Via: defendernetwork.com
Though it has been nearly three years since Hurricane Ike ravaged lives in Houston, Galveston, and surrounding areas, many churches are still dealing with the storm’s aftermath with varying levels of success.
Recently, Progressive New Hope Baptist Church opened the doors to their new sanctuary built across the street from their home of more than six decades, which was destroyed by Hurricane Ike.
Originally organized as a church fellowship in 1875 that moved from meeting in the fields near Alabama Street to various buildings throughout Houston’s historic Third Ward, the congregation finally found a home after nearly 70 years. They settled on a church sanctuary in 1941 on Elgin near Ryan Middle School, worshipping there until 2008’s Hurricane Ike hit.
Lamon Atkins Sr., the church’s pastor since 1993, said negotiations with the church’s insurance company for repair funds initially went nowhere. The company offered $50,000 for repairs that Atkins and others estimated were far more extensive and costly.
“I argued with them back and forth, but they weren’t budging,” said Atkins. “I was at wit’s end.”
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