Thoughts on the Hurricanes

83,000 people are looking for shelter in states affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton, and are prepping now for Nadine. Over 2 million people are without power. Many were not able to evacuate, though they tried. Traffic was backed up in a gridlock for over 30 miles leaving Tampa. Gas stations were running out of gas, and airlines were nearly tripling the cost of flights. People have lost homes, pets, loved ones.

Pastor Rich shares some thoughts on the aftermath, and includes a link to help, if you can.

Dear Saints of Faith Pres,

A friendly reminder to hold our sisters and brothers struggling with devastating weather in love and in prayer.

While we know that Jesus could walk on water and calm storms when he willed it so, we also know that even in the physical presence of Jesus (wow!) that his disciples were terrified – so imagine how much more so when not in the physical presence of Jesus.

From the earliest verses of Scripture, we are presented with the challenging idea that light and dark exist in close proximity to one another. One interpretation of one of the first verses in Genesis is that “God’s spirit hovered over the watery chaos… and brought forth order.”

We often wonder where God is in the midst of suffering and hardship: the consistent answer from Scripture is not an easy one. God is in the midst of it – but not celebrating or glorifying it, rather, leading the way out.

Let us save our questions about why this happened and what God’s relationship to the why is, and focus on God’s effort to bring order to the chaos and lead the way out. One of the ways He may be bringing order is through us. There are many ways that you can help outlined on our main denominational website, pcusa.org.

To help animals in need, see here.

Prayerfully,

Pastor Rich