|Photo by Emma Delk| Bethlehem Apostolic Temple member Greg Morgan organizes cleaning supplies for flood donations at the Dream Center Clothes Closet on Wednesday.

Bethlehem Apostolic Temple opened its doors Wednesday to provide aid to flood victims in the Ohio Valley from its food pantry and Dream Center Clothes Closet.

The church distributed food, clothes, and cleaning supplies to anyone impacted by the flash flooding on Saturday. Items were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis as long as supplies lasted.

Bishop Darrell Cummings, pastor of Bethlehem Apostolic Temple, was stationed at the Dream Center Clothes Closet on Wednesday, ready to hand out clothes and cleaning supplies. Church members assisted Cummings and his wife, Latisha Cummings, in organizing and handing out items.

“We traditionally try to help the community with several giveaways during the year,” Cummings said. “We think that the agencies helping with the recovery are doing a great job, and we just wanted to be of small assistance to them, especially those in our area.”

Clothes were available in a variety of sizes. Cleaning supplies included mops, brooms, disinfectant, sponges, buckets and bleach. Most of the items were paid for by church donations, with a portion also consisting of donations collected from congregation members.

“We just wanted to have this available just in case somebody needed help and weren’t able to make it to one of the bigger giveaways that are going on,” Cummings said. “We wanted them to be able to get help in their neighborhood. We know the importance of people getting the food, clothes and cleaning supplies they need, so we tried to be a one-stop shop for them.”

Cummings noted they were “extremely blessed” as the flooding impacted no congregation members. He added that church attendance last Sunday was low due to churchgoers living in areas with impacted streets.

“As far as loss of life or loss of property or anything like that, we were extremely blessed that nobody was affected in that way,” Cummings said. “Our heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones and their houses. We just want to be in the community to make a positive difference right now.”

Beyond helping the community in a time of need, Cummings said they were also motivated to provide aid because the church has received its fair share of flooding.

“One thing we know about at the Bethlehem Apolistic Temple is water,” Cummings joked. “We’ve been flooded a bunch of times and have had to replace things because of water damage. If we can alleviate any pain for people going through that, then we are happy to do that.”

A portion of the Bethlehem Apostolic Church basement was flooded last Sunday, but Cummings said no major damage occurred from the water. Cummings is concerned with the daycare area of the Dream Center that took on water during the flooding, which was discovered on Wednesday.

“We just did over $100,000 in remodeling at the Dream Center, and it seems like the daycare has taken on some water, but we don’t know where it came from,” Cummings said. “We’ll have to deal with that now.”

As the church works to dry out any items impacted by the basement flooding, Cummings said they would continue to provide donations to the community. Anyone can schedule an appointment to pick up food, clothes, or cleaning supplies from the church by calling 304-233-8899.

“The Ohio Valley is a wonderful community,” Cummings said. “I’m not saying we’re perfect, but I think that we care about each other and that we don’t want to see anybody in pain. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but every little bit helps, and so we’re trying to do our little bit.”