Work, Pray, Have Faith and Don't Worry
From the Archives: Summer 2014
By Brett Loftis
Brett Loftis is the director of a unique place of healing for many neglected and/or abused children from all over North Carolina, a majority of these children being from the western half of the state. Passionately, he shared his story so that surrounding communities could know more about this faith-based sanctuary for hurting children.
“In my adult life, I have never known anything but kids. I first served as a youth minister before pursuing law school. After graduating, I was employed as a Child Advocate attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. I had worked thirteen years in a law firm advocating for children before God called me and my family to Crossnore School. My wife and I were praying about what was next for our family; we were parenting two small children and seeking a slower lifestyle as opposed to the craziness of Charlotte. So in February 2013, God made it clear that I was to move my family to Avery County so that I could serve as Director of the school. It is a nice fit and a phenomenal place to live.”
Of course, Brett cannot hide the rich, divinely inspired history of the school. It begins in a time when there were no paved roads and no public schools, and involves two Presbyterian missionary doctors, Eustace Sloop and Mary Martin Sloop. God had commissioned the horseback riding duo to Avery County to provide medical care to mountain folks in the surrounding area. They worked diligently in treating the sick, and were known for performing surgeries underneath apple trees. Then, it was common wisdom that one could not become ill or get an infection if the surgery was performed underneath the apple tree. They held on to that belief until their deaths.
Dr. Mary Martin Sloop began to notice the numerous children in the area with no education, the many teenage girls marrying at twelve to thirteen years of age, and also, lots and lots of moon shining was going on. She couldn’t stand it—she knew the community kids needed a school. She began writing letters to her friends in Charlotte asking for clothes. She would then hang the clothes on her porch and sell them to the local women as a way of supporting the school; thus, Crossnore School was founded in 1913. As more and more kids learned of the school, it was not uncommon for children to walk a half-day just to receive the blessing of free education. It was then that Dr. Sloop decided that dorm rooms were needed so that kids could board rather than walking such long distances. She borrowed money from the local bank in Avery County. At some point during this time period, there were over 300 children living on campus while attending school. By the depression era, folks would come and drop off their children and leave them there knowing the children would be well cared for. This is when the school morphed into an orphanage.
Dr. Sloop’s obedience to serving God as a missionary has left a permanent legacy. Crossnore School is celebrating its 101st year. Even in all the many years of operation, one thing has remained the same; the school has been non-denominational from the beginning. This philosophy opens up doors for all denominations to be involved with supporting the school. Dr. Sloop mandated a God-given vision, and it has not changed. Her philosophy on education is engraved beautifully on campus alongside a delightfully sculptured child. It reads, “A chance at a fine education is the best way to help children rise above their circumstances.”
Brett is proud of what Crossnore offers to its children. “Crossnore is a place where we can wrap the whole child — mind, body, and spirit, in one location. Too often, one thing or another is provided (to) the children, to the exclusion of the whole child. So either somebody is providing spiritual guidance or someone is providing education or someone wants to give them therapy, but those things aren’t working together. Kids don’t come in parts or pieces; they don’t come in an education body, in a spiritual body — they need all those things in one place. They need to feel safe first, before school matters, and before God matters. They need to know they’re safe. The environment is very healing in and of itself; these kids come from chaotic living conditions and the aura of peace is ever present on campus. When kids first arrive here, their faces exhibit anger, fear, and sadness. After a period of time, kids start to relax. Their shoulders go down, their faces radiate, and they really start to understand that this is a place that offers healing. Sometimes it takes six months before my staff and I witness this transformation.”
Crossnore offers a state of the art education. In the late 1990s, it became one of the first charter schools in North Carolina. The premise is that a public private partnership, along with the faith community, who all adhere to the belief that kids deserve better than abuse and/or neglect, is a win-win situation. The school has a capacity of 100 students. The cottages allow 80 residents, so the leftover slots are up for lottery to the community. All of our students, both community and residential, wear school uniforms so that there is no distinction between the two. The average class size is eight students. All teachers are licensed, and over half have attained their master’s degrees. The goal is to provide an excellent education in a faith based sanctuary for kids to heal. This year Crossnore will graduate eight students, and all eight have been accepted into college. We are proud of our 100% graduation rate. (The 2013 graduation rate was also 100%). Three of the eight graduates are pursuing ministry as a career, i.e., youth ministry, child-family ministry, etc. Some 20 year olds still come back and live here at Crossnore during the summer because there is nowhere else to for them to live during the summer months. Only a sanctuary such as Crossnore provides this safe haven.
Crossnore offers a phenomenal living situation. It is not a treatment center, but a children’s home, even though facets of a treatment center are in practice on campus. The campus covers 85 acres and has its own barn with rescue horses. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy is available to all children. There are six licensed therapists on staff to deal with the complex trauma that most of the kids have experienced. Each cottage houses eight to ten kids, along with the Cottage Parents. Some things are a given; every cottage has a rescue dog, and every kid owns their own bicycle. Here at Crossnore, we specialize in large sibling groups. These children can be fostered together in the same cottage, as opposed to being split into several different foster homes. Another worthy feature of Crossnore is independent living cottages. The largest feeders to the homeless population are from the foster care system. We offer a cottage near Mayland Community College, which offers residents the opportunity to earn an Associate’s Degree while reaping the benefits of being a Crossnore resident. This living situation encourages and supports responsible living.
And for the spiritual piece, a gorgeous chapel sits on campus, and is attended regularly by the students. Each cottage also has a long-term relationship with a local church, and the students and Cottage Parents attend that church as a family. Dr. Sloop put it like this, “Work and pray. Yes, and have faith. Not a puny faith that any ill wind might blow away. Seek to emulate the utter and complete faith of the young and beautiful Nazarene. Jesus spoke always of God as the Father. We should know Him too as the loving and all-wise and all-powerful Father. And we should never hesitate to ask Him to help us. He will. Faith is the very cornerstone of Crossnore.” Her spiritual philosophy is alive and thriving at Crossnore School today.
Through Dr. Sloop’s efforts, the concept of selling clothing to support the school is still going strong today as we operate a thrift store in which residents work and learn about the enterprise system. We keep the weaving store open to preserve the heritage of weaving. It is a busy, busy place during the summer, when many tourists come to shop the unique, beautiful merchandise. A coffee shop and café is another enterprise on campus that the school utilizes to teach kids to work and serve in preparing them for a successful adult life.
The legacy of Crossnore School is best summed up by the founder herself: “So, where was I? Oh, yes, my philosophy. Perhaps it’s work and pray and have faith. And then, don’t worry. I’m not worrying. I’m not worrying about what’s going to happen to Crossnore when I’m gone. I’m only just a little envious of the one who’s going to have such a fine time helping so many marvelous things happen here.” - Miracle In The Hills by Mary Martin Sloop, M.D., with Legette Blythe
