April | 2025 VOL 34 NO 8
IN THIS ISSUE
75 AT 75 AT ST. A6 CELEBRATING A4 CELEBRATING OUR LADY OF FATIMA MARY SCHOOL-OAK RIDGE Mass, gala set to mark historic occasion in life of parish
Alcoa parish planning creative events for jubilee year
AUTHOR! B1 AUTHOR, Father Randy Stice's
new book is all about Eucharistic Amazement
Catholic commentary ....................... A3 Parish news ....................................B3-4 Diocesan calendar ............................ B5 Columns ..........................................B6-7 Catholic schools ..........................B9-10 La Cosecha ............................Section C
Helene flood: A Catholic response For this deacon, ‘Semper Fidelis’ was at the heart of CCETN disaster relief By Bill Brewer
BILL BREWER
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Always faithful Deacon David Duhamel is pictured at Catholic Charities of East Tennessee's Knoxville offices at 119 Dameron Ave.
s Deacon David Duhamel of Catholic Charities of East Tennessee rushed last fall to assist the victims of historic flooding in upper East Tennessee from Hurricane Helene, he kept encountering two powerful forces. And those recurring impacts—faith and prayer—have not left him in the six months since Mother Nature reshaped East Tennessee’s landscape with overwhelming ferocity. The deacon, who serves at St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge and is executive director of Catholic Charities, is certainly no stranger to prayer and faith. But amid heartbreaking tragedy and devastation, they were oft-repeated themes in the flood-stricken areas of Erwin, Mountain City, Greene County, and Newport. Catholic Charities of East Tennessee (CCETN), which serves people from all walks of life throughout the diocese, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, was thrust into action unexpectedly on Sept. 27 in a new and unfamiliar way as Helene swept inland and dumped historic amounts of rainfall in the mountains of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. For the first time, the Diocese of Knoxville social services agency was called on to deliver disaster relief in real time as floodwaters were
sacking homes, businesses, services, roads, bridges, and lives. It was disaster-relief on a large scale. The floodwaters’ force washed away roadbeds along interstates 40 and 26 and dislodged concrete bridges throughout the affected area, carrying them downstream like the trees that were uprooted. Deep, raging rapids in the Nolichucky, Pigeon, and French Broad rivers even re-channeled the rivers in places. Entire communities were cut off and took days and weeks to be reconnected. And as often occurs with natural disasters, loss of life and stories of survival emerged. “I heard countless stories of people put in very precarious situations who were able to escape. A lot of that is attributed to their faith. I think we need to remember that we are a faithbased organization. As Catholics, we understand that suffering is a reality of life, and our job is to have a small role in trying to alleviate that suffering,” Deacon Duhamel said several months after reflecting on the mountainous storm surge that experts say wasn’t a generational weather event but a phenomenon that likely won’t be seen again for many generations. “We can alleviate some of the physical needs. But there are also spiritual and emotional needs, too. We need to pray for each other. We need to CCETN continued on page A20
The ministry of presence matters as Erwin is recovering
Good Shepherd funeral reminds of loss, survival
Glenmary team leading efforts to unify Unicoi
By Gabrielle Nolan
By Bill Brewer
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he city of Newport continues to recover and rebuild six months after Hurricane Helene flooded its downtown and the surrounding areas on Sept. 27, causing destruction in its muddy-watered path. Not only were numerous homes and businesses negatively impacted within Cocke County, but local citizens lost their lives. Others who survived the dangerous floodwaters are still seeking new housing and are in need of help to
DAN MCWILLIAMS
Grieving, rebuilding coincide in Newport six months later
Bridging the gap Father Tom Charters, GHM, left, and Brother Corey Soignier, GHM, of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Erwin, in March stand at the edge of a road and bridge that was washed away by the rain-swollen Nolichucky River in Unicoi County in September.
Newport continued on page A18
Greene community works together in a time of crisis
God sent His workers to help in disaster recovery By Dan McWilliams
By Emily Booker
Greene continued on page A24
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GABRIELLE NOLAN
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Erwin continued on page A22
In Mountain City, there’s a silver lining in every cloud
Notre Dame parishioners assist in a variety of ways lma Vasquez was at her home in Chuckey, on the border of Greene and Washington counties, on the morning of Sept. 26. She had been planning to attend a funeral in Mountain City that afternoon. Although the morning was sunny, there were reports of rain and wind, and she was wondering if she would be able to make it to Mountain City. She would not. “My children started calling me,” she said. “They were like, ‘Mom, you need to get out of the house, because there is a flood.’ And I was
s St. Michael the Archangel Parish and the town of Erwin move forward from the devastating flood wrought by Hurricane Helene last September, Father Tom Charters is preparing for yet another emotional moment. Next month, the pastor will give first Holy Communion to the young daughter of a woman who was swept away and died on Sept. 27 as the Nolichucky River turned from a docile mountain tributary into swollen, raging rapid that destroyed
Let perpetual light shine upon them The cremains of Jean Marie Obrist and Michael Edward Obrist are placed before the altar in Good Shepherd Church in Newport on March 29 during a funeral Mass for the couple. The Obrists, longtime members of Good Shepherd, drowned on Sept. 28 when the Nolichucky River near Newport overflowed its banks during Hurricane Helene flooding.
ather Jesús Guerrero, having been in Texas for a family event when Hurricane Helene’s flooding ravaged East Tennessee on Sept. 27, noticed one thing when he flew back in to Tri-Cities Airport in Blountville two days later. The pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Mountain City had been alarmed by the neartotal lack of information about damage in the town in the diocese’s northeast corner, as all power, cellphone communication, and utilities were out of commission. Mountain City continued on page A26