October 9, 2016 Church Ladies

Brenda offered to drive Rosie and me to church this morning.  I was wondering on the way to church if the priest had evacuated and returned.  As we approached the church, the place looked deserted.  We pulled up to the church to read the sign posted on the door.  The bishop of the Savannah diocese has lifted the obligation to attend church this weekend.  He recommended that all the priests in the evacuation areas should evacuate to safety. 

We decided to drive to Rosie’s favorite restaurant for coffee, the Cedar Oak.  I don’t know what made us think it would be open.  We parked in front of the place, got out, then realized there weren’t any lights on.  As we were heading back to the car, a lady walking her dog stopped to tell us that the owners had evacuated and just returned to town.  She invited us to her home for coffee.  We explained how we were planning to go to the catholic church, but they weren’t having church today.  So she told us about the Presbyterian church a block away.  They were starting their 11:00 service now and we would be welcome to join them.  We decided to do that and walked down the block.

Presbyterian church in St Mary's, GA

It was a small old church.  There were about 10 people there.  They welcomed us and explained that they were all sharing their hurricane experiences.  They were all amazed to find out that we lived on sailboats.  We were all so thankful that there wasn’t any major damage to this community and our loved ones.  It was a great opportunity to thank our Lord and share it with others.

church ladies Mary, Rosie and Brenda

 After the short service, they invited us to the fellowship hall for refreshments. They didn’t have electricity, but they had water and sodas on ice, sandwiches, and donuts.  They asked us more questions about living on boats.  They told us about how the city of St Mary’s has an annual Thanksgiving dinner for boaters.  It started one year when a lot of boaters were stranded here because of a storm.  Then they decided to do it every year.  I guess a lot of boats stop here as they are moving south for the winter.  I doubt that we’ll be here until Thanksgiving, but will check it out if we are.

angel made from palm fronds

St Mary's survivors

That evening, we walked over to the dock area with a couple other boaters.  It was amazing to see how calm everything was at sunset.  I called it the “calm after the storm”.

the calm after the storm

shrimp boats in the distance