Pastor of tornado-damaged Nashville church looks to recovery
Sumant Joshi helps to clean up rubble at the East End United Methodist Church after it was heavily damaged by storms Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. Joshi is a resident in the area and volunteered to help clean up. Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding buildings and killing multiple people.[AP Photo/Mark Humphrey]
The tornado that toppled the bell tower at East End United Methodist Church in Nashville about 1 a.m. Tuesday also caused a gas leak at the parsonage next door, forcing the Rev. Judi Hoffman to evacuate to a hotel.
Lying awake in the strange bed, thinking about the damage to her beautiful historic church, Hoffman recalled that just two Sundays ago the congregation held a "Celebrate Recovery" service for people recovering from addiction.
"We will recover," she said. "I have no doubt we will come back."
The pastor is already planning the next steps. Sunday's service will take place in a park next to what remains of the 113-year-old building, she said. Along with the bell tower, the tornado destroyed a large, recently refurbished stained glass window depicting Jesus as the good shepherd and left the building uninhabitable.
Tornadoes devastate Tennessee, killing at least 25 people
Returning to the churchyard Tuesday morning, Hoffman said she was inspired to see people she didn't even know helping clear debris.
"They are rallying around us," she said. "It's unbelievable."
The church has sheltered neighbors during previous disasters, including a 1998 tornado that came through the same neighborhood, sparing East End but flattening another historic church nearby, St. Ann's Episcopal.
"I actually went and picked up bricks at St. Ann's back in the day," Hoffman said.
Neighbor Paula Wade lives across the street from East End and was a member of St. Ann's in 1998.
"It was so long ago, but the sound of the sirens, and then that low sound — there's just nothing like it," Wade said. "Then to look out and see the church, it was just heartbreaking. It brings back everything that happened at St. Ann's."