ERWIN, Tenn., (WJHL) – On Friday, residents of the Unicoi County community came together at St. Michael the Archangel Parish to remember those who lost their lives during Hurricane Helene.

The evening featured Mass and a blessing of a memorial tree in honor of the victims of the floods.

The parish served as a center for donations and aid during the hurricane, but Father Tom Charters acknowledged the challenges faced by the parish itself.

“When I reflect on it, I think about the events and the lives lost,” he said. “It’s a daily reminder because I drive past the cemetery, seeing the graves of parishioners who perished and were laid to rest there. It’s been difficult. When the storm struck, and for months afterward, discussing it would bring me to tears. I conducted four funerals in just eight days.”

St Michael’s is a bilingual parish, hosting a large Hispanic community.

Charters said the parish is here for everyone, not just practicing Catholics.

“We are one community,” he stated. “And I often say this: ‘It’s one community, two languages with one Body of Christ.’ Referring to Matthew 25, where Jesus says, ‘I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink, I was naked, you gave me clothing, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’ This has guided much of our ministry.”

Charter’s message emphasized the community’s strength and hope throughout the year. He remarked that Unicoi County is now a year older and wiser, understanding life better by looking to the future.

“To me, it’s all about hope,” he stated. “Death means life has changed, not ended. The Irish have a saying. You cry at a birth and laugh at a funeral because life inevitably brings struggles, but at death, they rejoice and are free to be with God. That’s my perspective on death.”