Fields of Faith returns Monday after losing original date to hurricane

The original date for this year’s Fields of Faith celebration never had a chance.

That was Oct. 7, with Hurricane Matthew scraping its way up the Atlantic coast before hitting the Lowcountry in the wee hours. And after the damage inflicted on Hilton Head Island and other parts of Beaufort County, officials gave thought to skipping a year.

Instead, the annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes gathering will take place Monday at Bluffton High’s baseball stadium, with an anticipated 300 attendees to hear a revised program with a new theme — “Anchor in the Storm.”

“Having to change the program, I think, has brought it to a more special level,” said Lisa Richardson, area representative for the FCA’s South Coastal chapter that organizes the annual event.

Fields of Faith is a national student-led event where local athetes and their communities gather on their school athletic fields on the same night to hear students share their faith stories. Monday night’s event comes exactly one month after Hurricane Matthew’s intrusion.

“And school is out the next day,” Richardson said. “What better day to hold it?”

The event includes a live band and free food, with the program scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The first 15 minutes or so will be a tribute to the Lowcountry’s recovery efforts, as representatives of local teams talk about their service to the cleanup.

Hilton Head Island’s football team has been most prominent, giving up a handful of practice days to go into neighborhoods and help clear debris. But the Seahawks haven’t been the only one.

“When I saw so many students helping with recovery efforts in a selfless way, I was touched,” Richardson said, also singling out efforts by May River cross country and Bluffton cheerleaders.

The singular site also marks a break from previous years, when separate events were held at Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and Beaufort. Richardson has been passionate about gathering as one community, citing recent months in which Bluffton runner Grace Sulak’s tragic death in May and basketball player Eric Szczepanik’s need for a heart transplant have brought groups together.

“The way I see it, we’re one community — not separate,” Richardson said. “I like to say the bridge is built to connect us, not to divide us. Both of these communities have been affected by the storm. Let’s all celebrate that things are not worse than they could have been.”

Ridgeland-Hardeeville also will host a rescheduled Fields of Faith event on Nov. 16.

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Fields of Faith returns Monday after losing original date to hurricane."