wfn.org | Life and Worship Goes on in Minnesota Town Devastated by Tornado

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

13-April-1998 
98133 
 
    Life and Worship Goes on in Minnesota Town 
    Devastated by Tornado 
 
    by Roxann Miller 
    Synod of Lakes and Prairies 
 
MINNEAPOLIS-"There was a horrible noise, then light rain," recounted the 
Rev. Robert Maharry, pastor of Union Presbyterian Church, St. Peter, Minn. 
 
    At a time when Christians look for new life and celebrate the 
Resurrection, people in St. Peter are grateful to be alive and look toward 
creating a new future in an historic community.  On Sunday, March 29, a 
series of tornadoes ripped through this southern Minnesota community, 
leaving near total destruction in their wake. 
 
    Categorized as an F-3 on the Fujita scale, the worst twister imitated 
its movie namesake: It was a mile and a quarter wide, on the ground for at 
least 15 miles and possibly 30 or 40 miles.  Debris was scattered up to 70 
miles away.  Out of 125 businesses, 90 percent have been damaged and 50 
percent of those damaged were totally destroyed.  The hospital is unusable. 
Three of four schools were severely damaged. 
 
    A dairy farmer and his sons watched their farm disappear as they clung 
to a brick wall.  First, sections of the barn blew over them, followed - 
literally - by one of the cows.  Although he lost 70 dairy cows, neither he 
nor his sons were seriously injured. 
 
    Union Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1871, was also fortunate. 
One stained-glass window was blown into the sanctuary and there was damage 
to the roof.  Yet the church, which has 292 members, had a traditional Palm 
Sunday service, complete with palm branches. 
 
    "There is a real sense of disorientation," Maharry stated.  "People 
say, `This is my street, but it's not my street.  This is my home, but it's 
not. ...' We need to make a conscious effort for as 
much normalcy as possible." 
 
    At least six families in Union's congregation, including that of the 
church secretary, have lost their homes.  Four families from First 
Presbyterian Church, Kasota, Minn., are displaced.  Some homes show little 
exterior damage, yet are not repairable, having shifted off the foundation. 
Out of 2,500 residences, 90 percent are damaged, and 25 percent of those 
are destroyed, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. 
 
    "When I first heard the sirens go off, I wasn't sure what it meant. 
Was it a severe thunderstorm or a tornado?" stated the Rev. Amy Vaughn, 
parish associate at Union Church.  It didn't take long for the severity of 
the moment to become clear.  Heading for the basement with her infant son, 
she hunkered down between the washer and dryer. 
 
    Then the tornado hit.  "Once it was over, I had to wait for help.  I 
ran to the basement without putting my shoes on," she explained, adding, 
"There was glass everywhere - even the windows in the basement blew out." 
 
    In addition to serving the Union Presbyterian Church, Vaughn works with 
the Princeton Theological Seminary Youth Forum and serves as an editor with 
Presbyterian Publishing Corporation.  She and her husband, Andy, a 
professor of religion at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, moved to 
Minnesota last summer from Cranbury, N.J., where Amy had served as 
associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church. 
 
    Andy was on campus at the time. Normally about a five-minute walk,  it 
took 15 to 20 minutes for him to get home, scrambling around the debris. 
Rounding the corner to his own block, he saw many of his neighbors' homes 
destroyed.  The Vaughns' home was still standing, but windows throughout 
the Victorian structure were gone. 
 
    Even though he was home, he couldn't find a way inside.  "Our steps 
were gone. A neighbor's garage door was blocking our porch."  Repairing the 
damage to their home will cost more than last summer's purchase price. 
 
    Yet the Vaughns are grateful.  "The real miracle," Andy stated, "is 
that the college was on spring break.  Otherwise there would have been many 
more injuries and deaths." 
 
    Generators used last year in the floods of Grand Forks, N.D., have been 
brought in until power can be restored.  Volunteers have flooded the area, 
assisting with cleanup.  Rebuilding efforts are already estimated to take 
two to five years.  It is said that the efforts will rival rebuilding 
efforts in the Grand Forks, N.D., area following the flooding of 1997. 
 
    "Our Minutes for Mission have always been `Here's where your money is 
going,'" 
commented Maharry. "This time the money is coming home." Maharry's own home 
is damaged but repairable.  "Sometimes it's very hard to be the receiver. 
It's a lesson in grace." 
 
    Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has sent $10,000 to the 
Presbytery of Minnesota Valleys to assist in cleanup and rebuilding 
efforts. Contributions may be sent to PDA, designated for Minnesota 
Tornadoes, Account #9-2000003. 

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