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Church in Wal-Mart opens to evacuees

In a renovated Wal-Mart, the church makes plans for many fleeing Hurricane Frances until worshipers step in and take them into their homes instead.

PINELLAS PARK - Less than a week after moving into a renovated Wal-Mart store, Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg sent word to fellow believers along Florida's east coast that it would welcome anyone fleeing the fury of Hurricane Frances.

The congregation of more than 3,000 had just finished transforming the former discount store, at 8900 U.S. 19 N, into an all-encompassing network of classrooms, offices, nurseries, youth rooms, worship space, bookstore and lobby featuring a cafe and grill.

And as Frances bore down on Florida, church officials recognized that the 148,000-square-foot building would make an excellent refuge. After all, its walls practically constitute a fortification.

Although Calvary welcomed evacuees, it didn't need to use the church itself in the end. Instead, dozens of worshipers opened their own homes to east coast families.

Had it been necessary, the church would have been well suited. Ed Ruland of Arc-Fusion Inc., the Oldsmar architectural firm that designed the space, said the building's original Wal-Mart walls are 12 inches thick. Normal concrete block walls, he said, measure 8 inches. Furthermore, Ruland said, Calvary Chapel's new home has hurricane-resistant windows, required under current building codes.

Thursday, Janice Gilson joined Maggie Seddio and other church volunteers to coordinate Calvary's efforts on behalf of those escaping the dangerous storm. Gilson said the church's new campus, as was its former facility, a former Winn-Dixie in the Mainlands shopping center across the street at 9021 U.S. 19, is a designated Red Cross shelter.

For Hurricane Frances, though, Calvary was not asked to serve as a Red Cross shelter, Gilson said. But the Rev. Danny Hodges decided to open his church to fellow believers at Calvary Chapels from Merritt Island south to just north of Fort Lauderdale.

In Pinellas Park on Thursday morning, church leaders called an emergency meeting. They formed a plan to designate classrooms for the east coast visitors, organized volunteers to answer church phones around the clock and assemble care packages with air mattresses, sleeping bags, linens and other necessities.

But Calvary's new home was never used as a shelter this time. Instead, about 35 church families responded to an earlier call for hosts and offered to take in the hurricane refugees. About three dozen believers from the east coast, including a pastor and his family, accepted the hospitality, Gilson said.

Friday afternoon, Hodges shut down the operation at the church.

"We still do have about 20 to 25 families still available," Gilson said.