First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville ministers to Texas flood victims, prepares for long-term recovery
Sunday service remembers Ruling Elder Jane Ragsdale, who died in the flooding
KERRVILLE, Texas — First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, Texas, gathered Sunday morning as heavy rains continue to hamper recovery efforts along the banks of the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country. Flash flooding that began in the early morning hours of July 4 has claimed the lives of 136 confirmed victims, with approximately 170 people still missing.
A lifelong member of the church, Ruling Elder Jane Ragsdale, is among those confirmed dead.
Ragsdale was remembered as the congregation worshiped, with the Rev. Bobby Musengwa, Mission Presbytery’s transitional general presbyter, saying she will be honored by the presbytery, Synod of the Sun, and at the PC(USA)’s 227th General Assembly next summer in Milwaukee.
“Jane Ragsdale, whose baptism is now complete, has run her race and now rests from her labors in the house of the Lord,” said Musengwa. “Jane’s vision in life was to bring love, joy and meaning to the lives of young campers at Heart O’ the Hills Camp. For decades, Jane touched many lives through her ministry of presence — bringing a smile, a soothing voice, and teaching life skills, guitar playing, singing camp songs and [sharing] an enduring love for the campers entrusted to her. Over all these decades, children know when you love them, and Jane loved them enthusiastically, thus reflecting the unconditional love of God to them. Jane made everyone feel loved and gave them a sense of belonging — love embodied of God's love. This legacy is secure in the house of that love forever.”
The congregation’s former interim minister, retired pastor the Rev. Jack Haberer, considered Ragsdale one of his best friends at the congregation, providing welcome when he arrived in the congregation during the early days of the Covid pandemic.
“[She was] ebullient in spirit, effusive in gratitude, and happy to talk about her passion: leading annual January mission trips to a small rural town in Guatemala,” he recalled. “Then I got to see her in her day job as owner-director of Heart O’ the Hills Girls Camp. She always closed during the week of July 4th to provide the camp staff a mid-summer break. But alone in her home, calling the few others present to evacuate, this swim instructor was caught by the inflow of a 20-foot wall of water.”
“‘I think I’m in trouble,’ she blurted to the last person, and just like that she was gone. And just like that, all of us best friends began grieving our loss deeply,” said Haberer.
The Rev. Jasiel Hernandez Garcia of First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville said the disaster has affected everyone in the area “because we are such a small community. You're pretty much one degree of separation from one another.”
He said the immediate days following the flash flooding were the most difficult — wondering who had been lost, who had been rescued, who was still missing. The confirmation of Ragsdale’s passing on Saturday (July 5) was a heartbreak to the church community, along with every new announcement. “It was grief after grief,” said Garcia.
Eighteen family members of another church member, who had gathered for a 4th of July party, were trapped on her property. All were rescued on Saturday.
“When we came to worship [last] Sunday, it was a very emotional worship service,” he said. “You could sense the mourning and the grief just being in that place and that space.”
Despite their pain, church members sprang into action, wanting to offer the church to the community for whatever needs came up. They helped with reunification through the July 4th weekend and housed several families temporarily who have now moved to a Red Cross hosting site. Aid organization Crisis Response International set up their command center in the upstairs offices of the church and the Small Business Administration began hosting operations out of the church’s facilities.
An annual July 4 community fundraising organ concert was postponed until July 11, where the congregation gathered $1,460 for relief efforts. The church has also long served as a depot for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance efforts and already had an abundance of clean-up kits and other emergency supplies to meet immediate needs.
Gift cards to grocery and hardware stores are being distributed to affected families, other financial needs are being met, and the church is offering free use of its sanctuary for those wishing to host funerals in the space. Even as the church responds to these urgent needs, it is looking toward long-term recovery by working with local leadership, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and other organizations.
“We’re trying to learn the needs of the community [going forward],” said Garcia. “In the last couple of days, there's been more communication about how we need to come together. We need to come up with a plan. And then we are going to provide assistance. We just received a grant from the community foundation, and the donations to this church have been incredible from people from all over the country.”
He has also been contacted by pastors from areas affected by recent disasters, including Black Mountain, North Carolina, providing a “mentorship and friendship” in a shared experience of ministering to grieving people.
Church member Maclain B, an Army veteran with medical evacuation experience, volunteered at the hospital in the days after the flash flooding, helping with the careful process of identifying the deceased and preparing to notify surviving family members.
He said he lost count of how many victims arrived at the hospital in the early days of the rescue and recovery operations. “It was just bird after bird after bird,” he said of the helicopters delivering recovered persons to the hospital.
“I explained it to someone at church — after this event, it was like being saved again,” the new church member said. “And now as an aware, spiritual human being, I have a duty to stand tall and do the right thing. … People need to know that this community has come out to help one another.”
And that willingness to help people who are still grieving, even in the middle of their own grief, is something Garcia sees in many ways through the congregation and community.
“[People] don't see this as the end of things, but as an opportunity to really make an impact,” said Garcia. “In the phone calls and the willingness to manage the phones or to donate money — all sorts of things. When something like this strikes in a community, people are ready to do something about it.”
In spite of the tremendous loss, Garcia said there is room for hope.
“Something I've seen in this church is the openness to feel what we feel and to bear it as a community,” he said. “If you're angry, be angry. If you are upset if you're grieving, be upset and grieve. We will do it together and we will heal together.”
View an update on the response by Mission Presbytery, the Synod of the Sun and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance here.
An award-winning journalist, the Rev. Gregg Brekke is the former editor of Presbyterian News Service.
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