FIRST WORD – 10.4.24 “Hurricane Helene”

“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” Psalm 57:1-2

I’ve had quite a few people back in Iowa and Minnesota ask me if we were impacted by Hurricane Helene. I say: “We missed this one, just some heavy rain and some wind!” Lucky! But others weren’t so fortunate. From the Florida big bend area all the way up to Tennessee and Kentucky, many people are still struggling with recovery.

We’ve heard in the news a lot about the destruction and deaths from the flash flooding in the communities around Asheville, SC. Two years ago I helped take our Iowa church youth group from Iowa to Columbia, SC to volunteer at a local mission, including helping build two Habitat houses. We drove by the Asheville area on I-40 to get to Columbia. It is a beautiful area with big hills and valleys and scenic views. The freeway there is closed now. The flash flooding washed out roads, even whole towns destroyed! Over 225 people have lost their lives and so many communities decimated. Surprisingly, this is so far from the coast where we might expect this!

The NALC has over 30 churches in the Charlotte, SC area, more than an hour away from Asheville. The Dean of the South Carolina Mission District, Rev. Dawn Rister, and her church, is busy helping out collecting and delivering items. (https://www.facebook.com/stpaulpomaria).

Closer to home, here in Florida, we had two NALC churches in the Tampa area that were impacted by the storm, though not as severely. Pastor Duane Marburg at Shepherd of the Hills, in Dade, FL reported some tree damage, mostly from the wind. Their church helped deliver Flood Buckets to an area that was impacted more near Perry, FL.

Pastor Sergio Gonzalez of Christ Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, FL, was impacted by the 20 foot storm surge. The church is ok, but Pastor Gonzalez lost his home (condo) and is currently looking for a new place to live. His temporary housing ends next Wednesday. He said in a Zoom call we had last week that he didn’t lose many personal items, but the challenge is finding a new place to live. Please keep them in your prayers. Perhaps some of you know others impacted.

As a pastor, I’ve been through three tornado recoveries in Minnesota and one mission trip to help with the Red River flooding in near Grand Forks, Mn. I’ve witnessed the shock and exhaustion, as well as long-term depression and trauma people often experience. Recovery takes time, money, love, and assistance.

How can we help? Go to the NALC Disaster Response website link here if you’d like to help out: https://thenalc.org/projects/disaster-response-updates/ We will talk about it at our next church council, too, and see if there is something more we can do, to be a refuge for those in need.

In Christ; Pastor Dan

Special Announcements:

• Join us after worship this Sunday for our final Bible Study led by Pastor Breznen: “The Elijah Book, The Story of Passover”. Dive deeper into your understanding of the meaning behind Jesus as our Passover Lamb.
• Our worship music this Sunday will be led by the praise team from Centro de Avivamiento Cristiano (CAC-WPB). This church that meets in our sanctuary Sunday afternoons with Pastor Keren Vila. Their keyboardist, drummer, and three singers will help us praise God with some modern praise music at the start of the service. Come ready to clap and sing! Pastor Keren will share a brief greeting during worship, too.
• The work on the Sanctuary Roof continuing and we hope will finish up this coming week or so. The roof timbers are in great shape, Alleluia! They timed the rains perfectly!
• First Church Council meets next Sunday after worship and lunch.

• The NALC Disaster Response Team is responding to the hurricane Helene damage. What can you do? Please pray for the families whose loved ones. Support them by:

— Purchasing Gift Cards from Lowe’s, Walmart and Home Depot and send them to:
NALC DISASTER RESPONSE, 16500 Noble Avenue, Caldwell, OH 43724

— Sending checks to help rent trucks, emergency supplies, and travel expenses to:

NORTH AMERICAN LUTHERAN CHURCH
2113 Harwood Road, Suite 309, PMB 409, Bedford, TX 76021-4703

• Reformation Sunday is coming up on October 27^th. We will be having a special guest, Dr. Martin Luther, who will share about his work to renew the church with the slogan: “Word Alone, Faith Alone, and Grace Alone”. You won’t want to miss it! After worship we will have a special Reformation Lunch and special showing of the modern movie: “Luther” starring Joseph Fiennes.
• Mark your calendars:
  December 22^nd – Church Christmas Program at 10:00 a.m.
  December 24^th – Christmas Eve Celebration Worship at 7:00 p.m.