THE recent floods in Monmouth destroyed many homes and businesses, but in the centre of the devastation one church was left completely untouched. Was this a modern miracle or just good luck?

St Thomas’s Church in Overmonnow, may have been at the heart of some of the most severe flooding in Monmouth, but the church itself remained unscathed.

Rev’d Stuart Ghezzi who leads the congregation at St Thomas said, “I am not sure whether it was a miracle or whether it was luck, but seeing some of the devastation around us we are so grateful that we didn’t flood because it meant we were able to remain open and provide the people of Monmouth with a place of solace as we have always done.

“Being saved from the floods mean we can continue to be that place where people come at both happy and sad times.”

Rev’d Ghezzi said he had locked up as normal on the night of Friday, November 14 and having been evacuated from his own home and witnessed the town being deluged with water from the overflowing Monnow had fully expected to return the next day to find the church under water like so much of the area around it.

However arriving at the church he found it seemingly unaffected by the floods which raged all around.

He explained that while the church is slightly raised, nothing was put into place to prevent it from flooding and he was not aware of any drainage systems in place to help the water flow freely without finding its way inside.

While the church escaped the flood waters the nearby community hall Ty-Price did not fare as well and was badly impacted by the flooding as were so many homes on the same street. The hall, which is used for many community events, is now likely to be closed until Easter.

“We don’t know what is going to happen and what God’s plan is for us all, but I see it as a blessing because we can still be a focal point for the community and we can still hold baptisms, weddings, funerals as we have for so long, ” said Rev’d Ghezzi.

“When I was evacuated on the early hours of Saturday morning, I did look back on Cinderhill Street and wonder what we would be coming back to . When we were able to get into the church late on Saturday and see it had been unaffected, it felt like a bit of good news for us in the middle of the devastation all around,” he added.

Norman in origin the church of St Thomas may date back to as early as 1170 and was later dedicated to St Thomas a Beckett known to be the patron saint of those who work pastorally in parishes - so maybe someone was indeed looking down and the church was saved for a reason at a time when Monmouth needed all the help it could get.