Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 9-25-20

Feature
Black Communities In Panhandle Hard Hit By Hurricane Sally Receive Help From AME Churches Nearby
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
Fort Walton Beach pastor,
Reverend Cecil Williams
of Gregg Chapel AME Church, has seen and done a lot in his ministry. Rev. Williams be- lieves that a church is more than just a place to come every Sunday and check off a box. Rev. Williams came to Gregg Chapel in 2007 and since then he continues to lead the church with progressive ideas and action. His philoso- phy is “Intentional Ministry,” designed to proactively minis- ter to the community and the AME family.
Living in the Panhandle of the state, Hurricane Relief ef- forts are a big part of Gregg Chapel and other AME churches’ mission. Rev. Williams oversees Hurricane Relief for his district in the AME Church and has been since Hurricane Michael in 2018.
When Hurricane Sally hit Pensacola, Florida on Tues- day, September 15, 2020, the Fort Walton Beach commu- nity was not severely affected. However, that was not the case in the neighboring city of Pen- sacola. The storm caused se- vere damage and flooding and
Rev. Cecil Williams, pastor of Gregg Chapel AME led the effort with the help of his con- gregation and church member, Mr. Curtis.
left 320,000 homes and busi- nesses without power. So, Rev. Williams started his re- lief effort immediately.
He and his Stewards voted and pulled $3,000 from Third Chance, Inc., the church’s 501(c)(3) organization. This organization was established for community and economic development and other chari- table, scientific, literary, and educational purposes. After the vote by the organization’s board, the effort began in earnest on last Thursday with a needs assessments and shopping lists.
By Friday, the Gregg Chapel team leaders were
tasked with buying essentials such as water, bleach, femi- nine necessities to distribute at the five sister AME churches located in Pensacola. Friday evening was for pack- aging the materials for indi- vidual distribution. On Saturday morning they had two full tracks and a trailer ready to drive to Pensacola.
The distribution took place at Bethel AME Church as the main distribution center. Church members and clergy from Hurst Chapel AME Church, Allen Chapel AME Church, Mt. Pleasant AME Church, and Good Hope AME Church met at Bethel AME to take items and further distrib- ute the goods.
Another trip is planned for Tuesday, and at least one more trip is planned for Friday.
For those that want to help the hurricane efforts, Rev. Williams has recom- mended the app “Givelify” which has been vetted thoroughly by the church. Givelify.com is specifi- cally for churches and charitable giving. This would be the fastest way to give so that the funds are available for the Fri- day effort. Rev. Williams requests that “hurricane
Relief efforts in Pensacola.
relief” be annotated in the transaction.
Gregg Chapel has lists of all the items needed so the church needs cash to fulfill its relief mission. Using the Givelify app ensures that the money is delivered to the church quickly and securely.
If donors would like to write a check, it should be in the mail as soon as pos- sible. Please make the check out to Gregg Chapel
AME Church. The church’s address is 34 Carson Drive Southeast, Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32548. The tele- phone number is 850- 243-5925.
To further follow Rev. Williams and the Gregg Chapel AME Church, please visit their website https://greggchapel.org or their YouTube channel Cecil Williams Gregg Chapel AME.
Some of the damage in Pensacola after Hurricane Sally.
PAGE 2-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2020