A statue of the Blessed Mother and baby Jesus survived the tornado damages that impacted Resurrection Parish in Dawson Springs, in this photo from Dec. 15, 2021. RILEY GREIF | WKC

BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

Thanks to collaboration among several deacons, an Indiana parish was able to deliver $18,500 to their tornado-stricken neighbors across the state line in Kentucky.

Dcn. Charlie Johnson of Divine Mercy Parish in the Diocese of Evansville was a classmate of Dcn. Jay W. VanHoosier, faith formation director for the Diocese of Owensboro, when the two were studying for the permanent diaconate.

Dcn. Johnson heard about the disastrous tornadoes that struck western Kentucky during the night of Dec. 10, 2021, and reached out to Dcn. VanHoosier.

“When I heard about the tornadoes, I texted him that Monday morning to see how things were in the diocese,” said Dcn. Johnson, who quickly learned that Kentucky had borne the brunt of the devastation.

Dcn. Johnson asked about Mayfield, which had been mainly in the news in the beginning.

“And that’s when he told me about Resurrection,” said Dcn. Johnson. Dcn. VanHoosier explained to his brother deacon that the small church in Dawson Springs had been destroyed by the tornadoes. The community of Dawson Springs itself was in shambles.

Dcn. Johnson contacted his pastor, Fr. Jose Thomas, to see if their parish could have a special collection. Fr. Thomas, and the parish, readily agreed.

Fr. Thomas wanted to make sure any monies raised would go directly to Resurrection Parish, so Dcn. Johnson checked with the Diocese of Evansville to confirm that they could write a check directly to the Kentucky parish.

Divine Mercy held a second collection the following weekend – Dec. 18/19, 2021 – which took place in the two churches within the parish: Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Schnellville, Ind., and St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in St. Anthony, Ind.

Despite rapidly organizing the collection, Dcn. Johnson was not immediately certain how or when they would get the money to Resurrection. But when he arrived at Mass that weekend, the parish’s music director told him that his brother-in-law is a deacon in Owensboro.

The Owensboro deacon, Dcn. Richard Murphy of St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro, is friends with Dcn. Mike Marsili of Resurrection Parish.

Thanks to Dcn. Murphy’s assistance, Dcn. Johnson was able to get in contact with Dcn. Marsili and make arrangements to bring the donation to Dawson Springs in-person.

Dcn. Johnson told The Western Kentucky Catholic that Divine Mercy Parish has about 600 families in the two churches.

That weekend, they raised $1,200 at the second collection. That following week, a parishioner came in with a check for $5,000.

And by the time Dcn. Johnson and Fr. Thomas drove down to Dawson Springs on Dec. 23, 2021, they had a check for $18,500.

“I had no idea how bad things were until we went down there,” Dcn. Johnson admitted. “Whole blocks piled onto debris piles instead of buildings… unbelievable damage.”

But he knew it was nowhere near the immediate aftermath: “I was amazed at what had already occurred in terms of cleanup.”

How to help

Monetary donations may be given digitally via https://owensborodiocese.org/give/. Checks may be mailed, with “Tornado Disaster Relief” written in the memo, to Catholic Charities, 600 Locust St., Owensboro, KY, 42301. To learn more about ways to help, call the McRaith Catholic Center at (270) 683-1545.

Originally printed in the February 2022 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.