Missouri and Kentucky among states still reeling from mid-May tornadoes
Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church in St. Louis ‘a total loss,’ but gratitude abounds
LOUISVILLE — A Presbyterian church in St. Louis was destroyed by a rash of deadly and destructive weather last month that is continuing to have repercussions on the Midwest and South but also has led to a compassionate outpouring in various states.
Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church, home to a historically African American congregation in St. Louis, within the Presbytery of Giddings Lovejoy, was severely damaged by a deadly May 16 tornado that was part of an outbreak that had a major impact on the area and led to the deaths of at least five people.
The church was “just torn apart,” and “we’re devastated for them and the congregation,” said the Rev. Elizabeth Kanerva, associate presbytery leader.
Indeed, the church itself is “a total loss, and this is a building that's over 80 years old,” said the Rev. Douglass Petty, interim pastor of Cote Brilliant. But he is thankful that an office administrator, who experienced the tornado from her car after just having left the building, was unharmed and that the congregation has been able to continue worshipping elsewhere.
“Look at God's hand. … His hand is all over this, obviously,” Petty said, repeating something that he’s been reminding his congregation.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has deployed a team to the area and awarded grants to help address needs in Missouri and other states, such as Kentucky, that were affected by destructive weather that affected a large swath of the country and impacted at least three presbyteries, including Giddings Lovejoy, Transylvania and Middle Tennessee, said the Rev. Dr. Jim Kirk, PDA’s associate for U.S. disaster response.
Second Presbyterian Church, another church in the Giddings Lovejoy presbytery, sustained damage to its roof and an architectural tower, but church officials are confident the building will be restored and some roof patching already has been done. Meanwhile, there were houses that were “reduced to rubble or have a whole wall blown out,” said Barbara Willock, Parish Associate at Second Presbyterian.
The same weekend, Kentucky was hit by tornadic activity that was particularly devastating to the south-central part of the state. Six tornadoes touched down and at least 19 people were killed (mostly in Laurel County) in the May 16-17 storms, according to the governor’s office.
First Presbyterian Church of London and First Presbyterian Church of Somerset were spared and have been helping others in the community through the tough process of recovery, from distributing goods to hosting volunteers.
“We’ve heard stories that break your heart and make you cry,” said Elder Marian Davis of FPC London. “You hear stories of grace from God and protection and salvation. It’s really affected this community in a spiritual way.”
Transylvania Presbytery and PDA have been in close contact with those in the area, and FPC Somerset has hosted a group called All Hands and Hearts.
“It's great that the Presbyterian churches could open because when the groups arrive to support the local communities … one main thing they need is a place to stay,” said Jim Garrett, a PDA National Response Team member and Transylvania’s work site coordinator. Also, “it helps the churches think about hosting them for long-term recovery, when groups will come back to help repair and rebuild the homes that were damaged.”
PDA will continue to be of support too. “Ministry of presence is critically important to express the care and concern of Presbyterian siblings around the country and to walk alongside impacted communities, assuring them that they're not alone,” Kirk said.
For Cote Brilliante, the loss of the building has been softened by being able to move its services to First Presbyterian Church of Ferguson, Missouri — an arrangement that Petty hopes will be a long-term one — and to be part of an effort by North Star Community Partners, which has distributed goods, such as food, water, diapers and personal items, from the Cote Brilliante parking lot.
At various sites, “the community has certainly come out to try to do things to be able to be helpful,” Petty said. “But as you know, the challenge will be the sustainability over an extended amount of time because this is not a one-week, two-week, three-week thing. We're looking at a couple of years to try to regain stability.”
Kanerva noted the “long road ahead” and spoke of the need to consider “how do they as a church and we as Presbyterians come around this community of what we call the north city area that has long been an underserved community,” with many people who are under insured or uninsured.
Kanerva and her husband were themselves displaced by the tornado and are staying with friends following damage to their apartment building. “I don't need to experience an EF3 tornado ever again,” she said.
However, “I’m not worried about us,” she added. “I'm worried about our sisters and our brothers who are just maybe even a half a mile away” in the underserved community.
She is grateful for the help of PDA and its National Response Team and the support they’ve provided through the recent deployment.
“We intentionally invited the PDA response team to come in,” she said. “I'm just very grateful to have the leaders here in town to be resourcing us and giving us good advice on next steps, and they're making some important connections on my behalf. … It’s nice to have some other folks just sort of lending a hand in the leadership. And I'm so grateful for that.”
The spirit of partnership is also present in Kentucky. For FPC London, that has included giving out toiletries, food and other essentials and hosting a group called Crisis Response International, which has been part of the recovery and clean-up effort in the area, Davis said.
Volunteers have come from various states, including North Carolina. “We had a woman that had driven all day from Minnesota to come. Lots of people from Georgia, Tennessee, all around, and then, of course, a lot of local people” from inside and outside the church, “went out and did clean up and offered comfort,” Davis said.
She added: “Our church has done a tremendous amount of good to the community, and it's been a very sad (experience), but a very fulfilling thing for our church to be involved in, and we've had lots of support from Presbyterian churches across the state and other states.”
To support Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s response, go here, using account DR000200.
PDA is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Interim Unified Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
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