By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
AS residents in Crooked Island continue to piece their lives back together in the wake of Hurricane Joaquin, one local pastor said the $20,000 needed to repair her church in Colonel Hill is “truly out of our reach”.
Juliemae Farquharson, pastor of St John’s Baptist Church, told The Tribune on Monday that she does not see any possible way that she and the 18-member congregation can raise the money needed to repair and refurbish the structure.
“We lost everything, from the (sound) system to the air condition, so I know it is going to be hard to recover from this. I don’t even know where to begin with this, but we are going to need all the help we can get, to get our church to where it was,” she said when contacted for comment yesterday.
Mrs Farquharson has been the pastor of St John’s Baptist Church for the last six years, taking over from the former pastor after his death in 2009.
She told The Tribune that in 2012, she and other members came together to repair portions of the church – marking the first time the building had been updated in its 20-year history.
“We had to fix parts of the eastern side a couple of years ago. The building was old, but we managed to make it work in the past. Now, boy now it is going to be tough to get things up and running here!”
She added that throughout her time leading the church she has come to understand the value the place of worship has been to the Colonel Hill community, a settlement she described as a true home to all who live there.
“We have to get this church back up and running because it means so much to all of the people around here; there is no way we can just leave it be.”
Crooked Island is one of five islands in the central and southern Bahamas adversely affected by Hurricane Joaquin earlier this month.
Most of the island’s infrastructure has been destroyed, with officials still struggling to restore power and clean water to the island.
Many residents have evacuated the island in recent weeks, however those who have stayed are insisting that they will remain there despite the poor living conditions.
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