after Irene

On August 28 the entire community of Prattsville was devastated by record breaking flooding caused by Hurricane Irene.  Many families have been displaced, some have moved away, many are rebuilding.

The Reformed Dutch Church, being a well-built historic building, was left standing, yet suffered severe damage.

The Sanctuary (the main historic building, built in 1804, rebuilt in 1839) had to be gutted from the floors up to 7 feet, in order to dry out the inside of the wall.  As a result, the old beams and clap-board siding were exposed, showing that the building was faithfully and solidly built by talented craftsmen generations ago.  Floors were torn up, the stage/chancel area was torn out, and everything removed in order to get rid of the mud and dampness left behind by the flood waters.  Very few things could be salvaged, which only included the Communion Table, pulpit, and lectern.  After 8 weeks of searching, our Baptismal Font was found down on the banks of the Schoharie Reservoir and is being restored by a talented group of volunteers from a sister RCA congregation.

The back Fellowship Hall (built in the 1950′s), which housed the Prattsville Headstart Program, was torn apart in several locations, including the kitchen and far wall.  Because of the vast extent of damage, on Dec 6 and 7 of 2011 the hole left beneath the kitchen was filled in and the fellowship hall torn down.

The Parsonage (located at 14537 Main St), like the sanctuary, remained standing, yet suffered water and mud damage.  The pastors lost all their belongings on the first floor, which included the living room, dining room, kitchen, pantries, guest rooms, and their office.  All their belongings were removed, whether soaked or covered with mud; all lathe and plaster and sheet rock had to be torn out, floor to ceiling; many layers of floors were removed, revealing more mud and mold; and walls and beams and joists were cleaned. Rebuilding efforts are underway in the parsonage, to get the pastors and family back in their home, as well as providing a space where the congregation can meet to worship and fellowship (currently the congregation of the Reformed Church is worshiping with their sister congregation up at Jewett Presbyterian at 10:30 on Sunday mornings).

See our ‘Pictures’ page for before and after photos.

There is a video on Youtube, filmed a day or two after Irene, containing footage of both the church and parsonage, along with interviews of Pastor Greg Town and Claudia Bracaliello, our minister of music and organist.

The church has set up a relief fund to help the rebuilding efforts, if you’d like to give, please write a check to ‘Prattsville Reformed Church’ with ‘Relief Fund’ in the memo, and send it to Prattsville Reformed Church, PO Box 42, Prattsville, NY 12468