"Continue To Pray..."

Greetings church.

My prayers continue for the ravaged areas of south Louisiana as we deal with historic flooding and what is sure to be a long-term recovery. While the storm is thankfully weakening in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles are now bracing for flash flood advisories. For everyone in the affected areas, stay alert to advisories, check on your neighbors and pray unceasingly. 

Tomorrow, churches all across Louisiana will gather for worship. However, some churches will not be able to as they deal with flooded worship areas. Please check with your local churches for their posted plans. If you can attend worship tomorrow, please do so as God’s people need to gather and pray now more than ever. However, if you are not able to do so, this may also be a time when God is calling you to gather at the end of your street for church; praying and breaking bread with your neighbors.

Please know that we continue to assess the situation and will respond as we are called and needed. For generations, the United Methodist Church has been known as a church of long-term recovery. While our trained Early Response Teams will begin their work as soon as the rescue efforts are complete, our greater work will truly begin when this story leaves the front page of the newspapers, for that will be when we double our efforts. 

As historic as this flood has been, the recovery will be historic as well and I will anxiously await to see the church respond with the same love, grace and action it always has and has been known for, remembering that we are resurrection people believing that “morning by morning new mercies we see....."

Continue to pray...

Pray for those still trapped by rising waters…
Pray for those yet to be affected…
Pray for the first responders who have left their own flood ravaged homes to rescue others…
Pray for the children who have difficult questions with difficult answers...
Pray for our government officials; may they get the rest they need…
Pray for our churches; may they respond with the grace of Jesus Christ.