Private houses weren’t the only structures affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.

Houses of faith were hit hard as well, and like others, they’re looking for help to rebuild.

One possible avenue for them is getting funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to rebuild.

Houstonia magazine reported a new policy issued this week. Texas churches and other houses of faith now have a shot at getting federal disaster relief funds through FEMA, because religious organizations will be allowed to apply for the disaster recovery funds that were previously only available to secular nonprofits.

FEMA rules excluded religious organizations from applying for any aid to repair or rebuild. Things changed, however, when three Houston area churches that suffered heavy damage filed a lawsuit against FEMA’s no-church policy for disaster relief funds within days of Harvey in early September.

The lawsuit, filed in Texas Southern District of U.S. District Court, stated that the churches were simply looking for “a fair shake” from FEMA officials, especially since helping religious organizations rebuild would also be a way to help the communities the organizations serve, by extension. The case was moving along, but a new rule issued by FEMA may have found a way to solve the problem without seeing the agency go to court, after all.

Locally, Sadie Brink, associate pastor of the United Methodist Temple in Port Arthur, said they are currently holding services in the church’s gymnasium at their facility on Highway 73.

She assumes the church will pursue FEMA funds if and when they become available.

“We received over 1 foot of water inside. We’re looking for any help we can get,” Brink said. I don’t know when we’ll be done with the sanctuary. The day school is up and running. We opened it on Dec. 1.”

Otherwise the church doesn’t have any good estimates yet on the rest of the complex.

Prior to returning to their property, they were holding services at Port Neches Elementary School since Harvey. In addition to using the gym, the church is holding Sunday school classes in the children’s room.

The next step is to reopen the church’s offices as staff members have been working from home. There are still some bare floors and some of the walls don’t have sheetrock that completely cover. Though the unfinished walls can get breezy, the day school stays warm.

Brink’s understanding of applying for FEMA is similar to what a homeowner goes through — apply first to the Small Business Administration for a low-interest loan, possibly get rejected by the SBA and then turn to FEMA for a grant.

“We’re always looking for grants to cover costs and get the building back to what it was,” she said. “This is the first time we flooded. We have an extreme positivity we’ll come back. We still have a good crowd and most came back after the storm.”

Meanwhile, the Rev. Kevin Badeaux, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Port Arthur, received significant damage since Harvey. The church has been sharing the property at St. James Parish.

Badeaux said the Diocese of Beaumont has been looking into FEMA funds. They have already applied for SBA loans; however, they’re seeing what’s available from insurance and grants before pursuing government assistance.

“There’s a lot of red tape with that. We’d rather get funding like we did with the Knights of Columbus grant we received,” he said. “The red tape may slow down our recovery process waiting on compliance with federal guidelines.”

The Knights of Columbus of the Diocese of Beaumont received a $100,000 donation from the organization to repair damages to the church. The check was donated on Dec. 10 at St. James Catholic Church to St. Joseph.