NJ church offers shelter to Sandy's victims now and later

King of Kings Community Church, located on Route 9 in Manahawkin, opened its doors to those in need long before Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore. Since the storm, the church’s doors have remained open, and Pastor Mike Dryburgh said volunteers “have been coming out of the woodwork to help” ever since.

“There’s no shortage of donations,” he stated.

Photo by Kelley Anne Essinger
Volunteers sort through donations at the
King of Kings Community Church in Manahawkin.

King of Kings, alongside the Southern Ocean County Resource Center and other faith-based organizations in the area, has partnered with a number of emergency disaster relief groups, including Christ in Action, to aid in the cleanup of southern New Jersey, dubbed Shore Up! New Jersey. Janice Dryburgh, the pastor’s wife, said the outpouring of community found at the church has been “overwhelming.”

Church members and volunteers from all over have been working around the clock to help those in need. Donations including food, clothing, toiletries and cleaning supplies have been coming in by the bundle. Items can be seen spread outside the churchyard and inside the building.

A 48-foot-long trailer equipped with portable showers arrived in town on Friday, Nov. 2, offering 800 warm showers a day. Hot meals are also being served up daily, and the church building is acting as a welcoming, safe haven for those who have been displaced from their homes because of Hurricane Sandy. Volunteer groups have even set out to help clean up debris inside and outside people’s homes.

At this point, there are more people donating to the church than there are people accessing the church’s donations. The church closed off access to the building to volunteers on Sunday afternoon.

“For every three people donating, we have one family coming forth (for help). We need to regroup,” explained Pastor Dryburgh.

Darlene Sheridan, a Morning Harbor resident from Barnegat who passed out flyers with information about the King of Kings shelter to residents on the bayfront in Barnegat, said many people she spoke with were unaware of the church’s services – one reason the church might be sensing a lesser need.

“Every house I went into was totally ripped apart,” said Sheridan. “Whole houses are empty. People are in shock. It’s devastating, and no one is aware of the resources at King of Kings or anywhere else.”

Many of the people Sheridan spoke with had suffered severe housing damage from the storm, but said they were grateful to have a house and did not necessarily need anything from a shelter.

Photo by Kelley Anne Essinger
Barnegat Township Police Officer
Mark Bernstein checks a resident
for proof of ID at the checkpoint
on Bayshore Drive in Barnegat.

“We have money and food, (electrical) power and a house. And we’ve got too much to do before we can leave,” said Mary Frack, a local musician who has been keeping the windows of her home open at night to deter the growth of mildew and to dry out the water-soaked flooring and walls.

But just a week after Hurricane Sandy swooped in, the area is expecting a nor’easter to arrive by Wednesday.

Sheridan thinks much of the shock from the devastation of last week’s storm has not yet worn off, especially for many of Barnegat’s bayside residents who still do not have power and are sleeping with hats on, under mounds of blankets. However, many of the residents say they at least feel safe, especially since the Barnegat Township Police Department is offering daily and nightly surveillance up and down the streets and at checkpoints on East Bay Avenue near Lower Shore Road and on Bayshore Drive next to Ridgeway Street.

“Everyone wants to go back to normalcy, but our lives are changed forever,” said Dryburgh. “It’s no longer the storm of ’62 people are talking about; it’s the storm of 2012. People are still going to need our help probably months down the road."

“We’ve been working 24-hour days,” added Janice. “Now we need to figure out how we’re going to maintain our resources. We’ll work through the night if we have to.”

The pair said they plan on seeing things through to the end and will maintain the church as a warehouse facility for the community and its donated items.

“Don’t be surprised if you see our church services are put on hold,” they said.

This article was published in The SandPaper.