This Sunday, we'll conclude our series on Glimpses of God as we look at the nature of God as powerful and purposeful and relate that to the children's book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Alexander seems to think that no more bad things would happen to him if he lived in Australia. Sometimes we think the same way about being a Christian. I hope to see you Sunday as we try to make some sense of that.
This week also, I've been reminded once again of how truly big-hearted you are as we've received numerous inquiries about how Trinity and the United Methodist Church will be responding to the destruction of Hurricane Harvey. Here's what you can do:
- Pray for all of those affected and for those persons and organizations who will be responding with assistance.
- Give generously to UMCOR through our Mission Box this Sunday and Wednesday. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the humanitarian and emergency response arm of our United Methodist Church and is dedicated to alleviating suffering around the globe. UMCOR provides support when natural disaster, war, or conflict disrupts life to such an extent that the community cannot recover on its own. UMCOR is frequently one of the first organizations to arrive and one of the last to leave months (and often years) later. Because UMCOR is supported on an ongoing basis by our connectional giving, 100% of your offerings go directly to support the designated emergency, in this case Hurricane Harvey relief. You can also donate to UMCOR online (click here).
- Fill a bucket or donate items for the flood buckets to be sent to the disaster area. You can immediately purchase and put together a bucket, get a bucket from us and fill it, or bring in specific items for us to use to fill flood buckets (click here for the list). Please return all buckets and supplies to Trinity by Sunday, September 10. Our goal is to send at least 100 buckets from Trinity!
- Come help us assemble buckets on Friday, September 15 at 6:00 p.m. in the youth building. Please contact Jordyn Cowart to let us know you're coming to help!
- Trinity is also one of two drop-off locations in the Florida Conference for other churches to bring their buckets. Buckets from across north Florida will be delivered to Trinity by Sunday, September 17. Last year, the Florida Conference delivered more than 3,100 flood buckets to the UM Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, LA to be distributed to those areas with the most need. This year we're anticipating more! We will need your help putting the buckets on pallets, shrink-wrapping them, and getting them ready for transport on Thursday, September 21 when tractor trailers will arrive. More details will follow.
For the last several days, as I've been overwhelmed by the images of the destruction in Texas (and now Louisiana
as well), I've had the words to this familiar hymn echoing in my head:
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters, I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake.
May the presence of the God of strength and comfort be evident to all those affected by the deep waters of Hurricane Harvey, to those offering assistance and care, and to those coordinating the efforts. I'm looking forward to being a part of Trinity's generous and faithful response.
