Hurricane Ike report from Conroe, Texas

Cynthia Hinson, pastor of St. Paul UMC in Conroe, Texas, emailed us some photos of their congregation's near-misses with Hurricane Ike. They're cell-phone images, too low-resolution for print use, but we thought posting them on the blog with her comments might give readers an idea of the damage inland (Conroe is about 90 miles north of Galveston, 40 miles north of Houston).

See them after the jump...

On Saturday afternoon the Rev. Cynthia Hinson of St. Paul UMC in Conroe went to check on the church building in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

"A huge tree had been blown down," said the Rev. Hinson, "but the fall was truly amazing. It fell across the main sidewalk to the sanctuary, missing the church's brick sign by less than 6 inches. Then, it continued to fall toward the sanctuary, missing the windows and the roof by less than a foot."

Finally, it came to rest at the foot of the cross on the front lawn.

Not a single window in the church was broken or a single shingle destroyed, although fallen limbs and debris were everywhere.

The Rev. Hinson then drove by the associate pastor's apartment to check on her. Her vehicle was parked in its assigned spot, under a metal carport, next to a large tree. That tree also fell, lifting the pavement with its roots less than four inches from the associate pastor's right front fender. The carport was about to fall, but the vehicle was not harmed.

Worship at St. Paul was canceled yesterday for a number of reasons: the extent of damage in the area, including an incredible number of trees and downed power lines; the fact that generators cannot be left unattended; and many members were housing people who evacuated from areas near the coast.

"We are just amazed," said the Rev. Hinson. "We give thanks to God... [and] our prayers go out to all as they navigate through these next few days and weeks of recovery."