Normalcy and Nourishment

How Emmanuel moved forward—one prayer at a time

After Helene devastated Asheville, North Carolina, Emmanuel Lutheran Church and School quickly became a pillar of stability. While other schools in Buncombe County remained closed, Emmanuel was the first to reopen—restoring routine for students and hope for families.

THE FIRST SCHOOL TO REOPEN

Reopening seemed impossible at first. Roads were washed out, and the city’s water system had collapsed. But Principal Mark Edmiston and church leaders were determined.

“Parents want their kids back in a normal school setting, to have some sense of normalcy after a disaster,” Edmiston said.

Days after the storm during a break from community distribution at the church, a conversation sparked an idea.

They had just learned that Orphan Grain Train would be delivering a tanker of potable water to the church for residents. That led a church member to suggest what seemed like a wild idea—hooking up a tanker to the school.

The team, including a civil engineer and construction professional, quickly devised a way to pressurize the system. They just needed water. That’s when Davis Water Service stepped in, donating a tanker valued at $8,400 per day.

Days later and just a few weeks after the hurricane, Emmanuel reopened its doors—the first school in the county to do so.

A HUB FOR RELIEF

Even before students returned, Emmanuel became a relief center. As an established food bank site, the church began distributing supplies almost immediately and help poured in from across the country.

Volunteers from Forged by Fire (Louisiana) cooked thousands of hot meals in the parking lot. Grace Lutheran in Pensacola delivered a truckload of supplies. More shipments arrived from New Jersey and Orphan Grain Train, whose 18-wheeler brought food, hygiene kits and flood buckets. Emmanuel’s gym became overflow storage.

The church operated as a distribution hub seven hours a day, five days a week. And the entire community pitched in.

“Many of the parents worked side by side with the church members,” Emmanuel pastor, Rev. Jeff Skopak, said. “This is truly a church-school community where even if they’re not members of the church, they see themselves as a part of this ministry with us.”

Once school resumed, students helped pack hygiene kits, unload shipments and serve neighbors in need.

“It was absolutely understood that we would utilize students in sorting supplies, putting things together, helping with distribution and the students have loved it,” Skopak said.

FAITH. WATER. HOT MEALS.

See how Emmanuel Lutheran Church and School became a source of stability, service and hope in the wake of disaster.

A COMMUNITY UNITED

The outpouring of support was overwhelming. “It takes my breath away to see how the church so quickly and actively mobilized to help this little portion of our church body,” he said.

Through faith, service and generosity, Emmanuel proved that even in disaster, God provides—and His people respond.