“You think of all the things you can’t replace,” said the Rev. Mary Laymon as she looked at the shell of her home, which was once a hub for helping others, before a fire decimated the structure on Dec. 24.
“But, I’ve been a pastor for 25 years, and so I look at that and I also see hope.”
Laymon and her husband Greg York turned their Mt. Healthy home and the surrounding land into the nonprofit Tikkun Farm in 2015. The farm offers a variety of programs, including an on-site food pantry, job training programs and healing arts programs.
The farm, its name derived from Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning “repair the world," is all about giving to those in need, but after the fire caused so much damage to their three-story farmhouse, these owners are now also trying to move forward from their own devastating loss.
More:A city farm, created to help repair the world, sows seeds of hope and offers food to go
The trouble began in the early hours of Christmas Eve day when the fire broke out in the main house, where Laymon lives with York and two other housemates. Laymon said she woke up the night of the fire and saw kindling ablaze next to the fireplace. Her housemates heard her yelling, and the four of them evacuated immediately to reach safety outside.
About 30 firefighters from six different fire departments arrived on the scene, but, Laymon said, the sub-freezing temperatures and high winds worked against them.
”The front of the house was a wall of flame ... the wind was just throwing the fire forward," she said. "The water was frozen in the hoses, the fire hydrant was frozen, the pumper equipment was frozen. I mean, [there was] every challenge these poor men and women had trying to put this out. It was freezing, and they were wet."
Laymon and her housemates lost their home and all of their possessions that were left inside.
"I had a beautiful sculpture that hung above the fireplace," Laymon said, "I didn't pick it up and take it, because I thought I was coming back.”
Fortunately, the rest of the farm is intact, and the animals were spared, which means that the programming for the nonprofit can continue, but they lost the space where volunteers and staff members met.
Laymon is turning to gratitude to help get her through this tough time.
“Even on the worst night of my life, there’s something to be grateful for,” she said. “Grief and gratitude can all live together in the same heart.”
Laymon is especially thankful everyone made it out of the fire alive and for the work of the firefighters who put out the blaze. On Wednesday, she and dozens of volunteers expressed their gratitude to the firefighters by making hot chocolate kits and thank-you cards.
In addition, many in this community have come forward to help in the days since Christmas Eve. People have donated clothing to Laymon and her housemates, and a GoFundMe campaign for Tikkun Farm has raised $53,000 of its $100,000 goal. The money will be used for a temporary space where the nonprofit's volunteers and staff can meet.
"We go forward with our community and we grieve," said Laymon, "and then we hope.” Looking at the burned house she added, “We are going to raze the house to the ground and build something beautiful."
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