Pastor recounts rising waters

Kathleen Williams, director of the Albany diocesan Insurance Department, said that Sacred Heart parish in Sidney and St. John the Baptist Church in Walton were among the parishes extensively damaged by floods that struck the western part of the Diocese in the last week of June.

She told The Evangelist that it would take "a long time" to return the parishes to the way they were.

The floods disrupted weekend services at one church and forced Mass cancellations in another.

Waiting it out

"I stayed and waited it out in waist-high water," said Rev. Gordon Polenz, pastor of Sacred Heart.

On the morning of June 28, he said, most residents of the Delaware County town were skeptical that the Susquehanna River would overflow its banks, even though voluntary evacuation warnings had been sounded.

"We're used to the river rising during heavy rains," he said. "I really just dismissed [the warnings] and ignored the fire department's urging to evacuate."

Holding fast

But the river continued to rise, eventually reaching one of the highest levels on record. While electricity and phone service were out, "I had my cell phone, so I really wasn't worried," the priest said.

While over 500 cellars had been pumped out by the fire department, Father Polenz still didn't think the church, the rectory or the parish center were in danger.

"Nobody in our area was evacuating; we still didn't think it necessary," he said.

Water comes

In early evening, he spoke with a neighbor, and both agreed that it was likely the situation wouldn't get much worse.

They were wrong. By daylight on June 30, the rectory cellar had flooded, and there were at least six inches of water in the church. The cellar in the old church, now used for religious education, was also flooded, and the parish center held a couple of inches of water.

"I realized I needed to go," Father Polenz said. "The fire department came by one last time. The fireman told me, 'It's now or never, Father.' So I waded out to the truck and got aboard."

Work to do

The pastor said that "some of our parishioners lost their homes, especially up in the old part of the village by the river. No one here has flood insurance. Why would they have it? It's never flooded like this before.

"It's amazing how much help we've had. I've seen fire companies here from Buffalo, Long Island, the Adirondacks, Potsdam and Tupper Lake. The Department of Public Works from New York City has trucks here daily, removing debris.

"The people have a great spirit and everyone has pitched in helping everyone else. There's a lot of damage, but we'll work through it."

(7/13/06) [[In-content Ad]]