Cove's Grace United Methodist completes year-long reconstruction after Uri

By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press

On Wednesday evening, Pastor Kissa Vaughn welcomed the congregation at Grace United Methodist Church to the Ash Wednesday service with a call of greeting, “Good Evening!” to which the congregation responded in kind. 
“That, my friends, is the sound of church,” Vaughn said.
Like many other buildings throughout the state, GUMC was gravely affected by Winter Storm Uri last February, with pipes bursting due to the prolonged below freezing temperatures and sustained power outages. 
The church has been under renovation, as workers from AmeriVet Enterprises worked on gutting the walls and replacing the damage done by the water. 
Prior to the service, Vaughn spoke with the Leader-Press about the extent of the damage to the church. 
Everything but the sanctuary was affected, she said.
“It flooded from both sides,” Vaughn said. 
There were 13 breaks in the kitchen, and with all of the overhead piping, it showered down on the kitchen for days, affecting the cabinets from above and then as the water flooded the floor. The water ended up getting behind the cabinets and into the drywall. 
“Really, the problem was the heat went out. The electricity went out, and the heat went out,” Vaughn said. 
Another notable section of the church deeply affected by the water breaks and flooding were the church’s nursery area and the Children’s Wing, which is filled with classrooms for the church’s pre-school program known as Wee Care. This is also where children’s Sunday School classes are held. 
Vaughn said that the church’s sanctuary, located centrally in the building, is on a high spot on the foundation slab, so the water mostly flowed away and around the sanctuary. There was a little bit of wet carpet near the door of the sanctuary, but that was it, she said. 
The claims adjuster came by and informed Vaughn and the church staff that they would be back in about a year, at which Vaughn said they laughed and didn’t believe. 
“March 6 is a little over a year, so he knew what he was talking about,” Vaughn said. “We just didn’t want to think that it could possibly take that long.”
When everything was complete, the church opened its Fellowship Hall to the congregation and visitors for the first time in over a year on Wednesday evening, offering a pancake supper to raise funds for the church’s youth mission trip later this summer. 
As people walked in the doors and into the fellowship hall, the new cabinets and appliances in the kitchen were on display as the church’s Men’s Group cooked pancakes and sausage. 
“First thing, when we drove up to see this many cars- I haven’t seen this many in over a year. That’s what I told my husband Rick,” said Colen Timmons, a longtime member at Grace United Methodist. “It’s so awesome to be back in and to see people I hadn’t seen in, some of them, in two years. It’s like, ‘Where are we going to all sit?’ That’s what is awesome.”
Timmons said she was so impressed with the changes inside to the church. 
“There are so many things that are new, and being here since it was built in 1965, it’s wonderful to see the updated church, what it looks like, and the changes that we’ve seen,” Timmons said. “It’s going to bring us into 2022 compared to what it’s been in the past. We have new needs, and the updates show those new needs.”
Vaughn said that she spoke with a church member during the supper, and they told her that this feels like church again. 
“You know, it’s been so long because of COVID and all the damages,” Vaughn said. “We were just kind of getting some momentum back when the storm happened. I just about cried a minute ago, when I looked around, and I was like, Oh my Gosh, there’s people in here eating and having fun and being the Church. I feel joy. I don’t know any other way to say it.”
On having people in the fellowship hall for the first time in a while, on Ash Wednesday of all days, Vaughn said it was definitely symbolic. 
“This starts Lent, and to me, Lent is a journey,” Vaughn said. “It’s about taking us…with Christ, and so it is absolutely symbolic that it’s tonight, that we’re kind of redoing, like we’re starting a new journey, and this is a new chapter in the life of the church, and I think it’s exciting.”
On Sunday, March 6, Grace United Methodist Church will hold their grand reopening, starting with their worship services at 8:15, 9:30 and 11 a.m. There will be a rededication of the building Sunday as well, and Communion will be offered to those who are interested. 
Following the 11 a.m. service, there will be food trucks outside to commemorate the occasion and allow the congregation to break bread together once more. People will be allowed to tour the church building as well on Sunday and see the new changes. 
Grace United Methodist Church is located at 101 E. Ave F in Copperas Cove.