Blessings from Butner PC
August 29, 2017
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
Pastor’s Corner
The pictures from Houston, Texas, and the surrounding area of the devastation following Hurricane Harvey are heart wrenching. The total loss of life and property is still not known. Many people have lost everything. It will be a long time recovering from this disaster.
So what can we do to help? As Rev. Dr. Jody Welker, senior pastor at the Kirk of Kildaire, says, “We can pray and be an answer to prayer.” Below is information from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and a prayer from Rev. Dr. Laurie Ann Kraus.
PDA is issuing an emergency appeal for Tropical Storm Harvey: Damage in and near Rockport and Port Lavaca, where the storm made landfall, was catastrophic. At this time there is extensive damage, and the flood event is continuing. PDA has National Response Team members ready to deploy in the coming days when it is safe to do so. Donations for the relief effort can be made at https://pma.pcusa.org/donate/make-a-gift/gift-info/DR000169/.
Prayer for Hurricane Harvey victims this week:
“God of our life, whose presence sustains us in every circumstance, in storm and distress, we need the restoring power of your love and compassion. We open our hearts in sorrow, gratitude, and hope: that those who have been spared nature’s fury as well as those whose lives are changed forever by ravages of wind and water may find solace, sustenance, and strength in the days of recovery and rebuilding that come.
We pray for those yet in harm’s way; who wait in neighborhoods while the waters rise, who pray for the rains to cease. We pray for those huddled at home or among strangers while wind ravages, for those who have fled from home and wait and wonder. We ask for sustaining courage, for the kindness of strangers, for hope that does not disappoint.
We open ourselves to listen with compassion to the stories of those whom Hurricane Harvey has not spared: communities deeply affected, whose livelihood, homes and stability have been destroyed. We pray in grief, honoring the lives, shattered and the livelihoods, homes and businesses for whom recovery seems an insurmountable mountain. We lift our voices in sorrow and compassion for families who have lost loved ones, homes, or livelihood.
We ask for sustaining courage for those who are suffering; wisdom and diligence among agencies and individuals assessing damage and directing relief efforts; and for generosity to flow as powerfully as rivers and streams, as we, your people, respond to the deep human needs beginning to emerge in the wake of the storm.
In these days of relief, assessment and response, open our eyes, our hearts, and our hands to the needs of your children and the movements of your Spirit, who flows in us like the river whose streams makes glad the city of God, and the hearts of all who dwell in it, and in You.
In the name of Christ the Healer we pray. Amen.”