MARRERO (WGNO) — Emergency workers have been working tirelessly taking care of others in the aftermath of Ida, but a Pastor on the Westbank has stepped in to help them take care of their damaged homes.
“We want to be that light in the darkness and I encourage our church family to just be the light,” Pastor Shannon Foote at Grace Baptist Church in Marrero said.
For many times are dark right now in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, but Pastor Shannon Foote is being that ray of light.
“We are giving of our time, our talents, our treasures,” he said.
Pastor Shannon is a chaplain with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and decided to lend a helping hand to emergency responders—EMS, Fire, Police, and all other Law Enforcement who may need help due to Ida damage on their own homes.
“We are putting up tarps for leaks. Just trying to alleviate some of the stress on them. Take concerns off their minds. They are people too. They’ve got lives, but they are setting that aside for the good of the community and we want to be there for them,” he said.
Many might be surprised to know that a Pastor can be a roofer too.
“A man in our church when I was a teenager hired me for my first job and taught me how to nail shingles. I would’ve never thought that would be a way that I’d be able to benefit others in a time of disaster,” he said.
For Emergency workers they can now feel some light in the darkness all because of Pastor Shannon and his team of do-gooders, and now luckily light won’t be shining through those holes in their roofs.
Grace Baptist Church is also offering cleaning supplies, canned goods, clothes and shoes to anyone who may need them. The church is located at 5000 Leo Kerner Parkway in Marrero.