大象传媒

When a drama strikes a community, the local vicar is often at the heart of bringing people together.

And that has certainly been the case in the Otter Valley in East Devon, where churches have been rallying around to help, following the devastating storm and floods.

In Feniton the team vicar, the Reverend Cate Edmonds, was faced with sorting out the clearing-up of the parish church.

But the clean-up extends far beyond the four walls.

The morning after

On the morning of 30 October 2008, Cate Edmonds donned her wellies and went to inspect the damage at Feniton Parish Church.

Cate must be a pillar of the community

The torrential weather overnight had left the building under two feet of water.

"I couldn't actually get into the church at first", said Cate. "The path was flooded and I didn't even know what I was walking on!

"I still don't quite know what I felt. I suppose it was a mixture of horror and shock. But we knew we just had to get on with it."

Insurance assessors estimated the potential cost at 拢200,000.

Churchwarden David Lanning was hopeful that all losses would be covered, and he said the message from the inspector was very positive.

"Before he'd even walked into the church he said the first thing he'd do was pay 拢5,000 into the church account, to deal with the costs of the immediate repairs."

The months beyond

For Cate, "getting on with it" meant a lot more than drying out furniture.

"We had 800 letters written to every house in the parish, to give our condolences and say to contact us if there's any help we could give.

The churchwarden knee-deep in floodwater

"Our Christian faith tells us that we should be out there helping people, even if it's just a cup of tea."

Cate also sent individualised cards to every house affected by flooding: "In one lady's house we've just been in, everything is gone.

"They've only just done up the bathroom. It was her pride and joy."

Cate observed that people were initially pragmatic about what had to be done, which left little time for sorrow.

"There was a lot of coping at the time, but it might be crumbling a little bit, now that reality is setting in."

Cate and David have also been speaking to children at the Church of England school in the village.

"Some of the children found it quite exciting, because it was different", explained Cate.

And according to David, many children have seized the chance to help others: "Some made cakes for their neighbours, and another made hot chocolate.

"Out of a class of 35, some 32 had been affected directly."

It's thought there will be no services at the church for some months. Services continue at Payhembury and Escot where Cate is also the team vicar.