St. James Missionary Baptist Church at Peach Creek left in ruins

St. James Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest African American Church in Gonzales County, recently celebrated 150 years of continuous worship in the area known as Peach Creek. This week, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the congregation is celebrating a little less. The church was submerged and has sustained a lot of damage.

The congregation at St. James is small. So is the church. The modest house of worship sits off the ground on a pier and beam foundation but that did not keep nearly five feet of water from pouring into the doors and windows, and rising to a depth that covered the pews.

The church is in ruins and so is the fellowship hall, which sits higher, but was nonetheless submerged and affected to the tops of the indoor dining tables and kitchen appliances.

Julianna Hennig has attended the church for 12 years. She and her husband Dan have made the first of hopefully many donations that will make the church functional again.

For now, services will be held at Edwards Community Center.

For more information or to offer fundraising ideas, call Hennig at 713-582-0794.