HAZARD, Ky. (LEX 18) — For much of the last six months, Maple St. Church of God hasn’t been able to serve the community like it usually does. That’s because the basement of the church was flooded back in February, which kept the church from operating things like its food pantry at full capacity.
“While we were in the rebuild process, we found a way to operate,” said church pastor Mike Smith. “We couldn't operate to the same capacity that we normally do… We didn't have a place to store food, had no shelving.”
LEX 18 was at the church in Hazard in February after flooding on the North Fork of the Kentucky River made its way into the basement. The ground by the church was covered in mud, and water reached up to five-and-a-half feet inside the church basement.
It took months of work and volunteer hours to fix the basement. While the church still worked to serve its community in a limited capacity, the community this time gave its aid to the church.
“Some of them put other jobs on hold just to come and help us out,” Smith said. “It was very stressful, but at the same time, to see it all come together, it's nothing short of a miracle.”
The church began moving back into the renovated basement at the start of June. Everything in the basement is new, from the floors to the ceiling. That includes a new area with shelving to store food.
“We actually set a new record. We served 187 families [Thursday],” Smith said. “It's been amazing. The road that's been traveled, all the destruction, but now to see what it looks like, to see the newness of everything down here, it's really enabled us to go above and beyond where we were before.”
Maple Street Church of God will continue serving its community every week. On Thursdays, they do a food box pickup time for those in need, from noon to 3:00 p.m.
