Superstorm Sandy hit St. John’s very hard. With a big fundraising effort, we had only recently installed a completely new heating system, located in the space beneath the Church. It was a total loss.
The Church had no heat and no lights.
The lower level of the Parish Hall (the Nursery School) was also wiped out. Our emergency generator—although on an elevated platform-- was  destroyed. It was a mess.
After the storm moved out, cold weather moved in. Many roads were impassable; and with no power, it was hard if not impossible to find operating gas stations.
On the Sunday after Sandy, Lydia and I woke up in our cold, dark (but otherwise unharmed) house. We didn't know if we could get to St. John’s, or if anyone would be there, but we decided to try.
When we turned on to Little Silver Point Road, we were pleasantly surprised to see some cars at the Church.  We entered the Church to find that there was a family there for a baptism, which was apparently going forward.
The Church was dark, lit only by candles, and so cold the handful of parishioners could see their breaths. Father Van Sant decided it was too cold for vestments; he came out in a heavy sweater, a hat, and a stole (the only ecclesiastical garb he wore). [I have often whether, in years to come,  that family will look at pictures of the baptism and wonder, “Who was the guy in the hat?”]
That service turned out to be among the most moving I have ever attended. The physical conditions were hard, but everyone recognized the presence of the Spirit. We were reminded that “church” is not a physical place, but people brought together in the presence of God. Christianity was born in adversity, and perhaps it works at its best in the face of adversity.

But the story doesn’t end there. Thanks to Church Insurance and Father Van Sant’s untiring efforts, cleanup operations were underway within days of the storm, and a crew was tearing out wallboard, etc. Early that Sunday morning, one of the salvage workers had approached Father Van Sant with a question: did the Church have a discretionary fund?  Father Mark’s heart sank, because he assumed the worker was about to ask for money, and the  fund was empty. So he began to answer, “Yes, we have a Fund, but…” when the worker pulled out a wad of bills from his pocket. He said that he attended church regularity, but he was far from hone, and working every day. He was being paid $500 for the St. John’s job, and wanted to donate $50 to our Discretionary Fund. His only request was that Father Van Sant pray with him that morning.

As Father Mark was fond of saying, “God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good."

- John Brenner