"There were miracles all over. Trees fell away from churches."

Letty Collins, business manager of the Diocese of North Carolina, reported that the churches under her watch had come through Hurricane Fran Sept. 6 without major damage. At the diocesan office in Raleigh, Penelope Olson said the Monday afterward, "It was a fearsome storm! I'd forgotten how awesome hurricanes can be."

Fran was a huge storm that cut a wide swath along the coastal islands and inland where hurricanes aren't common. But Episcopal churches seem to have escaped structural damage as well as flooding.

"We must build on high ground," said Dick Harold, a longtime member of Church of the Servant in Wilmington in the Diocese of East Carolina. He had stopped by to use the church's phone; his own service was still out.

"People stayed here during the storm," he said. "The church came through in great shape. The biggest thing is trees down."

The new church building was to be dedicated the next week. "Fr. (Joseph) Cooper's house had about 18 inches of water. He lives in Wrightsville Beach, between the ocean and the bay. And part of his roof disappeared." A woman parishioner, he said, was evicted from her rented apartment after it was virtually destroyed.

Virginia Hardy, at Church of the Servant said, "The beaches were hit pretty hard. But the church is fine, and there was no loss of life in the parish."

The secretary at St. John's, Wilmington, was able to chuckle as she said, "My house is trashed. But we're all healthy - that's what's important. There are 18 huge trees down [on the church grounds], but only minimal damage to the church. Fr. (Robert) Banse is at home with no electricity or phone."

At St. Philip's, Southport, the Rev. Robert Beasley also reported "no major damage. Most storms put us on their left side - that's the better side."

At St. James', Wilmington, Judy Schlichter spoke not of the church but of the city. "It was really bad," she said. "All the agencies are stretched to the limit. The lines at the supermarket for water and ice are just heartbreaking. Then Sunday, the thunderstorm hit, with six more inches of rain.

"Most people at St. James have resources. People without resources were hit hardest."

The Rev. Canon E.T. Malone, communications officer of the Diocese of North Carolina, said churches there "by and large dodged the bullet. Services were disrupted, but were carried on without organs and lights." Trees had fallen on roofs and "historic iron fences. A half million people are still without electricity" on the Tuesday following the storm, which left "a wide path of destruction from Wilmington north to Virginia."

He mentioned a "heartwarming sight - a caravan of electric [repair] trucks from Little Rock, Arkansas, some from Louisiana."

The dioceses of Washington and Maryland reported flooding that "made rush hour quite a mess," but had not affected church property. But Fran Brown, in the Baltimore office of the Diocese of Maryland, will be happy to see this hurricane forgotten. "Everyone's been yelling at me!" she said.