ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — When Tropical Storm Helene hit Asheville in September 2024, historic neighborhood Biltmore Village was devastated by floodwaters.
One of the buildings impacted most was All Souls Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of All Souls, an Episcopal church consecrated by the Vanderbilt family in 1896. Today, as other parts of Biltmore Village make major strides in reconstruction, All Souls remains shuttered.
The price tag is part of the problem.
Restoring the spirit of All Souls Cathedral
The Very Reverend Sarah Hurlbert, dean of All Souls, estimated that $10 million will be required to reopen the church and its offices.
That endeavor includes revamping “the sanctuary, our choir rooms, the library, which will be our gathering space, and then bathrooms for everybody, and we have to have a certain number of bathrooms because [of] the congregation size. So, getting that done is $4.5 million,” Hurlbert explained. “The other parts are parochial, kitchen, education wing, and then we are in the process, we are aiming, to make the entire campus ADA compliant and to upgrade our fire prevention.”
The church is also taking steps to prevent flood damage in the event of a future storm. The technology that the church will invest in includes walls that “connect together almost like Legos” and gel bags that active when “you fill them with water, and they become this gelatinous substance that really molds around your doors.”
“It’s amazing, the technology. It’s out there,” Hurlbert said. “This is the type of thing that we need to have on hand in case, when and if this happens again.”
Hurlbert said that All Souls is on its way to hitting the $10 million benchmark. The church has received grants from FEMA and has been working with the nonprofit Partners for Sacred Places and the National Register of Historic Places. A few locals have also pledged funds to support the reconstruction effort.
However, the most helpful thing the public can do, Hurlbert said, is visit Biltmore Village.
“I think the first thing is for people to come down to the Village. There are restaurants and shops that are open,” Hurlbert said. “There’s also, on our property, we have a construction fence that we have put panels on that have the history of the church, and it also has a QR code for folks to be able to donate. We would love for people to come down and learn the history of this place, donate as they can. But, supporting the Village, that’s a huge, huge part of this.”
Keeping the faith
Although All Souls Cathedral is not currently open for worship, the All Souls congregation is still active. Before the flood, the church held around 1,000 souls on its roster, with between 250 and 300 attendees every Sunday. After Helene, that large congregation was in need of a new home.
“We had to move the whole operation to another location. In fact, we’ve moved twice,” Hurlbert said. “We worshipped at Trinity Church downtown for a while. We’ve had so many wonderful churches scoop us up and take care of us as we’re meeting. We were there for about four months, and then we went, right before Christmas, to St. George’s Episcopal on the west side of Asheville.”
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the native congregation of St. George’s had been diminished, opening a pew for All Souls to slide right into. Hurlbert said around 150 members of the All Souls congregation now attend 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday services at their host church.
While the cathedral will remain closed for most of the summer, there will be be an opportunity for the public to visit the church this Sunday, May 31. All Souls will celebrate six graduating high school seniors in their congregation with a service led by the students. In lieu of pews, worshippers will sit in folding chairs, with light provided by a temporary Duke Energy power pole.
Though All Souls is asking for help to reopen its doors, Hurlbert said the goal is to restore the church as an institution that helps right back.
“That’s what the hope is for this place. In the past, this place has been a center of resiliency. When floods had happened in the past, our campus buildings didn’t take on water. We were a center of resiliency,” Hurlbert said. “We want to build back to be able to do that again, so that we can be helpers.”
For more information about All Souls Cathedral, visit www.allsoulscathedral.org.
