The Rev. Bart Barber has gone through it already, but the process of opening the church where he serves as pastor to those affected by the winter storm of 2021 presented some special challenges.

Barber, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Farm­ersville, is running a warming shelter for anyone who needs relief from the bitter cold. Even though this isn’t the first time he has answered the shelter­ing call, this instance presents a unique set of issues, Barber said.

“COVID has presented some special problems for us,” Bar­ber said. “It has made things a bit different,” he continued, from earlier shelter efforts that involved FBC-Farmersville. The pastor said the church opened its doors to care for victims of a 2013 North Texas ice storm and then for those af­fected by a 2016 tornado. The tornado incident, he said, “was the most intense of them. We had a gymnasium full of dona­tions.”

Barber has served as senior pastor at FBC-Farmersville for 22 years.

For the full story, see the Feb. 25 issue or subscribe online.

By John Kanelis • [email protected]