Florida Church in Milton Becomes Hurricane Isaias Relief Hub: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Grant Supports Food Ministry
MILTON, Florida: First Presbyterian Church of Milton, in Santa Rosa County, Florida, has become a relief hub after Hurricane Isaias, hosting volunteer responders, serving food and expanding its food pantry into a grocery distribution point, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reported on October 23. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has provided an initial assistance grant to the Presbytery of Florida to support the church's efforts.
Isaias made landfall near Destin on October 9 as a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds, downing trees, blowing off shingles and disrupting power. About a year before the storm, First Presbyterian Church had decided to become a missional church serving marginalized people, such as immigrants and unsheltered individuals, and offers of help began rolling in after landfall. Yassin Terou, a Knoxville restaurant operator referred by City Hall, came down from Tennessee to feed a couple of hundred people a day, and the Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network connected the church with Faith Responders, a nonprofit disaster recovery group whose volunteers stayed at the church while clearing downed trees.
As the recovery evolved, the church switched from serving meals to expanding its food pantry to provide groceries. Pastor Deborah Potter said mission partners arrived at the store where she was shopping and loaded up five pallets of food and supplies and paid the bill, while other Presbyterian churches kept calling to ask how to send money and what was needed. The Rev. Kathy Lee-Cornell, PDA's associate for national disaster response, said the grant is designed to help the church serve the community, including immigrants and unhoused people who may not have access to insurance or other forms of assistance.
At least eight people were killed across Florida and Alabama, according to news reports cited by the church. First Presbyterian Church's own roof was damaged in the storm, with a deductible in the thousands of dollars, and Potter said the church is seeking support for the deductible while continuing to serve its neighbors.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 佛罗里达州一座白色木结构教堂（资料图）。Michael Rivera 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A white wooden church in Florida (file photo). Photo by Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
