DARRINGTON — A message of hope grew out of doubt and grief.
The Rev. Chuck Harmon, an evangelist and Christian musician from Des Moines, Washington, was driving home from the scene of last year’s deadly Oso mudslide, days after the hillside fell and killed 43 people. He’d gone up to Darrington to help local pastors work with people as they grieved and prayed. As he drove home, he reflected on what he’d witnessed.
“It was more than I expected, that’s for sure,” he said. “People were walking around in the store just crying while they were shopping.”
He was listening to the radio, and the program’s focus turned to religion in light of the mudslide. Someone asked how people could believe in a God who would bury their families.
Harmon had to pull over. “I almost got physically sick, it hurt my heart so bad.”
He had a song in his head by the time he got home. He called it “Jesus Was There.”
Harmon worked with the Rev. Jim Alexander at Darrington’s Abundant Life Church of God of Prophecy to share the song. Alexander helped coordinate local musicians and a small choir from Abundant Life and two other churches, the First Baptist Church and Glad Tidings Assembly of God. Jim Alexander’s wife, Violetta Alexander, played the piano. She rallied singers and a flutist.
Rehearsing and recording “Jesus Was There” was a deeply moving and personal process for the Alexanders’ congregation. One of the victims, Steven Hadaway, went to the church. The 53-year-old was installing a cable dish at a Steelhead Haven home when the slide hit.
The choir and musicians rehearsed six or seven times, with Harmon singing lead vocals and strumming the guitar. A sound technician came up and recorded their song, and later edited in instruments, such as the bass and drums that weren’t in the original mix.
The song is now on YouTube with a video made up of photos from Oso, Darrington and Arlington.
Harmon and Alexander’s goal is to produce CDs in the next month or so. The CDs would be distributed to local businesses and sold on a donation basis, with the money going toward a relief fund for families affected by the slide. The details of the fundraiser still are being finalized, Harmon said.
The pastors and musicians hope to share the healing they found while working on the song, Alexander said.
“It was an emotional and very touching experience because you’re dealing with people’s personal loss and the loss to the whole community,” he said. “You’re just brought right back to that moment in time when all of this happened. But the song also has a message of hope and encouragement.”
People can listen to “Jesus Was There” online at http://bit.ly/1yIkVdF.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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