February 4, 2009

CHICAGO – John Rogers of Paducah is without electricity, heat and hot water more than a week after the deadly Jan. 27 ice storm that struck Kentucky.

"There was so much ice that you could hear the trees crack," he said of the storm. "It sounded like shotgun blasts."

He throws logs on the fire to keep warm, puts food outside to keep cold. But the associate in ministry worries about other members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church.

"I can't reach those who live on the outskirts of town," he said. The congregation is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The storm is being blamed for 60 deaths across several states – at least 25 in Kentucky. Half of the state's 600,000 residents are waiting for power to be restored.

"It looks like a tornado went through," said the Rev. Betsy Dartt, House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Elizabethtown.

The storm created a dire situation for families already struggling with the nation's economic woes, Dartt said. "People with limited incomes didn't have resources to store food," she said.

House of Prayer became a hospitality hub during the storm. The congregation offered its basement floors for people needing a warm place to sleep.

Church members served them soup and hosted a spaghetti dinner. They delivered hot meals to elderly people and brought others to the church to get warm.

"We had one 90-year-old lady who was not going to come out of her home," said House of Prayer member Allan Poikonen. The storm knocked out the woman's electricity, heat and water.

"We finally got her to come with us to the church to warm up," Poikonen said.

Many of the storm's casualties died trying to keep warm in the aftermath. Several deaths are blamed on carbon monoxide poisoning caused by propane and kerosene heaters. Others died in traffic accidents. In Radcliff, just 12 miles away from Elizabethtown, an elderly woman died from hypothermia in her mobile home.

"People are still in danger," Poikonen said.

Kentucky is now a federal disaster area. Two-thirds of the state's 120 counties incurred severe damage. Recovery costs are estimated at $45 million.

In the state's Bluegrass Region, a Lexington church building lost power for nearly five days. Gethsemane Lutheran Church also incurred water damage caused by a leaky roof.

The Rev. Joe Trester, Gethsemane's pastor, said he'd never voluntarily spent five days without power before except when camping. He and his wife moved to their home's basement, where they worked to keep the pipes from freezing.

"The Dakotas were looking mighty fine," Trester said and laughed. "With six inches of snow you can still get around, but six inches of ice brings you to your knees."

Trester said individual members of the congregation helped many of their neighbors. In retrospect, he wishes the congregation had been better prepared to respond as a whole.

"We didn't have a contingency plan to open our (church) doors to others who needed help," Trester said. "We're now going to put one in place."

Members fared better in Cold Spring, a northern Kentucky town eight miles south of Cincinnati. Those without power are using generators, according to the Rev. Anne R. Pairan, St. Luke Lutheran Church.

"We've been removing tree limbs and snow," she said. "But for the most part our people are getting along okay."

Even so, she echoed the sentiments of church members across the state.

"Keep us in your prayers," she said.

ELCA News Service