Special collection for tornado-stricken Greenfield to be held on June 1-2
May 28, 2024
The spring afternoon of May 21 will forever be etched in the memory of the town of Greenfield, where an EF4 tornado brought tragedy and destruction from one end of town to another.
The tornado killed five people, and destroyed 135 homes in the community of about 2,000 people located an hour southwest of Des Moines.
“Your response to your neighbors, to your fellow parishioners, to those who were previously strangers, will be the lasting and enduring memory that eclipses all else,” said Bishop William Joensen in his homily at St. John Church in Greenfield just four days later.
In his homily, the Bishop said parishes in the Diocese of Des Moines would take up a special collection the weekend of June 1-2, when the Church celebrates the Feast of Corpus Christi, to assist the Greenfield community.
Bishop William Joensen preaches at the May 25 vigil Mass at St. John Church in Greenfield, Iowa.
Bishop Joensen arrived in town hours before the Saturday night vigil to see firsthand the destruction the tornado wrought and hear the stories of parishioners including some who lost everything.
Only the foundation remains of this house after a tornado tore through Greenfield, Iowa on May 21.
The parking lot of the church was bustling with food trucks offering free food, stations with work gloves and construction supplies, and an array of people from town and surrounding communities who wanted to help.
In the social hall, stacks of personal hygiene items, diapers, and more items were neatly organized and labeled, and community members patiently waited while their phones recharged.
“The awesome power and terrifying power of Mother Nature struck fear in human hearts for was it a few seconds? A few minutes? It left many without electrical power for hours and even days,” said Bishop Joensen.
“The more wonderous display of spiritual power was your solidarity with each other, the care that continues to be unfolding, the material support overflowing, streaming in from different directions, and of course, prayer and simple presence to each other. This cannot be denied: Your witness and hospitality, your resiliency and your get-er-done attitude that radiates to all who watched or read reports online.”
Bishop Joensen recalled his most recent visit to Greenfield last Nov. 4. He stayed at the local inn and, the next morning, rose early and walked around town.
“The terrain and the profile now looks very different in parts of town that will never probably be quite the same. But there is still a terrible beauty that has been raised in relief,” he said.
The families of those who perished are surrounded with love.
“In the midst of darker moments, there is an irrepressible goodness, a light that’s a connection among us,” he said.
Live in hope.
Quoting Pope Benedict XVI, he said: “It’s never too late to touch the heart of another nor is it in vain. Our hope is always essentially hope for others. Only then is it hope for me.”
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