Milton/Campus Updates
Update: October 23, 2024 @ 9AM EST
It was wonderful to see folks back in worship Sunday!
We are open again! Thank you to Scott, our facilities team, many volunteers and the ATI Storm Recovery Team for moving so quickly to get us back up to speed. The church office has reopened but the entrance is now through the youth room until renovations are completed. We have put signage out front to help you find your way.
We were able to open our Anona Child Development Center last week and this week the Academy has reopened as well. If you have students taking music lessons, they are meeting in their usual space, but may only be accessed via the Contemporary Worship Center not the glass hallway. Enter through the youth room to access the Contemporary Worship Center
If you have a class or small group that meets on campus, make sure you check with your group leader(s) about meeting locations and best entrances. We may have to make further changes, so continue to stay posted on our website, social media and emails for updates as we move toward construction and repairs once our insurance adjuster has approved us to move forward.
Finally, the storms have delayed several things and forced changes for others. Remember that our Halloween Town Event has been cancelled but we are still doing the food collection! There is even more need than normal as a result of the storm, so swing by the church this coming Friday from 6 pm to 7 pm and drop off your bags of food. Canned proteins are especially needed. Our stewardship materials are also delayed at the printer, so keep you eyes out for that in the coming weeks.
We will continue to collect for disaster response and recovery for the foreseeable future. Look for the pink envelopes in worship again this Sunday and you can also visit anona.com/give to contribute.
We’ll keep you posted as things progress! Until then, enjoy the cooler weather (my gift from my Tennessee vacation)!
Yours in the Journey,
Richard
Previous Updates
Update: October 19, 2024 @ 4PM EST
Anona Family,
I just finished walking the campus one more time and the workers are wrapping up the demolition. They're removing all of their equipment and will return later to transition to renovation. I also just talked with Jonathan as our server, internet and phones have only been working off and on all week. Good news! They are repaired and we are up and running as of 2:30 today!
Sunday we will have worship for both traditional services (8:15 and 11:00), contemporary (9:30) and Anona Kids (9:30). Sunday school class leaders have been informed of room changes and there will be a golf cart to help people transition from worship to the Fast Crowd Class (Thank you Jac'line and Tammy!) in the chapel building.
Reminder, we will still have our church conference meeting at 2:00 and everyone is invited to join us in the traditional sanctuary for this meeting where we share our vision for 2025, nominate new leadership for the coming year, and set salaries among other things.
I'm looking forward to seeing you all at worship!
Grace and Peace,
Richard
Update: October 17, 2024 @ 9AM EST
Anona Family,
Things continue to move along! Our preschool and aftercare ministries are back in full swing. Our choir was here last night rehearsing for Sunday. Tonight our contemporary worship band will be rehearsing. We are getting set for Sunday worship and hope to see you there! To help you find entrances for the traditional and contemporary worship areas, we are attaching a map of the campus showing the available entrances.
The team is stretched thin because we do not have a central location for our hospitality center. If you can help out by serving coffee and donuts or serving as a greeter before or after any of our services, please contact Jackie@anona.com - we could really use your help!
Some of the offices for staff have been flooded with sewage, so please give us a little time and grace to figure out where everyone will be located. Our phone system only recently came up so we are only now starting to get messages that have been left over the past week (something we will have to address in the event another moment like this occurs).
The demo team will begin removing drywall in the affected areas today, and we are waiting for an adjuster to give us the go-ahead to begin actual repairs. Just want to emphasize that things may be a bit out of sorts for a while for our regular ministries on campus. Groups will be informed as we can accommodate them. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the church.
As always, if you need support, please let us know. We are discovering that several families in our Anona Child Development Center are facing struggles with their homes and loss of jobs. There is so much need.
If you can help with clean-up or are available for other assistance activities, send us an email at diasaterresponse@anona.com. If you can help financially, visit our website https://www.anona.com/give, visit the church or mail a check and put “Disaster Response” in the note of the check.
Looking forward to seeing you Sunday!
Richard
Update: October 16, 2024 @ 11AM EST
Anona Family
First...the power was turned on Tuesday evening and our air conditioners and tech appear to be in good shape. Worship, Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry is on for Sunday and kids are back in our Anona Child Development Center today!!!
While the church side of the campus remains closed this week, we will have all of our worship services in their normal locations Sunday morning. Fortunately, every sanctuary was untouched by the sewage overflow we experienced during Hurricane Milton. However, the lobby, front offices, room 110 and glass hallway all remain closed and will stay closed until demo and construction are complete. For those of you who normally hold classes in room 110, Jean is working on relocating your groups, and we will be in contact with you on your new location.
Second, I want to thank the 60+ people who showed up to clean the exterior of the campus! We would not have been able to welcome children back on campus today without you! I had no idea that we could get the entire campus cleaned up, including the playgrounds, within four hours time! If anyone wants to come by and look at the amount of debris these folks cleaned up, feel free to drive through the campus parking lot safely. It is truly amazing and I cannot thank you all enough.
Third, the restoration team from ATI is continuing their demo work. The carpet is torn up from the lobby, glass hallway, and front office. They will be moving to address the drywall in all of those areas next.
Fourth, we will have new signage identifying where to enter the worship service you attend as the lobby area is closed. Look for banners and A-Frame signs to guide you. We are also working on a campus map that we hope to send you soon that will show entrances.
Fifth, thank you to our call team that has been and continues to reach out to as many folks as possible to check on Anona families. Our mission's team is continuing to gather information on people that may need help as a result of the storm and we are working to send teams to homes. We will be taking a special offering this Sunday and in the weeks to come to put to work helping folks in our area and beyond.
Finally, now that the power is on and things are starting to settle down here and in most of our Anona family's homes, I will be heading back home within the next day or so. I want to thank everyone who stopped by to say "Hi," drop off Oreos (SO MANY OREOS), and meals. The love and kindness of our church family never ceases to amaze me.
Yours in the Journey,
Richard
Update: October 12, 2024 @ 2PM EST
Anona Family,
Everyone is invited to come to the campus for one or both events below.
Anona Family Gathering
Join Richard and your Anona family on campus tonight at 6:30 pm on the Indian Rocks side of the church to connect with your friends. Look for Richard’s camper.
Church Gathering and Clean-up
Join us anytime from 8am-noon Sunday morning to meet with your Anona family. If you are able to help with clean-up, bring gloves, rakes, shovels, water, pruner, and other such items. We hope to get the campus ready for worship next week.
All are welcome! Even if you’d rather socialize than clean up. We’d love to see you!
For both events:
Make sure to bring a lawn chair and non-alcoholic beverages.
Please come prepared to have no access to the restrooms. :) Thank you, Milton.
You are not alone, we love you. Look forward to seeing you soon!
Stay tuned for more updates!
Update: October 11, 2024 @ 1PM EST
Anona Family,
I continue to celebrate that I am not aware of anyone suffering from injury as a result of Hurricane Milton from the Anona community. That said, please continue to unite in prayer for those who have suffered loss for those all who are facing daunting recovery efforts.
One day further into discovery regarding the Anona campus, things are more serious than we were initially able to determine. Three major things are impacting our ability to open the campus at this time.
1. Part of the flooding we experienced was not just water, it was sewage.
2. While we have electrical power, the main buildings only have 110 power, which means no air conditioning.
3. There is ongoing sewage back-flow outside at the back of the campus and we are being asked to minimize use of restrooms.
As a result, the campus will remain closed until all three of these situations can be addressed. We have informed the City of Largo (sewer) and Duke Energy (power) of the circumstances. We also already have a restoration company on campus working in cleaning up the affected interior spaces. We will continue to keep you posted on developments and let you know when the campus is open and it is safe to return.
There will be no in-person worship this coming Sunday, October 13th. You are welcome to join us online where I will share a bit, and we have selected a service from our COVID days to broadcast after I finish. All three worship times will be broadcast (8:15, 9:30 and 11:00).
I want to thank the many people that have reached out to offer to help others in the midst of the recovery. I’m hearing stories of neighbors checking on neighbors, neighbors helping neighbors, and a general “we will get through this together with God’s help” approach. You are each a gift, and I can’t wait to be able to see you again soon.
I’ll be on campus in my camper beginning this evening. I truly want you to stop by and check in, especially if you need to talk.
Know that the prayers of our staff and leadership are with you all.
Grace and Peace Be With You,
Richard
Update: October 10, 2024 @ 1PM EST
We hope everyone has come through this storm and is doing well. If you need emergency help or have experienced damage to your home, click here for local resources and help.
We realize that many people are without power at this time. The good news is the church has power. The not-so-good news is that much of the church's interior was flooded. We are working quickly to get the church open to serve as a cooling and charging station. The church remains closed at this time, do not come on campus. Please continue to monitor our website and social media for ongoing updates.
If you are able to help with Anona serving as cooling and charging station, email disasterresponse@anona.com.
We will work on providing disaster response teams in the future.
Our prayers continue to be with you all.
Updated: October 6, 2024
Anona Family,
As you all are aware, our area is in the projected path of Hurricane Milton. We want to encourage you to begin preparing now for its impact. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of evacuating areas that Pinellas County identifies as mandatory evacuation zones. We have seen what a glancing blow can do with the recent impact of Hurricane Helene. If this is a direct- or near-impact, it will be far worse. Stay safe. We are not taking this storm lightly and do not wish you to do so either.
Links to help you prepare and know what to expect are available by clicking HERE.
In preparation for Hurricane Milton the Anona campus, including the Anona Child Development Center, will be shut down beginning tomorrow (Monday). Do not come to the campus until we have announced that it is safe and open. The reopening of the campus will be determined by the impact of the storm on the church and availability of electricity. We will use our website, social media outlets, and emails to try and communicate with you throughout this time.
If the church has power after the storm, we have coordinated with Pinellas County Emergency Management and could be asked to serve as a cooling and charging station for our area. If we are asked, that means you would be able to come to the campus to cool off and charge your phones and devices to help you stay in contact with loved ones as well as connect with emergency and recovery resources if you have no power at your home.
If you are able to help staff the church if we are asked to be a cooling/charging station, please email us at disasterresponse@anona.com. We realize things may change, but would like to have a list ahead of the storm to help us coordinate this effort.
In the event of a direct- or near-impact, the storm will likely stretch the church beyond our capability to help individuals with their homes in the immediate aftermath. For years, we have gone to help other areas. This could be the time we depend on others coming to help us. That said, as soon as it is safe, I (Richard) will be staying at the church in my camper (it is bright and shiny) if you need to talk or if we are a cooling/charging station for the community to allow us to stay open into the evenings.
Please be in prayer for any who may be affected by this storm, and, once again, please take whatever steps are necessary to stay safe.
Richard, Jeremy and Scott