“Needing everything to work out isn’t peace. Peace is being okay when it doesn’t.” ~ Unknown
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We got to the Rowdy Gap strip mine by way of Lost Creek. Those familiar with the biblical flood of 2022 in Eastern Kentucky might recall that Lost Creek was one of the hardest-hit areas. Here’s a short video from the area when the waters dropped enough to get through again. Little wonder Lost Creek was devastated, considering the extraordinary amount of rain that fell and the creek’s holler being very narrow along most of its route, with many of its adjacent hollers having long been filled in by the surrounding Rowdy Gap mine soil, reducing the area’s capacity to hold and absorb the floodwaters. Near the headwaters, such as they are today, I glanced over the bank as we were climbing up the mountain and saw this little church glistening in the morning sun. I was sure I wouldn’t find it on the way back, but lo, I did, and I stopped to soak it in. The Lost Creek Pentecostal Church is one of the sweetest, most Eastern Kentucky churches imaginable. The black-stenciled cross on the white door, the hand-carved wooden cross atop the steeple, and the faux-stained-glass windows are spectacular. The setting of this little church is paradise, what with Lost Creek bubbling beside it, a chorus of birdsong, and fragrant spring buds wafting through the air. I may sound like I’m making fun of the place, but I’m serious. This church and this place are beautiful to me. I’m curious whether the little building survived the flood or if this building is a replacement, given how white its block mortar looks. If anybody up that way knows the answer, or anything else about the little church and its congregation, I’d love to hear the stories. This church represented resilience and hope for the residents of Lost Creek, whether it survived the storm or was rebuilt, resurrected as one might say. Architecture like this is invaluable to a community and the cultural landscape it creates. In disasters, the buildings we cherish become more meaningful than we would expect before their destruction. Even if we have to rebuild them, the fact that we can do so is a testament to resilience. God bless this little church and her people. I hope they all survived to worship within her walls once more. Yesterday was a pure blessing to me.
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