Old First Presbyterian Church:
Sharing God’s Love, Welcome, and Justice
On Our Corner, in Our City, And in the World
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July 5, 2025
Mike Ferguson
Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE — While search and rescue efforts continued Saturday following Friday’s devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country, staff at Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly, after ensuring their guests were safe and after the facility’s closure, were exploring ways to help their neighbors in Kerrville, Texas.
Without power or cell service, Mo-Ranch remained closed on Saturday and will remain closed until further notice. “We deeply appreciate all of the concern and well wishes we have received from the Mo family today,” Mo-Ranch said in a statement, “and assure you that every guest, camper and employee at Mo-Ranch is safe and accounted for.”
According to The Associated Press, destructive fast-moving waters along the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes before dawn Friday. As of Sunday afternoon, the storm had killed 79 people, with more than 40 people still missing.
At least one Presbyterian died in the floodwaters. Mission Presbytery reported that Jane Ragsdale, a ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville, died in the flooding. She was camp director at Heart O’ the Hills Camp for Girls in Hunt, Texas. The Kerrville Daily Times noted she was a camper and counselor at the camp during the 1970s and became co-owner in 1976 and camp director in 1988. The Heart O’ the Hills website describes Ragsdale as “the heart and soul” of the camp. “She embodied the spirit of Heart O’ the Hills and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls entrusted to us each summer,” Heart O’ the Hills said in a statement.
Lisa Winters, Director of Communications and Community Relations at Mo-Ranch, was on Saturday afternoon preparing to visit the facility that is closed to the public. Beginning Thursday night, plans were being made to ensure everyone would be safe on Friday, Winters said.
“We were blessed by proactive leadership that didn’t take any risks,” she said.
At 1 o’clock Friday morning, Mo-Ranch President and CEO Tim Huchton was, along with others who live on the property, on the riverbank gathering kayaks, canoes and other items that would otherwise have been washed away. Two hours later, a youth group staying at River Ground near the river was moved by staff to higher ground.
By 7 o’clock Friday morning, staff assured guests staying in hotel rooms they would be safe and that staff would continue to monitor the situation. Staff called parents of campers to let them know their children were safe and they’d be staying with them until parents arrived, however long it took.
Two families couldn’t get out because of road closures, but Mo-Ranch “has plenty of food” for them, Winters said, and hospitality was being extended. Huchton reported “an outpouring of compliments” directed toward Mo-Ranch staff, Winters said.
Some of the hotel rooms received flood damage, and there is debris to clean up, but no serious damage to Mo-Ranch buildings, Winters said.
Many of Mo-Ranch’s 83 full-time staff have been finding ways to help their Kerrville neighbors affected by the floodwaters. “Their hearts are bleeding for the community,” Winters said. “They are looking for ways they can help.”
The Dietert Center, a senior center in Kerrville that provides meal deliveries and other valuable services to residents, is one such facility Mo-Ranch staff seek to help in their time of need. Onsite programs at the Dietert Center have been suspended for the time being.
A robust response from the Synod of the Sun
The Rev. Kathy Lee Cornell, the Synod of the Sun’s disaster response manager, said the floodwaters have impacted both Mission and Tres Rios presbyteries. “We have developed this network which is doing what it was designed to do: to be caring and responsive and to walk alongside our partners,” she said.
“I am a mother, and my heart is breaking,” she said. “I feel for the families waiting to hear whether their children have been found.”
Cornell said conversations are underway with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance over sending an emotional care team into the affected area. “We want to pay attention to how folks are processing and grieving this event,” she said. “We are monitoring, and we will share any information we learn and provide resources when they are needed.”
In 2022, a partnership was formed for mutual help following disasters in the 11 presbyteries that comprise the Synod of the Sun. “This event has demonstrated how those intentional connections and relationships and conversations we have had over and over again about preparation and response are evidence this ministry is important,” Cornell said.
One in three of the billion-dollar or more disasters that occur in the United States happen within the bounds of the Synod of the Sun — Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Schreiner University houses the displaced
The president of Schreiner University in Kerrville, Dr. Charlie McCormick, reported the university lodged some campers who had to be evacuated. Staff "created a space where some very fragile girls who had been through hell could find peace and a place to sleep," McCormick said in an email. "Throughout the night they kept watch, managing the despair of families desperately seeking information on their missing loved ones and the extraordinary reunion of each camper with her family. Some 50 first responders stayed on campus that evening, too, grabbing a few hours of sleep before leaving again for the rescue and recovery work." The need soon shifted to housing utility workers and other personnel sent to help the Hill Country "try to stitch itself back together," McCormick wrote. "We will turn the campus into a community resource and tend to our friends and neighbors in their hours of need."
The Rev. Dr. Dongwoo Lee, Schreiner University chaplain, contributed a prayer that included this: "We will lift our eyes to you, not because we understand all things, but because you are the One who walks with us through deep waters. ... May prayer guide what we do. May compassion shape how we serve. And as students, faculty, and staff care for others, may they also experience hope and strength that come from you."
Mission Presbytery issued this prayer:
Good and Gracious God,
We come before you with humble hearts, overwhelmed by the catastrophic floods in parts of our Mission Presbytery and beyond.
We thank you for the lives saved in the midst of this devastation.
We grieve with those who have lost their loved ones. Comfort and console them, O God!
We pray for those who have lost their homes, businesses, and cherished belongings.
Hear our prayers, O Lord!
As the community prepares to rebuild, we pray for strength and resilience.
Grant us all a generous heart, so that we may rally the resources needed to rebuild our flooded communities.
We trust in your faithfulness, dear God, even in the midst of devastation.
Bless all who work for relief and restoration. And may your peace, which passes understanding, guard the hearts and minds of those who suffer.
May our response reflect your love for all people and all creation, and thus bring honor and glory to your holy name.
We pray all these in the name of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord!
Amen!
Go here to donate to disaster relief for U.S. flooding. Funds in this account will help communities’ overall relief and recovery efforts associated with flooding to include assessments, clean-up efforts, and rebuilding. Your prayers and faithful giving are deeply appreciated.
Notable Women of Old First: Profiles of Six Women Leaders of the Church
Many thanks to all those who worked on the Notable Women of Old First booklet, especially Parish Associate Erwin Barron. This booklet teaches us about six women leaders at Old First who have served Christ and led the church's ministry in San Francisco, the U.S., and beyond.
To view or even print a copy, simply click here to open a "pdf" version of the booklet. Alternatively, you can contact the church office to have a hardcopy sent to you or some who would be interested by clicking here.
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