Mary and Terry Mayhew initially said no to pastoring the church in Greensburg. Despite the tornado, they don't regret the move.
Methodist pastor agreed to move night of tornado
By Les Anderson
Last Updated: June 21, 2009
Back in May 2007, Terry Mayhew, pastor of United Methodist churches in Plains and Kismet, was asked to move to the Greensburg church.
Initially, he and wife Mary said no to the district superintendent, who is based in Dodge City. They had been assured in February that they wouldn't be moving during the coming year. Their daughter was getting married in Plains in August, and Mary said there was no way she was going to move with the upcoming wedding.
After some negotiations by phone, the district superintendent convinced the Mayhews to agree to move. They agreed, if they could wait until after their daughter's wedding.
That worked out for the Greensburg church, too, since members were planning to remodel the parsonage.
Those final discussions between the Mayhews and the district superintendent occurred on May 4, 2007, late in the evening. The district superintendent, like the Mayhews, was keeping an eye on the weather.
Neither the Mayhews nor the district superintendent had any inkling of what was about to happen to Greensburg.
"Little did we know what the extent of the parsonage remodel would be," Terry said.
The church and parsonage, along with 95 percent of the town, were destroyed by the EF-5 tornado that night.
The next day, the Mayhews' move was up in the air. Because neither congregation had been notified of the impending change, they couldn't discuss it with people in Plains or Greensburg.
The move was still on, but not until September. That would give the Mayhews time for their daughter's wedding, and also provide an opportunity for the Greensburg pastor to not only salvage his belongings, but also minister to the people in the church who lost their homes and loved ones.
Still, no announcement could be made until the move was finalized. That wouldn't come until the first part of June. On June 1, the Mayhews met with the Greensburg church's staff-parish committee in a tent in the rain. The change was announced June 3 in Greensburg, Plains and Kismet.
Terry made numerous trips-- at least once a week-- to Greensburg while still pastoring the churches in Plains and Kismet. He was in on the planning to rebuild the church and parsonage from the outset.
Groundbreaking for the new church was held on Sept. 2, 2007, and construction began in October. For almost a year, Sunday services were held in a doublewide trailer on the southwest corner of the church property. Sunday worship attendance averaged around 90.
The church's daycare center-- currently the only licensed daycare facility in Greensburg-- also met in the trailer during the week.
"That was quite a juggling act," said Mary with a chuckle. "We used metal folding chairs, 90 to 100, and we sat shoulder to shoulder, with our knees against the people in the next row. Music was a cappella. There wasn't even room for a keyboard. The pastor could literally spit on the front row."
After Sunday services, members stored the chairs and prepared the trailer for daycare activities for the coming week. When the congregation began planning the church, one item missing from the list of furnishings was metal folding chairs.
"They said no more metal chairs in the church," Terry said. "We've got some in the storage shed, about 50 or so we saved."
The church still doesn't have a sanctuary. Sunday services are currently held in the fellowship hall. Construction on a new sanctuary will start in July.
The Mayhews moved into the new parsonage, which is adjacent to the church, in July 2008. The former parsonage was a couple of blocks away.
While the church was being built, the Mayhews lived on the east side of Greensburg in a house with four rooms -- living room, kitchen, bedroom and back porch. Their freezer and the church office occupied the porch.
"The rest of our stuff was in a storage unit, just like all the people here in town," Mary said.
The Mayhews met in Meade, where Mary was teaching school. Terry, a native of Meade, was working as a mechanic. They started their ministry in Jewell in north-central Kansas. After nine years there, they moved to Plains.
Just before they arrived in town, the area was inundated by storms. Kismet endured 30 minutes of hail and 17 inches of rain.
It was nothing like the devastation of the Greensburg tornado, but the Mayhews said there was a lot of physical and emotional damage to repair there, too.
"Sometimes, we feel like the fix-it pastors," said Terry. "Because of what's happened the last two times we changed churches, we were a little afraid that it might get to where nobody's going to want us to say we're coming to town."
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