Western North Carolina church leaders share their compelling stories during PDA’s solidarity visit
Hit hard by Helene, Montreat Conference Center hosts dozens of faith leaders
MONTREAT, North Carolina — Meeting Wednesday at Montreat Conference Center, pastors and leaders in the Presbytery of Western North Carolina told Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and one another some of the stories of ministry that have occurred since Hurricane Helene struck the region hard Sept. 26-27.
General presbyter the Rev. Dr. Byron Wade said the presbytery is hiring a disaster recovery coordinator in the coming days. He introduced three people coordinating the response on behalf of the presbytery: the Rev. Julie Hester, relief coordinator for construction and cleanup; the Rev. Lance Perry, the relief coordinator for construction and cleanup; and Rachael Matthews, coordinator for spiritual care. Each of the four associates who serve their corner of the presbytery also spoke briefly.
“It’s difficult for people to say how they’re feeling,” said the Rev. Dr. Beverly Thompson. In Black Mountain, residents gathered this week to listen, hold hands and light candles. “We need to do more of that. We need to talk and listen to stories in small groups.”
“The work with the churches that are damaged will be to discern their future,” said Bob Ayala. “My challenge as an associate is that part of them want to move on and part of them want to rebuild. They’ve got to make their own decision, but you’ve got to be sensitive with time.”
“Each congregation in the impacted areas has relied on a core group of volunteers who are likely to need support in the coming months. People in impacted areas are taking stock and hearing each other’s stories,” said the Rev. Schaap Freeman. “Seeing the response has made me reflect on how valuable leadership is. The strength of being connected to each other gives pastors spiritual strength and resiliency.”
“This is really in our wheelhouse,” Freeman said. “We are good at reflecting and good at doing, and the community needs both. It’s what the church is all about. … My prayer is pastors can continue to serve in these strategic roles as communities figure out what’s next.”
The Rev. Tom Phillips said there’s “minimal” damage to the region he supports. “Churches in my area are ready to work,” Phillips said, “as soon as you tell them what to do.”
Montreat Conference Center President Richard DuBose recapped how Montreat has been a hub for housing relief workers. “The Cajun Navy has given way to the Cajun Army,” he said. More than a month after Helene, “We are still lodging disaster groups and supporting the town of Montreat,” whose town hall was flooded.
“We can’t decide if we can be a supporter or a supportee,” DuBose said. “We haven’t closed, but we aren’t programming normally. I can’t describe to you the gratitude we all feel for the number of people who have reached out to us. What we have seen with prayer and financial support has been amazing.”
“What you are experiencing is pretty typical of how things play out with a natural disaster. Neighborhoods and churches open up, and a lot of it happens organically,” said the Rev. Jim Kirk, Associate for National Disaster Response with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, which is participating in a solidarity visit with hurricane-affected mid councils and congregations. “People of faith who are called will do just what you’re doing, which is to say, ‘How can we be here for our community for the long term?’”
“Your community was impacted, and that impacts you. You’re living it,” he told faith leaders gathered in Upper Anderson at Montreat Conference Center. “Own that you were impacted, because if you don’t own it, it will own you. I’ve experienced that and I can’t emphasize it enough.”
“Take advantage of PDA’s resilience programs,” said the Rev. Edwin González-Castillo, PDA’s director. “If you get thirsty, it’s because you are already dehydrated.”
Church leaders shared stories of resilience and gratitude. John Hall, a commissioned pastor serving Micaville Presbyterian Church, said one group of neighbors dug the church bell out of the mud. Two Sundays later, the bell was clean and functioning in its traditional place in the bell tower. “The community cheered to hear the bell.”
“Good Samaritans have all kinds of political views,” he said. “They just come out and help and we are grateful for it.”
The Rev. Garland Honeycutt, stated pastor at Green Mountain Presbyterian Church, noted two church members were on a “60 Minutes” interview. “The building is almost 100 years old, and we are left with a lot of infrastructure needs,” Honeycutt said. During Helene, a six-foot wall of mud and sludge filled the church’s lower level, where classrooms, the fellowship hall and the church kitchen are. “’Old Faithful,’ the furnace, is with the Lord now,” Honeycutt said. The church parking lot, which had been recently paved, is now in the river.
Buladean Presbyterian Church, which Honeycutt also serves, “has welcomed Green Mountain with open arms, so we are pausing worship at Green Mountain until spring.” In the meantime, people at the Green Mountain church will “have spiritual conversations about assessing our next steps.”
The Rev. Merri Alexander, the transitional pastor at Marshall Presbyterian Church, said floodwaters “didn’t touch the grand piano or the paraments or the gold cross on the communion table. But everything else is gone.”
A number of nonprofit organizations use the church building, and they showed up in the days after the storm to pitch in and help.
“I am a part-time transitional pastor who lives 45 minutes from the church,” which is blessed by “an incredible session of five people who have that Appalachian can-do spirit,” Alexander said. “We are indeed grateful to PDA and for all the support we have received from institutions in the area. … Maybe we can invite you to the reopening of the church in 2025.”
“We used to endeavor to be the hands and feet of Christ. Now we recognize we are that,” said the Rev. Rob Warren of First Presbyterian Church in Marion. “We are finding and moving resources to where other people need them.” The church decided to give a relief agency the use of its fellowship hall through the end of the year, which means the cancellation of some significant events including the church’s Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
At First Presbyterian Church of Spruce Pine, the Rev. Michael Poulos said the first Sunday the church worshiped following the storm, “I was in an hour early and a group of folks had cleared our lot. I didn’t know where they were from.” It turned out they are “wonderful folks from the eastern part of the state.”
Then members of PDA’s National Response Team showed up.
“I had wanted this to be a time to share and process our experience as a congregation. I was worried about inviting these folks to join us,” he said. “The PDA folks said, ‘What can we do to help?’ They arranged furniture, listened and took pictures. They were exactly the non-anxious caring presence we needed at that time, and I will always be grateful for that.”
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is one of the Compassion, Peace & Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. You can donate to help with the hurricane response of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance by clicking here.
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