Hurricane Helene Took the Swannanoa We Knew Away from Us

Dateline: September 26-27, 2024

People react as volunteers help to clean their home covered in mud, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Swannanoa, North Carolina, October 7. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Hurricane Helene Took the Swannanoa We Knew Away from Us

Dateline: September 26-27, 2024

The news from these two days out of Swannanoa, NC was horrible. Early reports were of devastating destruction. The same is true for a larger area in western North Carolina.

Roads of all types washed away. Access to many neighborhoods became difficult at best. Impossible by roads.

Drones flying over the area showed the extent of the damage and also looked for survivors.

Swannanoa is a very important place to me. As are many places around western North Carolina.

An extensive list of places close by include Asheville, Ridgecrest, Black Mountain, Montreat, The Cove, Mars Hill, Hendersonville, Fruitland, Bat Cave, Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Flat Rock, and others I am not presently remembering.

Numerous places along the Blue Ridge Parkway have great memories. Included would be Cherokee, Pisgah Mountain, NC Arboretum, Craggy Gardens, Mt, Mitchell, Grandfather Mountain, and other sites in between. 

But Swannanoa has a very special place in my heart. It was the first place I served on a church staff as I began my life in Christian ministry. Also, the first place where I got paid to engage in a ministry position.

But it was not the first time I had been in or through Swannanoa. Although earlier visits had little impact on me.

As the child of a Baptist minister deeply committed to denominational training events, my family attended conferences most every summer at the Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center eight miles east of Swannanoa.

I was told I first went to Ridgecrest as a one-year-old, and then many times thereafter. While there when traveling west of Ridgecrest we always  passed through Swannanoa. I came to know it as a one-light town along US Route 70. Later when Interstate 40 was built it became the Swannanoa exit.

As a freshman at Mars Hill College (now University) north of Asheville, I came to know Swannanoa as a place ministry groups from the college would go on Sundays. We led worship services and ministry activities at both the tuberculosis sanitarium and the juvenile evaluation center.

Volunteers help residents to clean their homes covered in mud, following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Swannanoa, North Carolina, October 7. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

First Baptist Church, Swannanoa, NC

Soon after I arrived at Mars Hill for my sophomore year, I was contacted by a Baptist minister in Asheville. He wanted to know if I would be open to interviewing with First Baptist Church of Swannanoa to be their music and youth director.

It was obvious my Baptist minister father knew this Asheville minister and had contacted him about finding a church where I could get some ministry experience.

I was only 18 years old during my sophomore year and had never directed any ongoing church music or youth program. I had been a faithful participant in both, but never led them.

I was a trained musician as that was a requirement in my home. I played the piano, organ, sang in every choir that came along, and learned the basics of choral directing. Plus I did everything a person could do as a participant in church youth programs.

I knew good things to do. I had just never done them on my own in a church.

In the interview, I made a good impression. I led the music for a “trial“ Sunday, I faked it. I met the small number of youth and connected with them.

The position was mine.

For three semesters I led the music and youth in this church. It was a challenge. I did reasonably well. I connected with the people and enjoyed getting to know them.

I am grateful for the experience they gave me. It was a great boost to my early ministry.

However, halfway through my third semester, I told them I would not continue in this role following Christmas. I needed to move on for two reasons.

First, I was getting to the end of what I knew how to do in both music and youth work. I basically had no help, mentor, or supervisor. I was not growing in the role and that was becoming obvious. Especially to the choir.

Second, I had fallen in love with the woman who has now been my wife for more than 50 years. I wanted to spend more time with her on campus, and not at a church 45-minutes away.

The Town of Swannanoa

Swannanoa was basically a company town. The Beacon Blankets plant was the primary employer in the area. I remember it as a non-union company.

There were small houses around the plant built and owned by the company. Incomes for many of the people were very modest.

Visiting with families in these small houses helped me see how truly modest their income was.

Volunteers walk near debris following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Swannanoa, North Carolina, October 7. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The Gave Me My Start

One never forgets the place of service that gave them their start.

I am eternally grateful for First Baptist Church of Swannanoa, NC. I grieve over their community’s devastation and that of many other communities in western North Carolina.

I pray they and numerous other communities will rise again. In doing so may they take a fresh look at what can be and the ministry contribution they can make in their setting.

I pray this will be a time of not only physical and economic recovery, but a fresh spiritual commitment to our Lord and Savior—Jesus the Christ, the Living Word of God.

Next: Swannanoa, NC Dateline 1997

OR