UPDATE 10 a.m., April 4
Disaster Response Coordinator Rev. Larraine Waughtal and Central Texas Conference Executive Director for Mission Support Dr. Randy Wild are meeting with the staff at St. Barnabas this morning and following that meeting will liaise with their counterparts in the North Texas

Conference to best coordinate relief and rebuilding efforts. We have also heard that the home of St. Barnabas Senior Pastor Dr. Will Cotton suffered damage in the storm. Dr. Cotton is currently recovering from surgery as well, so he must be feeling a bit like Job at the moment. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as well.
Our brothers and sisters in the North Texas Conference took a much harder hit in terms of property loss than we here in the CTC did (which is hard to fathom when you see the photo to the right of a large tree snapped like a twig and flipped upsided down leaning against a building on the St. Barnabas campus), but we've still not heard of any loss of life. The storms in the Midwest earlier this year really had people on notice and everyone took this quite seriously and followed their emergency preparedness plans it seems.
One story of which we’re just learning from St. Barnabas was that not only were the church's staff in the building but St. Barnabas also has a daycare/school on its campus with 80-85 kids. The pastors, staff and teachers heard the weather reports and emergency siren and could see the rotation coming for them. They implemented their emergency plan, had the kids all huddled in an interior hallway with their heads covered and then laid across them as they heard the walls of the building shaking and the roof of the sanctuary being ripped off.
According to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram report, Amy Richardson, director of the Early Education Center, shepherded 82 children, ranging from toddlers to 5-year-olds, from their classrooms to a safer spot in the middle of the building. "We knew what we had to do. We had a plan for it," Richardson said. "We just waited. We had pastors coming in to tell us when to duck and cover. There was a loud rumbling noise, the walls starting shaking and windows started breaking. "But the kids were very calm. Some of them got upset when the power went out."
Water began to pour into the sanctuary because the tornado had ripped away the roof in another part of the building. But the children were safe. "Our plan worked," Richardson said. "It's nice to have a plan."
Thanks to the preparedness and selflessness of the staff and teacher - and, of course, the grace of God, no injuries from the storm were reported (though one little girl did complain of a bit of a headache from having her pig tails pulled by a boy that thinks she's cute ;-)
Continue to monitor ctcumc.org for updates regarding relief and rebuilding plans as soon as that information is available.
As a reminder, if you’d like to make a financial contribution to any upcoming relief efforts, you are encouraged to do so through your local church. Fund No. 4495 of the official conference remittance form is for aid, assistance, relief, rebuilding and ministry within the Central Texas Conference. Just reference Fund No.4495 and/or Disaster Relief on your check.
Vance is the director of Communications for the Central Texas Conference. vance@ctcumc.org