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A UMNS Commentary
By Jan Snider*

6:00 P.M. EST June 3, 2011 | JOPLIN, MO. (UMNS)

As a tornado was bearing down, Lola Castillo saw the light.

The sky enveloped her red sedan in darkened fury. Violent gusts shattered the windows and ripped her cell phone from her hand. On the other end of her phone, Anthony Nelson — her fiancé — heard the connection sever just as her car lifted, then slammed into an empty building.  

Still, Castillo focused on the light from within the St. James United Methodist Church and pinned her faith to that little sanctuary in Joplin.

“I knew I would be OK because I was by the church,” she says days later as she and Nelson survey the pile of debris atop her overturned, flattened car.

Her arm is black and blue. Everywhere the couple looks, there is destruction.

On May 22, a tornado cut a swath through a dozen miles of peoples’ lives in this town of 50,000. Winds of more than 200 miles per hour shaved the landscape bare and killed 138 people. Another 750 were injured. This storm has gone down in U.S. history as the deadliest single tornado since modern recordkeeping began in 1950.

But as Castillo discovered, even the most brutal storm can’t extinguish the light of the church.

The power of connection

As a producer for United Methodist Communications, I’ve had the privilege of sharing the stories of the church, and last week, I was sent on assignment to Joplin.

Volunteers from Ozark (Mo.) United Methodist Church's disaster-response team pray before beginning to clear storm damage in Joplin, Mo. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose. View in Photo Gallery

I expected to gather individual stories that would be sifted down into short “sound bites.”  However, there was a larger story that kept nudging me, not as a producer, but as a United Methodist. It boils down to this: The connectional system works.

Even among all the destruction, we were the church in action.

I watched an army of United Methodists from outside the area arrive with chain saws and tarps.

“Spread out in the neighborhood; do whatever anyone needs,” barked one leader as the trained Volunteers in Mission emergency responders donned hard hats and work gloves. They didn’t know anyone here, but they understood immediate needs.

The Rev. Tom Hazelwood has a fancy title with the United Methodist Committee on Relief, but essentially he heads the denomination’s response to domestic disasters. In his 13 years in the role, he has seen winds whip the asphalt off roads and floodwaters wash away towns. He also has seen the remarkable legitimacy of the church as a connectional institution. 

“Our ability to reach and connect quickly almost anywhere in the United States is a unique thing to our denomination and is so powerful,” he said.

A sign of hope

On the fateful Sunday evening, whoever left that light burning at St. James United Methodist Church probably did not know it would serve as a powerful beacon of hope.

Don Tripp picks through debris at St. James United Methodist Church in Joplin. Tripp is a member of the church’s board of trustees. View in Photo Gallery

The same is true for many United Methodists when they put their money in their church’s offering plate or send donations to UMCOR. But in doing so, they are performing ministry.

Even though the St. James building stands no more, hope has blossomed throughout the town of Joplin. That’s in no small part due to United Methodists and the connection they support.

Today, many church members have a lot of criticism about the bureaucracy of The United Methodist Church. Some may liken the denomination to a simple sanctuary that has suffered a plethora of renovations, patchwork fixes, warped wires and crossed cables — ultimately to emerge as a behemoth structure more maze-like than meaningful.

Certainly, there is a need for a more relevant structure to today’s church work, but a person can witness the foundational beauty of the connection as Joplin moves toward recovery. 

Immediate response

Just as quickly as the Joplin tornado struck, the United Methodist connection came into play. On a local level, church members checked on one another and circulated throughout the stricken neighborhoods to help; the district superintendent gathered her well-trained clergy; and Missouri Bishop Robert Schnase offered his prayerful support by walking hand-in-hand with his flock. 

The larger church structure moved into action as well with a well-honed response that included trained emergency-response teams, logistical support, financial resources and most of all, prayers and concern from around the world.

The Rev. David Fitzmaurice’s lips tremble and his voice shakes when recalls the phone calls and messages that came to him and his staff at Joplin’s First United Methodist Church right after the tornado.

“To get calls from Tuscaloosa, Ala., Methodist churches asking how they can help us, that’s really touching,” he said. “It’s really powerful.”

A home stands open to the sky following the massive tornado. View in Photo Gallery

People like me, who spend their daily lives at the United Methodist agencies trying to bring real life to the mission of the church, are stung a little by the criticism that what we do is not relevant. Yet, we also appreciate and sometimes even agree with our critics.

At times like these, agency staff members realize we are privileged to witness and participate in the important, world-changing power that flows from United Methodists worldwide.

It’s stunning to see just how powerful that old United Methodist edifice can be when the storm hits because it really isn’t about a building but about being a church. There is a connectional foundation that is strong, worthy of respect and extremely relevant in a frantic world.

Sure, our church might need some more carefully designed renovations, but structurally we are sound. Connectionally, we are one.

As Lola Castillo will tell you, when there is tragedy, people are drawn to the church because that’s where they can be safe.

 This time, even though the building was destroyed, the church stands strong.

*Snider is a producer with United Methodist Communications.

News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.