Upper Milford Church Opens its Doors to the Cold and Hungry

About a dozen or so Upper Milford Township residents are getting a reprieve from the dark and cold today, thanks to the hospitality of , 5901 Kings Highway South. And, that hospitality will continue for the duration, according to Rev. Martin Milne, Zion's Lutheran pastor, who says that those in need of a warm place to sleep should bring pillows and blankets with them since the church has no cots.

The families seeking shelter in the church today are enjoying a lunch of hot French onion soup made by Milne, and taking advantage of the the church's Wi-Fi to access the Internet and order things like propane heaters and generators.

Since power returned to Zionsville and Old Zionsville Monday morning, Milne decided to open the church as a "warming center" for residents of Upper Milford Township and the surrounding area, many of whom have been without electric since Saturday.

Milne contacted Emmaus Patch before 9 a.m. on Monday to enlist Patch’s help in getting the word out. The church has power, heat, coffee and food, he said.

It’s been difficult to let people know about the warming center, since cell phones have been spotty since Saturday’s storm, people don’t have access to the Internet and some people are without their landlines too, Milne says.

According to the PPL Web site, as of about 1:30 p.m. on Monday, there are 2,219 customers in Upper Milford Township without power and 6,438 customers in the Borough of Emmaus without electricity.

As of about 1 p.m. PPL was estimating 11 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3 for power to come back up in Vera Cruz. Residents of Emmaus Borough are still hopeful that power will return Monday night at 11 p.m.