COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Heartbreak and hope.

It’s a combination I’ve witnessed repeatedly when covering catastrophes, from the Oklahoma City bombing to Hurricane Katrina to, most recently, the March 3 Tennessee tornadoes that killed 25 people and injured hundreds.

In a ravaged neighborhood of this community 80 miles east of Nashville, I met a survivor slammed into his basement by the EF-4 twister that destroyed his home.

But rather than lament what he had lost, the man, Gary Flatt, thanked God for fellow Christians who had come to his aid.

“Someone looked at the house and said, ‘It’s unbelievable what a tornado can do,’” Flatt told me, standing amid the scattered debris. “And I told them, ‘No, it’s unbelievable what a bunch of loving Christians can do.’”

Yes, it’s true: People of faith do more than pray after a disaster such as this.

Here’s how religion writer Holly Meyer of The Tennessean described the religious community’s response to the tornadoes:

They transformed their houses of worship into de facto relief centers, organized droves of volunteers for cleanup, raised money and met the basic needs of storm survivors.

These belief-driven helpers have been at it for days. 

In 2018, I enjoyed writing a feature (“18 wheels and a heart to serve”) about a faith-based disaster relief truck driver’s all-night drive from Nashville, Tenn., to Panama City, Fla., after Hurricane Michael.

The theme: Heartbreak and hope.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. Wash your hands before reading the rest of this, Part 2: Has it only been a week since our last roundup of news coverage concerning the coronavirus outbreak? This is one of those stories that seems to be, um, spreading faster than I can hyperlink URLs. No doubt you’ve seen the numerous reports on houses of worship canceling services (or not). But I will point you to a few interesting angles, such as The Deseret News’ Kelsey Dallas asking, “Why do worship services involve so many germs?” Also, the Washington Post’s Michelle Boorstein profiles the prominent D.C. church quarantined by the virus, and Religion News Service’s Adelle M. Banks notes that sales are up for prepackaged Communion cups and wafers. Finally, the Sacramento Bee’s Ryan Sabalow reports on a California megachurch that believes prayers can heal the sick and raise the dead — and yet canceled services this weekend as well as trips to the hospital to “faith-heal” the sick.

2. Don’t they make movies about stuff like this?: Speaking of COVID-19, Roberta Green Ahmanson wrote an exquisite piece for Religion Unplugged on “Rome in the time of coronavirus.” The photos are equally amazing. “The recent closures make two experiences we had last week even more precious than they seemed at the time,” notes Ahmanson, a philanthropist, art collector and writer who started her career as a religion reporter at the San Bernadino Sun and Orange County Register. “Just last Thursday, my husband and I along with our friend who is a top Vatican guide had the entire Vatican Museum, the Rafael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel to ourselves. Us and the guards with the keys.” (Scroll down to the “Charging Station” for more of my Religion Unplugged colleagues’ excellent coverage of the coronavirus.)

Continue reading “Amid Tornado Devastation, One Man's Faith Offers A Huge Measure Of Hope,” by Bobby Ross at Religion Unplugged.