Saint Fabian reaching out with hurricane relief supplies to North Carolina, Florida

In addition to providing aid for residents of North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene, Saint Fabian Church is also donating supplies to help victims of Hurricane Milton in Florida.

By David Tisdale

Whether it’s helping local residents recover in the aftermath of tornadoes in the Pine Belt or other natural disasters across the country and around the world, Saint Fabian Parish in Hattiesburg is keeping with its longstanding tradition of supporting those in need with assistance to residents of North Carolina and Florida who have been negatively impacted by recent hurricanes.

Audra Delancy, a member of Saint Fabian parish who oversees its social services and disaster relief ministry, learned from Shana Bounds, who serves as school nurse at Saint Benedict Day School, about the work of Emerge Ministries, an organization Bounds came in contact with when she previously lived in Denham Springs, La. Emerge Ministries provided crucial support for victims of flooding that ravaged Denham Springs and the Baton Rouge, La. areas in 2016, and is now assisting victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

Bounds remained in contact with Emerge Ministries after their work helping flood victims, and suggested to Delancy that Saint Fabian partner with them to support their relief efforts in North Carolina.

“We secured six palates of non-perishable food to deliver to North Carolina,” said Delancy. “It’s a blessing for us (Saint Fabian) to be the hands and feet of Jesus to help bring hope to these people in the middle of the crisis and devastation there.”

Fellow parishioners David and Annette Womer volunteered to drive the supplies to North Carolina. David had delivered relief supplies before for Saint Fabian to Amory, Miss. and Kraemer, La. after storms that damaged those communities. He and Annette left for Black Mountain, N.C., located just outside of Asheville, on Oct. 5 for the 12-hour drive to drop off the palates at Cragmont Assembly, a Baptist ministry with facilities capable of holding large supplies of relief materials and provision of housing for volunteers.

Annette Womer said approximately 6,000 people per day are being fed by the organization, either on site or via meal deliveries to nearby affected communities; care packages are also being supplied by Cragmont Assembly.

“Everyone we talked to who helped unload and store the supplies were very appreciative, very thankful,” Annette said. “They have a warehouse full of goods sorted in various categories – canned goods, water, food for pets, all kinds of items. They have electricity at the facility, but when we were there, they still did not have water or sewer services [because of storm impacts].

“We got a little rest in their bunkhouses before leaving early the next morning. We’d be willing to do this again (make a delivery), absolutely, as long as we’re able.”

Annette further noted that the big challenges facing Cragmont Assembly and other organizations providing relief are a lack of storage space for supplies that continue coming in, along with a need for more volunteers who can fill in for those who have already spent a considerable amount of time helping and need rest. “They’re [volunteers] wearing out, and replacements are needed,” she said.

Ironically, the most memorable moment of the Womer’s trip to North Carolina occurred as they were about to leave from Hattiesburg, when Annette said a man at a convenience store where they had stopped on their way out came up to them, seeing their Saint Fabian volunteer shirts, and handed them $10.

“He said ‘Thanks for what you’re doing,’” she said.

Moments later, the same man came into the store and handed her an additional $100, saying that he decided he wanted to do more to help defray any costs on their trip.

“That just humbled me and brought tears to my eyes,” Annette said. Delancy said Saint Fabian will continue accepting donations of supplies for those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton; currently, Saint Fabian is also partnering with members of Hattiesburg area Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) chapters who are gathering supplies for delivery to Florida for those recovering from Milton’s impact there.

Of need now for those in the areas affected by Hurricane Helene is donations of warm clothing, as fall and winter weather conditions arrive, and many areas in North Carolina and other places hit by Helene are still without electricity. Anyone wishing to provide support for both these causes can contact Delancy at 601.310.9294

“It’s amazing how God can pair people together for his will and purposes to take care of others,” Delancy said.