< As home values crawl, farmland prices soar | Main | What it's like to be a waiter for a NYT food critic >

15 years after flood, ND church returns favor to Sandy-hit parish

Posted at 10:03 AM on November 14, 2012 by Nate Minor

In the wake of the historic 1997 Red River flood, St. Michael's in Long Branch, N.J. came to the aid of the similarly named St. Michael's Catholic Church in Grand Forks that suffered more than $4 million in damage.

This weekend, the North Dakota church passed the collection plate to help its one-time benefactor and namesake that was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy.

North Dakotans know a little bit about what it takes to recover from a disaster.

The Rev. William Sherman, now retired, was at St. Michael's [in Grand Forks] then and went to New Jersey to thank the people of Long Branch. When he heard about Hurricane Sandy's impact, he suggested a "payback" collection.

"We collected about $15,600, and the money is still coming in," Braun said. "I spoke with Father Chuck Weiser, the pastor there, and he was most grateful."

In addition to the money, the North Dakota parish says it is also sending the prayers of 1,000 parishioners.

So what does Long Branch look like now? Getty Images captured these images last week: