Salvation Army rededicates its Hope Memorial in tribute to Joplin's spirit

May 19—Russ Hibbard, pastor at Calvary Chapel and Salvation Army advisory board member, remembers handing out water from Salvation Army canteen trucks the first few days after the 2011 Joplin tornado.

Traveling through the destruction along 26th Street, he saw the devastation to homes and a school.

"I remember thinking this town will never be the same," Hibbard said. "Ultimately, what we learned, and why we're here, is that God brings us hope. He brings us hope for better days, hope for rest, hope for the future."

On Friday, Hibbard led the prayer for the rededication of the Hope Memorial at the Joplin Salvation Army Thrift Store.

The Hope Memorial is a multimedia, community-based mural measuring 7 by 11 feet. A group of Kansas City artists called Set Apart, in collaboration with other artists, worked for six months on the mural in 2011.

Not long after the tornado, the artists came to Joplin and gathered debris from the remains of the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Main Street and surrounding area. They folded, bent and carved the debris into the mural.

The artists came on their own free will to share their talents and share support with the community, said Lt. Marty Norris of the Jasper and Newton County Salvation Army. The group included several Hallmark artists. They worked with Salvation Army organizations in Joplin, Kansas City and St. Louis to make the mural, with funding from several church organizations.

"Even after practical needs have been met, there will be times when nothing else can sustain people but hope," said Brent Morris, executive director, artist and founder of Set Apart, in a statement in 2011. "We want to give them a permanent and visible reminder of that hope."

The first dedication of The Hope Memorial took place in November 2011 at the Joplin Family Worship Center. After that, Norris recalls the organization ran into complications on where to put the mural and how to display it. The pandemic slowed things down even more.

For the past two years, Norris, wife Salvation Army Lt. Jennifer Norris, and staff worked out the details to display it on the side of the Salvation Army Thrift Store, 302 E. Seventh St., facing the parking lot. The mural is now behind glass, protected from elements.

"It's a wonderful feeling to have it on display after so long," Norris said. "I talked to the artists, and they're so pleased their work is finally displayed and not sitting somewhere."

The mural features large, wooden hands upturned to cradle the Joplin skyline. The skyline's buildings are made of metal tornado debris and fixtures. Above the skyline is the city motto, "Proud of our past, shaping our future." At the top of the mural is the word "Hope" carved in scripted letters.

For Norris, the concept of the mural is that each new day, the morning sun brings the hope of a new beginning. In the mural, the sun rises above the Joplin skyline and the hands of God embrace the city and bring hope, Norris said.

The picture is completed by the verse Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope."

Friday's rededication ceremony was held with support from Active Lifestyles Events, and coordinated on the same weekend as the Joplin Memorial Run. Audie Dennis, president of Active Lifestyles Events and the Joplin Memorial Run, talked about the connection between the Memorial Run, the Salvation Army and the Hope Memorial.

When the tornado hit two weeks before the scheduled run, Dennis remembers, runners did a day of service instead. Over 400 people volunteered, and many of them worked at the Salvation Army to help sort the overwhelming flood of donations. Both the Joplin Memorial Run and the Salvation Army represent the hope of the human spirit after the tornado, Dennis said.

"We often don't hear about how the Salvation Army ministers to our communities, but there's so much work they do," Dennis said. "Seeing the way this organization stepped up in the weeks and months after the storm, that's what they do."

Norris said in a disaster like Joplin's, Salvation Army teams come in from all over the country to help. They offer things like counseling booths, food lines and support for rescue efforts. The Hope Memorial commemorates those relief efforts during Joplin's darkest time.

"It was a time of great tragedy for the town," Norris said. "The memorial came into focus when the word hope came up so much. We're here to give people hope. There's still good that can come out of a disaster. We also want to remember the people who were lost, so that they're never forgotten."

Just the facts Artists listed on The Hope Memorial plaque include: Brent Morris, Kristin Morris, Mike Morris, Calvert Guthrie, Duane Unruh, Barb Unruh, Kim Gatchell, Paige Deruyscher, David Johnson, Brent Harris, Krista Eyler, Mitch Trumpp, Whitney Buehler, Kamaron Gray, Kim Gray, Terry Gray, Carolle Nau, Dick Fox, Michael Davis, Anique Gray and Isaiah Morris.