St. John's Downtown Church

Carlos Antonio Rios / Chronicle

Days before Hurricane Rita struck, Lakewood Church decided to cancel weekend services so the staff would be able to evacuate.

CHURCHES

Evacuation, outages put an emphasis on the basics

There was no orchestra at Second Baptist Church. The choir chairs were empty. The television camera was unmanned. The two big screens that usually bear the image of the Rev. Ed Young as he preaches were dark.

Using a rigged sound system from the sanctuary floor of the church's Woodway campus, to which power was restored late Saturday, Young got the 9:30 a.m. service started by leading Amazing Grace with a simple piano accompaniment.

"I can tell you we do not depend on earthly power to run the body of Christ and we do not depend on earthly stuff to put our lives in order," Young said in his sermon.

Like churches throughout Greater Houston, Second Baptist's attendance was down as residents stayed out of town or were busy cleaning up after the storm. Rather than the roughly 5,300 who normally pack the service, only about half arrived.

Elsewhere, the number of services was reduced at many churches. Often, there were no bulletins, no Bible study and no nursery service. Church picnics were canceled.

Some churches — including America's largest, Lakewood Church — closed their doors altogether.

Lakewood decided earlier in the week to cancel services to give staff a chance to evacuate.

"I think we anticipated something that was going to be so much greater that we didn't think people were going to come out to services in floods," said church spokesman Don Iloff Jr. "You have to make these calls early."

Others welcomed anyone seeking to find meaning in natural disaster, a place to be thankful for safety or a return to the routine of life.

"We are a small and hearty assembly here this morning to hear words of praise and thanks, and perhaps, if we did not fare too well, lament," said Coadjutor Archbishop Daniel DiNardo, opening the 11 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral.

Throughout the city, the chatter in the pews focused on traffic jams, power outages and food.

But from the pulpits, preachers such as Young said the one-two punch of Katrina and Rita could be seen as a sign from God.

Young focused on the importance of setting priorities in life and putting God first. But he also condemned the gambling industries devastated by Katrina and Rita.

"I don't know, but I think it may be a cleansing time," Young said before the service. "It is a reminder that He is in control."

There was a similar message at Windsor Village United Methodist Church, where the normal schedule was consolidated into an 8 a.m. service that nearly packed the main sanctuary at 6000 Heatherbrook.

Assistant Pastor Robert Johnson received loud applause when he noted that Rita "was supposed to hit Houston, but it turned toward casinos. There might be a message in there somewhere."

Grace Community Church, which draws many Clear Lake residents to its Gulf Freeway facility, saw a major drop in attendance. Normally, "we have 4,000 to 5,000 on Sunday," Pastor Steve Riggle said. "We will be fortunate if there are 1,000 people today."

His 9 a.m. service alone usually attracts 1,700, but only about 400 turned up Sunday.

John and Patricia Norton said they left Houston at about 10 p.m. Tuesday to find shelter near Texarkana and returned Friday evening. "We prayed over our home and over all the people that were fleeing before we left," John Norton said.

"God definitely turned the storm," Patricia Norton said. "We had all kinds of people praying over the city. You can see where he turned it."

Riggle used the storm as the basis of a sermon outlining spiritual lessons learned from crises.

Many area churches combined or canceled services. First United Methodist Church canceled its three downtown services in favor of its Westchase campus. First Presbyterian Church merged its five services into a single 11 a.m. service. Second Baptist Church in Baytown, canceled its two Sunday services.

Downtown at St. John United Methodist Church, the Rev. Rudy Rasmus waited out the storm with about 65 homeless Houstonians.