The folks at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church have scheduled their annual workday for Saturday, May 3rd, and the make-up day in case of inclement weather for Saturday, May 31st. This year’s workday will be a busy one, as damage from recent storms will be the focus. An F-1 tornado struck the cemetery and the church on the morning of March 4th. There was considerable damage to both the church building and the cemetery, though most of the actual headstones survived without major damage. Members are still dealing with clean-up crews, construction crews, and insurance claims.
The damage was extensive with six or seven, mostly huge, cedar trees within the cemetery damaged, some of them probably several hundred years old. Some were blown over and unearthed by the roots while others broke in half with half of it still in the ground. Work is still being done to find all the monuments to check for damage.
There is no insurance on the cemetery to cover the extensive and expensive repairs, so donations are needed. Members have arranged to hire a tree service crew to come out, cut the trees up, haul out the big parts, grind the stumps, and burn what’s left. That work will be completed by the time we have the workday. I’m sure we will have plenty left to do though. Volunteers are encouraged to come ready to work, tools in tow, a snack or two to tide you through lunch, and plenty of water.
