Post-flood progress

Summer flood damage didn’t hinder Christmas festivities at Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in the Town of Grafton.

“In a way, it drew us closer together,” the Rev. Mark Wagner said. “Our church congregation members, neighborhood, community churches and individuals have gathered to support our cause, and it’s been an amazing response.”

The church and school suffered approximately $200,000 in damages in late August when more than seven inches of rain flooded the basement.

In October, Our Savior learned it would not receive any funds from its insurance provider, Church Mutual Insurance Co., because the flooding is considered an act of God, Wagner said.

“We did have to wait a long time before we found out there was no insurance benefit because it was an act of God,” Wagner said.

“Between donations and one of our church body’s relief agencies, we now have almost enough money to fix and reoccupy the damaged space by the end of January.”

Wagner said it was a bit of a tight squeeze for the more than 800 members of the congregation during Christmas services. Activities such as caroling and a fellowship banquet, which typically occur on the lower level, took place on the main floor.

“It was an interesting experience, and it was a good time to change the setting for some of our activities,” he said.

Wagner said the congregation hasn’t been able to use about 3,000 square feet in the basement since Aug. 27.

Many rooms — including a library, kitchen, classroom, fellowship hall, furnace rooms, storage areas and stairwell — were flooded. Water also damaged carpeting, cabinetry and drywall.

Wagner said a low tract of land around the church allowed stormwater to enter the basement, resulting in nearly two feet of standing water.

Wagner said he is thankful that no one was hurt when they discovered the flooding because there were sparks coming from the appliances.

“Our gratitude and appreciation goes first to God because there were no tragedies because there were electric pops everywhere,” he said.

The school began classes on time because it used a multipurpose room to replace the flooded classroom. However, all six of its furnaces, a stove, refrigerator and about 13,000 books were lost to the flood.

The estimate to replace the books is $100,000.

“We’ve had over a dozen different agencies offering book donations, but we couldn’t take anything because we have no place to store the books,” he said.

Wagner said the biggest challenge was reorienting the special needs classroom and music room.

“They’re crowded and not adapted to the specific needs of the classrooms,” Wagner said. “Those teachers will be relieved when we get back to the normal traffic pattern.”      

Wagner said the church has raised more than $110,000 to cover the cost of repairing the building. He said the damaged space cannot be occupied until all the repairs are complete.

Wagner said volunteers have done all the work.

He also said drywall and painting have been finished, and the church is waiting for cabinets to be installed before the rooms are ready for use.

Our Savior is also updating to its building and landscaping to prevent future flooding.

“Once something like this happens, you want to make sure it never happens again,” Wagner said.

While the flooding has been an obstacle for church members and students, it has also been a source of grace for the religious community, he said.

“We’re grateful to the community and our church,” Wagner said. “I think in the end we will rebound, but it will take several years to get back to where we were.”