Following the storm, a Kentucky church reopened. However, when he gazed out over a crowd of roughly 100 people this year, his customary message took on new significance.
Nine days earlier, an EF4 tornado ripped through Mayfield, devastating hundreds of houses, businesses, and the Mayfield First United Methodist Church, where Reed had served as pastor for the last four years.
People rescued neighbours from the wreckage, a local Kentucky church opened its doors to the congregation, and thousands of dollars poured into an online fund to assist residents in stabilising and rebuilding.
“I believe that this year’s message will have a greater effect than prior sermons,” Reed stated from the pulpit. “… When we return on Christmas Eve, you won’t need to be told what Christmas means, since you’ve already seen it.”
Sunday was the first of what may be several services within the Christ United Methodist Church facility on West Broadway for the Mayfield First United Methodist congregation.
Christ United has promised to host the Kentucky church until it can secure its own space — which Reed estimates would take at least a year.
Reed stated ahead of Sunday’s service that the Kentucky church does not require a facility to worship. He is happy, however, that Christ United has given a location for his people to continue meeting in the aftermath of the tragic storms.
“We’re all stunned to see our past, our tradition being washed away,” said Nanette Easley, a Mayfield First United Methodist member since the 1970s. “I believe that gathering for this communal moment of worship is what we rely on in times like this.”
“This instils a feeling of urgency and reality that we previously lacked,” Reed explained. “I’m hoping that this would instil in us a sense of renewal, a sense of purpose, and a sense of urgency that we discussed previously but did not really possess.”
Other nearby churches have also been impacted by the tornado’s aftermath.
Mayfield First Assembly of God escaped the hurricane intact, but many adjacent churches did not. Now, pastor Brad Morris said, their institution has volunteered to open its doors to other hard-hit congregations in need of a meeting space, as well as to individuals seeking a place to worship. Sunday’s church, the Mayfield native remarked, was more crowded than normal.
At Sunday’s service, there were several orange-shirted attendees — members of Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian relief organisation Morris dubbed the “Dallas Cowboys of disaster relief.” Over 100 members are presently in town assisting Mayfield’s recovery, according to programme director Elliott Willis, with hundreds more stopping in over the last five days.
Mayfield First Assembly of God has offered to house the employees and to assist them in any way possible, Morris said.
As members of Mayfield First United Methodist Church exited the building Sunday, they inscribed their names on ornaments and put them on the front room’s tree.
They will take an ornament bearing the name of another relative or family member and promise to prayer for them during the next year.
“I’m not sure how people manage it without a church family,” Marilyn Marshall, a nearly 50-year member of Mayfield First United Methodist, remarked. “They assisted us in raising our children. They are now assisting us with our grandkids.
“I have a deep sense of faith. However, being here and surrounded by others helps me strengthen that sensation.”
