The Brimfield Congregational Church has been a natural location for a disaster center, sitting in the center of town as it has for a couple of centuries and surviving the tornado undamaged.
Amber Boone of Brimfield is served dinner by volunteer Paul Lariviere of Brimfield at the Brimfield First Congregational Church on July 6.BRIMFIELD – More than a month after the June 1 tornado damaged more than 140 homes and yards in the southern part of town, volunteers working through First Congregational Church are still helping homeowners clear their land and feeding them at the church and at their homes.
“We are still going strong,” said Gina Lynch, who has coordinated the efforts at the church and expects to keep doing so.
Her crews have been cooking meals, delivering them to homes and other work sites and serving folks who come to the church.
Even on July 4, which was officially declared a day off from the church’s volunteer efforts, there were 26 meals served.
In recent weeks, the number of people taking the meals has varied but generally ranges between 50 and 370.
The number of people volunteering has dropped off somewhat in the past few weeks, and although there is still a core group of 20 or more showing up each day, Lynch said the supper meal may have to be eliminated because of the dwindling number of volunteers and donated food.
“Often the homeowners come down to the church for the supper meal, just to get away from the devastation they have been working with at their homes all day,” Lynch said.
On Friday, Lynch said the church will stop serving the evening meal because the families that had been coming to the church for it or asking for it to be delivered to their homes no longer need or want it.
“For the most part, the families are in temporary housing,” Lynch said.
Breakfast and lunch will continue as a way of helping families make improvements at their properties and feeding the volunteers working at damaged properties.
Lynch said the church needs volunteers for the functions at the church itself and also to go out to people’s homes to help clear downed trees and brush.
There is not much insurance coverage available for a homeowner who has had trees come down, so volunteers with chain saws and a willingness to clean up are crucial, she said.
“Every single day we need help,” Lynch said. “The faster we can get volunteers to help with this, the faster people can get back to normal life and rebuild.”
The Brimfield Congregational Church has been a natural location for a disaster center, sitting in the center of town as it has for a couple of centuries and surviving the tornado undamaged.
Lynch’s husband, the Rev. Ian Lynch, sees the work going on the past month as an extension of the religious work of the church.
The church also houses the Senior Center, and Gina Lynch serves as director of the town’s Council on Aging.
She said she was advised from the beginning of the town’s recovery effort that cooperation between the church volunteers and the town officials would be imperative, so she has fostered that approach from the start.
“We are all working for the same thing. At the start, we worked very closely with the fire department and other emergency services. We have been working with town officials and with FEMA,” Lynch said. “If church groups are not doing this work well, they can be a hindrance.”
While the volunteer effort through the church is expected to continue for months with the type of services being offered now, there is also an awareness that rebuilding will take even longer, so a longterm recovery group has been formed and has started to develop its goals and mission.