Determined Episcopal Church in Jackson, TN, Plans to Rebuild on Site Ravaged by Tornadoes

Memphis, TN, Commercial Appeal ^ | 05-24-03 | Jones, Jacinthia

[Theodore R.]

After tornado's wrath, love rushes in God-fearing folks pick up the piecesto rebuild

By Jacinthia Jones jjones@gomemphis.com May 24, 2003

Worship services at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in downtown Jackson, Tenn., have been moved to the church parish hall. Sunday school classes have been canceled indefinitely.

Nearby, Mother Liberty CME Church is holding its services across town at Lane College.

The churches, along with several other area churches damaged during the May 4 tornado and the subsequent thunderstorms and hail that pounded Jackson, are still calculating the repair costs to their congregations.

Church sanctuaries don't qualify for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, other church facilities such as day cares or senior centers could qualify if they are "primarily used for that purpose and open to the public," said FEMA representative Don North, who was in Jackson last week surveying the damage and distributing assistance.

Churches must rely on insurance. What is not covered must come from donations and contributions.

Federal and state assistance for the Jackson area and the 43 Tennessee counties that have been declared disaster areas has reached more than $4.4 million as more than 4,400 residents have registered for disaster aid.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church, built in 1844 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was used as a hospital during the Civil War.

The nave, the main part of the interior of the church, was virtually demolished and has been condemned by the city. Buildings holding the parish offices and Sunday school classes were also damaged.

But church members say they will rebuild on the site.

"We want to stay where we are," said church senior warden Brad Box. "We want to preserve the awe and beauty of the church."

Members who rushed to the church minutes after the tornado were able to salvage silver Communion pieces, some stained glass windows and brass altar crosses dating to 1867.

"We've got a real challenge ahead of us, but we've got a lot to be thankful for," said church rector Rev. Charles Filiatreau. "We were very blessed to be able to save some historic treasures."

Rebuilding could cost an estimated $2 million, said Box. Members hope to worship in their rebuilt church by Easter 2005.

Members at Mother Liberty CME Church have said they will rebuild, but they haven't decided exactly what, said CME Bishop William H. Graves of Memphis. "They want the new facility to be more open to the community so they can expand their ministry."

Mother Liberty, built by former slaves in 1872, is considered the mother church of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. It was the first church built under the newly organized CME body that petitioned the Methodist Episcopal Church, South to form their own church.

The church had recently completed a multiyear renovation project costing $200,000. It sustained damage during a 1999 tornado and twice was destroyed by fire, but rebuilt each time using some of the original bricks.

On the north end of town, Northside United Methodist Church suffered hail, water and wind damage, as did Wesley Chapel in East Jackson.

And First United Methodist Church across from St. Luke's sustained about $1 million in damage. The 1,800-member church, rebuilt in 1914 after a fire destroyed it in 1912, had just completed a $9 million renovation.

"We were thinking it was not all that bad, but the windows are all loosened and the roof was picked up and sat back down," said Cathy Farmer, a spokesman for the United Methodist Church in Jackson. "All the pews had water damage."

At least 50 windows will have to be replaced along with four roofs, said Rev. Paul Clayton, church pastor for the past nine years.

But Clayton said church members are taking everything in stride.

"I tell people that we live in a creation that has a lot of mystery to it," he says. "We're not about blaming this on a God that we believe is a loving God. It's just something that we don't understand."