I think the survivors will always remember what Grace Church and the community did for them," Weyman said.