Tennessee pastor meeting community needs from his back deck

FAIRVIEW, N.C. (BP) – Cane Creek starts as a trickle up in the mountains from Stacy Harris’ home. Garren Creek and Flat Creek are there too. Typically, they create the small, crystal-clear pools trout love and cascading waterfalls that are favorites of Smoky Mountain tourists.

Their appearance began to change nearly two weeks ago when heavy rain saturated the area. Then Hurricane Helene arrived on Friday, Oct. 4. People in Fairview Township, where Harris is pastor at Trinity of Fairview Baptist Church, hunkered down. Their homes lost power at 3:23 a.m. that night.

The mailing address for his church is in Fletcher, a bedroom community about 20 minutes south of Asheville. Fairview is further into the mountains. Those who ever attended a conference at Ridgecrest and took a side trip to Bat Cave or Chimney Rock drove through Fairview on Highway 74.

Helene had turned small valleys into funnels for the branches feeding those creeks. The water built into the kind of torrent that swept away lives and homes in areas throughout western North Carolina, contributing to a death toll of more than 230 across several states.

Like others working through loss, however, Harris and his community are finding ways to look for positives.

The creek running in front of his home wasn’t big enough for a name, but Helene turned it into something capable of ripping through his driveway. Others were in the same predicament.

When the waters receded, they had left a sizeable amount of gravel washed down from the mountain. Someone with a skid steer shaped it into a crossing good enough for a four-wheel-drive. That, and the need to be around others, would soon lead others to join Harris in his backyard.

His generator goes from 4-7 p.m. People get as much as they need to take home. Fellowship and feasting became common due to eating food that would otherwise spoil. There have been hamburgers, but also the 40-or-so pork chops from a pig someone had just slaughtered. Harris smoked an 8-lb. ham that provided days of sandwiches.

“Our neighbors had never spent time like that together,” he said. “This brought people out of their houses and into their yards. Even in the middle of such disaster, it’s beautiful to see that human connection.

“We just feed, sit around and talk, telling stories and encouraging each other while the kids play,” Harris said. “It’s become our gathering time.”

The swollen creek had trapped Harris, his wife Tammy, and Harris’ parents – who live close by – for a couple of days. Time with them and neighbors was precious, but he still had many other people on his mind.

“As a pastor, the hardest thing was a lack of communication,” he said. “I didn’t even know through the storm if my parents or other people were OK.”

Trinity of Fairview is a mix of white- and blue-collar folks. Harris knows them and the area well.

He may be the only pastor who joined his church at 5 years old. Harris, 56, became associate pastor 30 years ago with ministry responsibilities over children, students and worship. The church called him as lead pastor 14 years ago.

“I think I’ve done everything there is to do there,” he said. “The Lord has been so good to me, to be here with these people.”

Trinity has joined other churches in becoming a distribution hub for materials. But there is also its presence as a light in an otherwise dark time.

A generator powers its family life center in those efforts. Recently, everyone there was treated to sloppy joes and burritos that had been in the freezer of Juicy Lucy’s – a local joint known for cooking the cheese inside its burgers.

That event accompanied Trinity of Fairview’s first post-Helene worship gathering on Oct. 6, held in its parking lot.

“Yesterday was a banner day, to have everyone here for praise and worship,” Harris said. “We shared a little bit of the Word and the Gospel with people.

“It was tremendous. It was good for my spirit and good for my soul.”

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This story first appeared in Baptist Press.