CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – On Dec. 9, 2023, Pastor Eric Soard and his wife Elizabeth anxiously drove to their church, Fellowship United Methodist, just 20 minutes after a tornado devastated north Clarksville.
“We got as close as we could to it, but at the time, Peachers Mill was already shut down, and we were just glad the structure was still standing,” he said. But on closer inspection, he could see the extent of the damage.
“The roof was peeled back, some of the walls had been taken off; a few 2-by-4s from the apartments across the street had been put through our walls. All of the doors and windows had been blown out, and there was lots of water and wind damage inside,” Pastor Soard told Clarksville Now. “Our 5-ton HVAC unit was sitting outside on the back lawn, and all of our sound equipment was damaged.”
One year later, almost to the day, the congregation of Fellowship UMC is preparing to reopen their doors and finally move back into their home.
Path to recovery
Of course, it could have been much worse. “We were very fortunate the tornado struck on a Saturday, and no one was in the building,” Soard said.
In the days that followed the tornado, Soard and and other church members worked tirelessly to secure the building and salvage what they could. Within a week, local churches including Hilldale UMC stepped in to help. “They sent out a group of 25 people or so and helped us clear a path from all the debris in the parking lot to our front doors so we could get inside,” he said.
For the past year, Fellowship UMC has been holding services at Hilldale UMC, waiting for the day when they could return.
Reopening the doors
At first, Soard believed the recovery process would be faster. “I was a bit naive,” he said. “It has been a lot more work than anyone has been anticipating. It took a lot of time.”
However, just this past week, Fellowship received approval from the city Building and Codes Department, and Soard said they have just received their certificate of occupancy. The Sunday service will begin at 10 a.m. “Sunday will be one year, 52 weeks since we have been able to worship in our church building,” he said.
Fellowship UMC has been located in the Peachers Mill Road area of Clarksville since 2002, experiencing both challenges and triumphs over the years. Soard notes that, since the church was displaced, the congregation has become smaller, but he is eager to return to the building and begin growing again.
He’s most excited to bring back the ministry that Fellowship is known for. “We have not been able to do as much ministry or discipleship, events for the community, our mobile food pantries, those kind of things, since last year,” Soard said. “So we are both excited to get back into our own space and sanctuary but also get back into our other things.”
Fellowship Church will hold its return service at 10 a.m. Sunday at 2201 Peachers Mill Road. For more, call 931-920-0127, email office@fellowshipumc.com, or visit their Facebook page.
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