Bobbie Harris lost her rental home, her job, and her church when a deadly tornado struck her community in North Nashville. But all she could think about was her blessings.
Harris joined other members of Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday. Mount Bethel has been in the community for 135 years. The roofs of the church’s two buildings are gone, ripped away by strong winds early last Tuesday.
“Through it all, God is good,” Harris says.
On Sunday, the church pitched a tent in the parking lot. Congregants gathered to sing, pray, and hold hands in what the church called “worship in the rubble.”
Contractors replacing downed power lines paused and took off their hard hats as Pastor Jacques Boyd led in prayer.
At least six tornadoes hit middle Tennessee during last week’s storms. (See “Tornadoes Strike Nashville.”)
Harris lived blocks from the church. When a tornado hit her home, powerful winds grabbed her air conditioner and flung it across the street. Her granddaughter’s car was destroyed.
“God is good. He was the conductor on that train and He went around me,” Harris says. “He saved me.”
The emotion of Harris’ words call to mind Psalm 40:2: “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”
Behind Pastor Boyd, bits of insulation blew around the exposed wooden beams of the chapel. Many nearby homes were still without power. But under the white tent, there were smiles on people’s faces as they greeted each other, danced to the music, and sang hymns. Boyd says the storm has brought folks closer together in the recovery efforts.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and his wife, Maria, sat in the front row of folding chairs, shook hands with church members, and bowed their heads in prayer. “God uses people like this in this environment to bring hope to this community, Lee says. “It was great to see.”
Boyd says the church is more than the red brick building. He says the church will continue to hold tent services.
He told his clapping congregation, “We must trust in the Savior, who does not deliver us from storms but through storms.”
(A choir performs during a worship service at Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
