Offering hope and help after tornado
In the face of death, church is bearing
witness to life in Joplin, Missouri
By Carmen Fowler LaBerge, The Layman, May 25, 2011
“Breathless” was the one word Rev. Cliff Mansley could find to describe how he’s feeling. Just days ago, the congregation he pastors, New Creation was a three-year old Presbyterian new church development in a depressed neighborhood in Missouri. Today it is God’s literal front line of relief to the devastated people of Joplin.
“Where were you when the tornado hit?” is already the question that redefines life here. Mansley recalls, “I was huddled with the youth group in the basement of the church. This old place is built like a bunker and we were protected by three or four solid concrete walls.”
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When the pastor and the teens emerged from the basement they were confronted with a stark new reality. Mansley said they saw “Nothing. Three blocks south of us you could see it. There’s nothing there.”
Before heading toward the devastation, Mansley needed to get kids home. En route the reality hit him, “A woman came out of a crushed house with a baby stroller, clutching an empty blanket. She was screaming ‘My baby, my baby! Where’s my baby?’ Hers is a face and a grief I will never forget.”
Like many people who are providing relief, Mansley hasn’t slept since the twister torn his community to shreds. He is running on pure adrenaline. He’s almost manic in his pace of speech and apologizes for jumping from one subject to another. Mansley then admits that the reality is beginning to set in. “Everyone has been pretty shell-shocked. We’re still just dealing with the most immediate of needs.” He continues, “Having something tangible to do helps, but then that activity is interrupted by the news that another person has been identified, another body found, another death confirmed. It’s very tough.”
Mansley describes an experience he had in his own words: “In the immediate aftermath we walked the rubble with the search and rescue guys at the Medical Center. A nurse who had literally been blown away by the tornado was staggering around and I asked her where she was going. ‘Home.’ But her car was destroyed with all the others in the parking lot and she was clearly disoriented. ‘Where do you live?’ I asked innocently. When she answered, ‘20th and Connecticut’ I swallowed hard. I had to tell her, ‘I’m so sorry. There’s nothing there.’ We stood and sobbed and comforted one another and prayed. This is so hard but it’s also so awesome.”
Mansley’s voice sobers as he talks about the neighborhood immediately around the church. “These folks were already living with very little; 80 percent live below the poverty line but we were reaching lots of kids. The projects where many of them lived are gone. They’re just gone.”
“I’ve been going from shelter to shelter trying to find them.” And then the pastor’s voice trails off for a moment when he admits, “I haven’t been to the morgue yet.”
In the face of death, the New Creation Church is bearing witness to life. In the face of overwhelming brokenness, the church offers hope and help and the amazing grace of God in Jesus Christ. The witness of Mansley and other Christians sets the reality of what has happened in Joplin into the eternal context of redemption and resurrection hope.
Mansley describes how that reality is manifesting itself through the witness of some of New Creation’s people. “We don’t have a lot of money, but we have a lot of heart. Everyone is doing what they can to help their neighbors. We’ve got this young couple, fresh out of college, just got married two months ago. They lost everything. All their wedding gifts, everything. But here they are, every day, helping other people. They’re running the ‘have one/need one’ board and the ‘can-do’ box where we match people with gifts and talents with people who have projects where those can be used.”
New Creation Church is already scheduling crews and work teams. Churches from Aurora and Belvidere, Ill., are headed to help on June 5. The church is distributing food and water and setting up a long-term furniture distribution center. As we talked, the U.S. Marines arrived. The hope is that New Creation can become a designated distribution center for Federal Aid.
When asked what they really need Mansley laughs, “Everything. People here have nothing. They need everything.” And when asked what he personally needs he chuckles again. “This sounds so self-serving but my car was demolished in the WalMart parking lot. I really need some wheels.”
Don’t you need to get rid of that gas-guzzling Suburban? Doesn’t your old church van needs a new life? There’s no better way to spend this Memorial Day weekend than to drive a load-full hope to Joplin, Missiouri.
Joplin Relief donations can be made via credit card at www.newcreation-joplin.com or via mail to Joplin Relief, New Creation Church, 1831 S. Connor Ave, Joplin, MO 64804. To schedule a work team, call the church at 417-782-8200.