A Deep Sadness

I am struck with a deep sadness this morning as the full impact of Hurricane Katrina begins to sink in. I realized after December's tsunami that with catastrophic events, it takes a number of days for people to truly understand. Even if we watch all the media coverage, for many, it takes a certain amount of time before the events become real and they are able to begin to process the full emotional impact. I think in a day of information overload, it may be how our brains protect us. But now, beginning to see how bad things are, and beginning to connect with the emotions, this is overwhelmingly sad.

We all have different ways of coping with news like this. For some, it is to reach out and do whatever they can to help. What helps most in times like this is money. I am working right now on an opportunity to give toward relief efforts on Sunday.

If you want to start now, you can give through the United Methodist Committee on Relief in a couple of ways. You can write a check and bring it by the church. Just mark in the memo line:

"UMCOR Advance #982523, Hurricanes 2005 Global"

You can also drop a check with the same notation in the offering plate on Sunday and we will get it to UMCOR. You can also give on the web, through the mail or over the phone by going to this link:

UMCOR: Hurricane Relief

Because of faithful giving of United Methodist Churches throughout the year, UMCOR's operation expenses are already covered. Therefore 100% of this giving goes directly to hurricane relief.

I hope you can come to worship on Sunday where we can pray about this together.

peace,

will