\tSt. Camillus and St. Virgilius parishes are in the Rockaway area of Queens in New York City, and are among the worst affected parishes in the Diocese of Brooklyn. The faithful there, however, are rising to the challenge brought them by providence.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI'm humbled by the faith of the people, by the generosity of the people, and by the spirit of the people, even in the face of such great adversity,\u201d Father Ahlemeyer, pastor of the two parishes, told CNA on Nov. 30.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey've banded together, and they have worked together, shared together, and they're doing that now \u2026 It's really been a remarkable experience of what was always there, a community and a cohesiveness of people wanting to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe experience is still not an easy one, though. Fr. Ahlemeyer estimates that even now, a whole month after Hurricane Sandy made landfall, just over half of his parishioners have electricity and heat in their homes.<\/p>\n
\tSt. Camillus school was so badly damaged that it is unusable for the time being. The students there are being bused to Howard Beach, Diocese of Brooklyn communications director Stefanie Gutierrez said. \u201cSo, two school communities are stuffed into one building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe're beginning to realize the enormity of the personal loss,\u201d said Fr. Ahlemeyer.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey go back to their apartments and houses and they have no electricity, or they have no boilers during the cold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHeating tents are being set up where people can stay \u201cwhere they'd be warm, with the weather now getting colder,\u201d he explained. Both St. Virgilius church and the rectory at St. Camillus remain without electricity.<\/p>\n
\tSt. Camillus is located in Rockaway Park, about two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. St. Virgilius is in Broad Channel, in Jamaica Bay, across the peninsula from the ocean.<\/p>\n
\tOf about 1,000 houses located in Broad Channel, Fr. Ahlemeyer said only one was unaffected by water damage from the hurricane.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cNow the problem is there are no boilers available, there are no parts available, and not that many electricians are available. And if there are, then getting materials to do the work \u2026 people are coming back to apartments, they don't have boilers or they can't get the parts, or they can\u2019t get a plumber because there's a waiting list, or the electricity is not done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI've heard of people who have driven to Pennsylvania to get parts. My brother James was coming down today from Albany, my brother Byron called and gave him a list of electrical supplies that are needed for the house in Broad Channel \u2026 and when he came down today he'd bring the stuff with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFr. Ahlemeyer reports that a day or two after the storm, he and Father Jimmy Dunne, who is in residence at St. Camillus, walked along the boulevard in Broad Channel to talk to people and see how they were doing.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cEveryone was just pulling out everything from their houses \u2026 the places now are just shells, and then they had to rip out all the walls because of the mold, and now they're just empty exposures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYou know 9\/11 made us appreciate in New York the framework of the first responders \u2026 Hurricane Sandy's gonna make us appreciate the sanitation department because of the work they're doing removing the garbage. And it\u2019s not even garbage, it's people's lives, it's everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe also recounted how in the aftermath of the hurricane, the parish continues to experience deaths related to it \u201camong our elderly, who were displaced and are now beginning to suffer shock because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFr. Ahlemeyer's mother's best friend, Eileen, was buried recently. \u201cThe day before the funeral, the restoration company had come and they cut out all the walls of the church four feet up, and it had to be done because of the mold \u2026 and the water was up over the pews.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cPlus, there are real needs right now. We have a food program running out of our gymnasium. 100 people a day are coming to get food and hot meals, because they don't have any place to cook, and there are no places to buy food on the peninsula \u2013 no stores are open.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt's nice to hear the generosity of people, and the extraordinary response from other areas outside of the New York area \u2026 and it\u2019s needed, it\u2019s needed. This is going to be a problem that won't be solved in a day or a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tFr. Ahlemeyer concluded by relating an inspiring conversation he had with a parishioner on the first Saturday after the hurricane struck.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI went back to St. Virgilius, and one of the parishioners was there with a whole bunch of firemen who were ripping up the carpet in the church, because of the oil smell. I had been in the church and I had to get out, I couldn't even stay in there two minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cSo these guys were ripping up the carpets and one comes over to me and says, 'Now Father, we are having the 10 o'clock Mass tomorrow, right?'\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI said, 'Well I know we can't say Mass in here with the oil being what it is, because people couldn't stay in here more than five minutes.'\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHe said, 'Well that's why we took the carpet up. We're going to put the benches back, and we'll get the word out, Father, that there is Mass, 'cause I think the community needs Mass, we need to be able to come together.'\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cSo,\u201d Fr. Ahlemeyer recounts, \u201cI said Mass at 10 at St. Virgilius, and people came and they cried together, and they talked, and they held each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAnd I think that's what the people needed, the people needed to be able to come together and reassure each other and support each other, and they wanted to do it in the context of the Mass.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tDonations for the parishes in the Brooklyn diocese impacted by Hurricane Sandy can be made to Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens at www.ccbq.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n