In North Carolina, congregations are banding together to repurpose empty churches as community pillars to address issues like housing.

According to a study called "Twenty Years of Congregational Change," church attendance has declined, with 70% of churches seeing fewer than 100 members at their services each week.

Lynda Ferguson, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Asheboro, said the trend has affected churches in her area.

"Calvary United Methodist Church was a very vibrant church in our community here in Asheboro, with many members and a great ministry for many years," Ferguson recounted. "They found themselves, in 2018, declining in membership and attendance, and funding and other things."

The remaining parishioners joined another Methodist congregation in Asheboro, and rather than leave behind an empty building, they opted to transform it into another type of resource to benefit the community. It is now Lydia's Place, a temporary shelter for homeless women and families.

Ferguson noted in part, the decision was driven by a lack of resources. With support from the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, The Duke Endowment, Wesley Community Development Corporation and local partners, the former fellowship hall was renovated to provide 12 beds. It is the beginning of a four-phase project, with the goal of 50 beds and an emergency shelter.

Ferguson emphasized the importance of churches stepping beyond their traditional roles and embracing unexpected ways to use their resources.

"The most important thing is to be open," Ferguson urged. "To be open to what God is leading us to do. Being able to sense and know, what is the need in the community?"

Joel Gilland, CEO of Wesley Community Development Corporation, believes as churches repurpose their unused spaces, they establish a sustainable model to combine spirituality and social responsibility. He has been involved in projects ranging from providing housing for seniors and adults with disabilities, to larger initiatives in rural communities.

Gilland stressed the efforts allow churches to redefine their presence and offer services which may be more challenging for other groups.

"There's a real big push in churches now to roll the sleeves back up and to get back into the community and understand the need," Gilland observed. "We'll tell the church, 'If you go to a McDonald's and you see somebody trying to tutor a child in the middle of that sort of chaos, but you've got a building three blocks down the road that is empty, you're disconnected, and we need to reconnect.'"

Gilland sees church involvement in communities evolving toward a future in which religious buildings become pivotal centers of social support tailored to local needs.

As powerhouse Hurricane Milton nears the Florida coastline, communities in the Tampa Bay area are extending relief efforts initially launched for Hurricane Helene.

The Demps Law Firm at Wesley Chapel, north of Tampa, is one of many organizations leading relief donation drives for Hurricane Helene.

Cornelius Demps is now grappling with the daunting possibility of widespread devastation from Hurricane Milton. He said he would ask people to pray for all in the storm's path as they adjust to the ongoing need.

"The hurricane relief donation drive was supposed to end this Friday," Demps explained. "Instead, we're going to do it the rest of the month of October and we mainly need people just to donate what they can."

The law firm has been collecting essential items such as cleaning supplies, food and clothing with help from local groups like the NAACP in St. Petersburg and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel. The firm is also working with Carmel Friendship Church to create an Amazon Wishlist so people who do not live in the area can donate as well.

As Hurricane Milton intensifies, Tampa Electric is prepared for widespread outages and extended restoration efforts.

Mary Lou Carn, a company spokesperson, noted their readiness, but warned Milton could cause more disruptions than Hurricane Helene.

"A storm of this magnitude will bring more outages and a longer restoration time than we had with Helene," Carn cautioned. "It's just a bigger, more powerful storm, so that is what we anticipate. Our customers should be prepared for widespread and extended outages."

Residents relying on life-sustaining equipment should have backup power ready and Tampa Electric advised unplugging nonessential devices to prevent surge damage. Tampa Electric has more than 5,000 utility workers in Florida from out of state, staged and ready to begin repairs once it is safe.


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A week after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the Southeast, the North Carolina town of Boone is facing an uphill battle.

With many roads still impassable, widespread power outages and a "boil water" advisory in effect, the community is coming together to aid those most affected.

SOL Nation, a nonprofit focused on environmental and social justice, is helping with the recovery effort. Tiffany Fant, the organization's executive director, said the damage is twofold, with people in rural areas dealing with much of the impact.

"Within the city limits, the water's receded, the streets are OK; there are still some power outages but people are moving about," she said. "But then when you get further out into the county, there's still people stranded, roads blocked, some roads washed out."

Fant said SOL Nation is partnering with Cornerstone Summit Church to create a resilience hub. The church sanctuary has been converted into a donation center to receive and distribute resources. The group is also partnering with others in Charlotte to provide relief to other areas.

Fant explained SOL Nation's efforts focus not only on immediate relief but also long-term recovery. She added that it is training members who are closest to the community to continue these efforts after the immediate crisis has passed.

"No one is going to be able to rebuild and recover alone, in isolation," she said, "so it's going to take community to know who is unaccounted for, to know who's still stranded, to know who needs to get medical supplies, right? And that takes community. That takes knowing your neighbor."

She said anyone looking to help can visit SOL Nation's website at solnation.org, or the Cornerstone Summit Church website at cornerstonesummit.org.

Other relief efforts are also underway in Western North Carolina from local, state and federal partners. So far, the National Guard has performed more than 1,400 rescues.


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As Florida recovers from Hurricane Helene, the state's network of Community Health Centers continues to provide crucial care statewide.

Community Health Centers see patients despite their ability to pay. Although some facilities avoided significant damage, the storm's widespread impact is straining resources, staff and patients. Clinics from Sarasota to the Panhandle are focused on rebuilding and restoring services.

Despite the storm's size and power, said Gianna Van Winkle, director of emergency management programs for the Florida Association of Community Health Centers, the centers largely avoided catastrophic damage.

"No total losses or anything like that," she said, "but at the same time, there's power loss, there's staff and patient impacts that are going to affect the way that these health centers operate in these days and weeks ahead."

In hard-hit rural areas, where resources and infrastructure are often limited, health centers operate mobile units and partner with county officials to deliver care and supplies. They're also collecting relief supplies to support workers affected by the storm.

Health centers along the Gulf Coast, including in Sarasota, faced significant flooding. Christine Coviello, chief advancement and engagement officer for CenterPlace Health, said its facilities avoided structural damage, but had to close for a day because staff members were unable to reach the clinics.

"The storm surge is what really got us," Coviello said. "The wind and the rain was something we could handle a lot better - but this time, the storm surge really affected those low-lying areas."

Telehealth, mobile units and backup power systems allowed many facilities to remain operational or quickly return to service. However, despite these healthcare facilities coming out largely unscathed, many staff members are struggling to recover from personal losses, while still being called to serve their communities.