Northern Indiana Grace Brethren responded to the needs of their neighbors over the weekend to assist with tornado clean-up following a devastating F3 storm on Thursday night. Some churches canceled Sunday services, while other members and attenders chose to forgo Sunday morning worship to assist with the task at hand.
Churches at Goshen and Osceola, located 10-15 miles from where the storm hit, canceled services and carpooled to the southern Elkhart County community to help. Total numbers of people involved are not known, but there were three groups of 10-12 cars each from the Goshen church who took chain saws and other heavy equipment to help move trees and other debris. Others drove directly to a check-in site at a local high school where they were assigned a place to work.
Approximately 10-15 people from the Winona Lake church helped at the Yoder farm on Sunday, which had experienced a direct hit from the tornado. This was also a site where members of the Goshen church helped.
The pastors and elders at the Goshen church also went on Saturday to assist with clean-up.
Area media reported that the roads to Nappanee were crowded on Sunday as volunteers flocked to the community to help.
To see a report from Nappanee, which includes interviews with Goshen’s Tregg and Kevin Fisher, and Winona Lake’s Gladys Deloe, click here.
About 205 from the Osceola, Ind., Grace Brethren Church also volunteered to help. To read a report about their day, click here.
