Churches in the Diocese of Western Kansas have aided storm victims during the month since a massive tornado destroyed Greensburg, Kan., and caused destruction throughout the surrounding area on May 5.

Only one Episcopalian suffered major property damage, when the basement under her house collapsed from flooding caused by torrential rain. The Rev. Mark Cowell, vicar of St. Mary and Martha of Bethany Church, Larned, 30 miles north of Greensburg, said his parishioner will have to have her house moved onto a new foundation before it is livable again.

Even though Episcopalians in Western Kansas were largely spared from the immediate fury of the storm, the Rt. Rev. James M. Adams, Jr., Bishop of Western Kansas, said family ties cut across town and denominational lines in the scarcely populated agricultural community.

“Many of us have friends or family who were affected,” he said. “The storm tossed debris into wheat fields for miles in every direction.”

The Diocese of Western Kansas is one of The Episcopal Church’s smallest, with about 2,000 communicants and an average Sunday attendance of 933. Despite the lack of resources, the outreach response was swift and efficient. The day after the storm, Fr. Cowell was at an emergency shelter, handing out bottled water and other supplies. Bishop Adams was on the scene the next day to survey the damage and attend a meeting called by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate work among various relief organizations.

Fr. Cowell and the Rev. Karen Lemon, vicar of All Saints’, Pratt, 30 miles east of Greensburg, are the clergy closest to the affected area. They have been handing out money from a $25,000 Episcopal Relief and Development emergency grant, as well as contributions sent directly to them. Both say they are trying to help residents who may fall through the cracks of assistance provided by FEMA and organizations like the Red Cross.

Fr. Cowell said most residents recovered at best just a few things from the rubble of their homes. With most houses reduced to nothing by lumber by the F-5 twister, many people were left with little but the clothes they were wearing.

“You find out what’s really important and worth saving,” he said. “Your priorities change. You live quite a bit lighter.”

The biggest need in the area now is for temporary housing and transportation, either affordable cars to help people get to jobs, or money to help pay for gas.

Ms. Lemon said residents are anxious to learn which employers will be returning before deciding whether to rebuild. She’s hearing that many senior citizens, who make up more than 25 percent of Greensburg’s population of 1,500, probably won’t return. Younger residents are finding that even full insurance claims likely won’t be enough to cover the cost of rebuilding. “The demographics of Greensburg will change dramatically,” she said.

Another need is to prepare for the wheat harvest set to start in mid-June. Large debris undetected in fields to be harvested can be very damaging to expensive farm machinery. Members from local Mennonite churches are walking the fields, row-by-row, to remove material that could destroy the sophisticated equipment.

In the month since the tornado, about 75 percent of the debris in what was the town of Greensburg has been hauled away.

“You don’t hear birds, just the sound of construction equipment,” Ms. Lemon said. “There’s nothing left. The tornado was a mile and a half wide. So was the town.”

Melodie Woerman and Steve Waring

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