Over 500 plates of freshly fried fish with all the fixings were served to friends, family and to the surrounding communities of Jay in an effort to raise funds to start the rebuilding process of the Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church.
Just a few weeks ago, on May 14th the cherished building where so many individuals had personal and emotional ties to burnt.
“Mt. Carmel Methodist Church is more than a building to me. It is home,” shared a lifelong member of the Jay community Kacie Reaves. “This has been a devastating ordeal but it has already made our congregation which is the real church, stronger.”
Ten different area fire departments responded and battled the blaze unsuccessfully for hours. The members of the church are so thankful for the efforts of the firefighters that they are organizing an appreciation service and meal to thank all those who responded to the call. The churches fellowship hall was saved and is being used currently for services.
Saturday’s outpouring of community support raised over $7000 to begin the mission of rebuilding and financing the cost of such an undertaking. “We are so grateful for the outpouring of love from our community,” shared Reaves.
Donations are also being accepted through redbasket.org. Red Basket is an online non-profit service created as a way for individuals nationwide to donate their time or money to people or for projects in need of assistance. Woodmen of the World, a non-profit fraternal life insurance society, established the tool in 2012 to bring charitable donations and community involvement into the digital age.
100% of all donations that are designated for the Mt. Carmel UMC through redbasket.org will be donated with the non-profit site matching all donations over $25.00. The site will be accepting donations for the church rebuilding for 90 days.
The story of the fire can be located on the Internet site redbasket.org titled “Mt. Carmel UMC: Beyond the Flames.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Beyond the Flames