By Michael Stoll
The Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church has served the residents of Orange for 146 years. As the oldest African American church in the city, it has been a place of worship for its approximately 100 congregants as well as a source of help for those in need.
And now, because of Tropical Storm Harvey, it is also in need.
“Recovery has been kind of slow,” said Reverend C.W. Crawford, who has been pastor of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church for the past 22 years.
According to Crawford, the church did not have flood insurance, an expense the church could not afford.
“We used to be a thriving church, but now many of our parishioners are senior citizens on food stamps and welfare,” he said. “It’s a struggle to get things going again.”
Tropical Storm Harvey is not the first storm to cause damage to the building. Crawford said that Hurricane Rita ripped off part the roof in 2005. When Hurricane Ike struck in 2008, the church lost its elevator and suffered flood damage.
But Harvey did more than damage the church. The storm also wreaked havoc on Hollywood Cemetery, which the church has owned and run since 1875.
“We’ve had trouble with the tombs and caskets that were pushed up because of the water pressure,” Crawford said.
But despite the damage, the church and its leaders have not lost sight of what is most important: helping others in need. Crawford said the church has worked to provide shelter for people who have lost their homes and has organized efforts to provide food for those in need. Parishioners have also worked to clean houses and rebuild homes, a struggle given the church’s limited means. In some cases they have had to collect lumber that was carried down the road by the storm.
Crawford said the church is in need of supplies, such as paint and lumber, and food donations.
“We need kitchen cabinets for our cafeteria so we can continue feeding people,” he said. “We want to make sure that never stops. The only thing we don‘t need is more clothes.”
Most importantly, the church needs volunteers.
“Any kind of volunteering will do,” Crawford said. “You don’t even have to know what you’re doing, but we need people who can physically work. We need people who can paint, put up sheet rock. There are a lot of things to do.”
Anyone who is interested in donating or volunteering can call 409-221-1131.
“It’s an uphill struggle,” Crawford said. “But, we’re determined we’re going to make it.”