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Dearest Friends,
This year’s theme for our 2023 Stewardship Campaign could not be more fitting: More Than Enough. The Church of the Incarnation has weathered a monumental hurricane called The Pandemic. As we entered into it, no one knew how we would survive as a church. With Reverend Adrian newly at the helm, we were able to quickly adapt to the new normal of Zoom and YouTube. We were connected, far and wide, as we hunkered down. In the form of the individuals who worked on bringing us together on these new platforms, God showed up.
As the “eye” passed over us, we had gotten into the routine of this new way of worshiping together. We shared our prayers and our sorrows as illness and sometimes death descended on our family. Then, the Church of the Incarnation had the great reopening. The back end of Hurricane Covid was here, and along with that, the financial struggles to put things right again at our church. The decisions on how long we masked, whether we could sing our praises, and how we were to share in fellowship outside of worship were set before us. Yet, we managed at every turn as Reverend Adrian ensured that all would happen with as much safety as possible. Hurricane Covid showed us we had More Than Enough as God showed up.
I write to you this day from Naples Florida, where almost 3 weeks to the day, Hurricane Ian wreaked a havoc few of us have ever known here in Southwest Florida. We’ve been living here having sold our home in Tudor City and not having luck with finding a new place in the city yet.
We are privileged enough to live just one block from the Gulf of Mexico in lovely downtown Old Naples. During Tuesday morning prayers with Reverend Adrian, we had prayed for the safety of all in the path of Ian. None of us expected Ian to take the turn it did and point its destruction right for this part of Florida. So much for the weather channel’s predictions. I was receiving thoughts and prayers from my church family who knew Ian was headed in our direction. Those thoughts and prayers gave me such a feeling of being loved and cared for by all of you, as the storm got nearer and our fears began to escalate.
At the height of the storm, the surge came in, and within 15 minutes, we’d gone from puddles to chest deep water. It became apparent we needed to evacuate immediately, yet, I didn’t want to leave the elderly couple and their cat across the hall. So off we set, with the 110+ mile an hour winds, rain, the surge, and water running like rapid rivers everywhere -- four humans and a cat (who remained indignant the whole time, having had her afternoon nap disturbed). It took us 2 hours to negotiate a distance of 4 blocks through the waters without being pulled under. My daughter was able to get her huge pickup truck into the area and waded in hip deep water to take us to safety. Later, sitting around in borrowed clothes, we were able to laugh at our trauma and praise my daughter for her bravery. With my daughter hauling us off to safety, God showed up.
Clean up and rescues began as soon as the storm had calmed. The waters never breached our first-floor living area, but we discovered our main breaker box had caught fire. Two of our neighbors’ cars were lost to the salty waters, and there was a six-inch layer of sludge as well as debris making it almost impossible to access our building.
My mother, having evacuated the night before, lost her house completely. Her neighbors who stayed clung to rooftops with young children, floated on pool rafts to higher ground, or were rescued by airboats. It became clear that my mom would not have survived if she had not evacuated. With words of advice, airboats and rafts, God showed up.
The family home that my late husband and I created and raised our children in did not make it -- The Beach House that everyone called magical. It is just a few blocks from where I live now with Robert, and as I drove slowly down there a few days after the storm, I passed house after house with a green tag stuck to makeshift doorways. The green tag announced the house had been searched for survivors, or even some of our dear neighbors who might not have made it. My legs shook as I drove. But, fortunately, no one there lost their life. God showed up.
And all the time, I was and still am receiving texts and emails from our Incarnation church family, checking on us and offering prayers. Reverend Adrian calling to offer comfort throughout the ordeal. Yes, God showed up.
I’ve been able to participate in Tuesday Morning Prayer by cell phone. Internet has just been restored. Seeing the faces of my friends at Incarnation and listening to the words in the Book of Common Prayer have become so calming and meaningful, even when I can’t have the book in front of me. I’ve even able to participate in Bible Study by Zoom these past two Sundays!
For the first week after the hurricane, the sun shined with such brilliant determination, drying out the remains and debris left by the epic storm we had come through. The Gulf of Mexico has been more stunning than ever. The blue of the sky has been unusually bright for this time of year. And slowly the birds have come back, chirping their songs of happiness and praise. In the days right after the hurricane, we walked the beach for the first time since the storm, and I who have lived here for more than 30 years, was awestruck by the incredible beauty of this place. The golden sun dangling on the horizon. The sand packed firm and the tide out so far, as if you could walk straight to Mexico. Truly, God has shown up!
All this beauty shouts with the glory of God. You are drawn to the power and the gift of God we call life. And instead of tears from exertion and feeling overwhelmed, my tears are tears of joy. How lucky we are to be here! With everything God has created around us. We are truly loved! And in this time of great loss, we gain an even deeper faith in the words and the power of Jesus Christ. Trust! Believe! Seek beauty! Have faith! In that, we are just like Church of the Incarnation as we’ve come through Hurricane Covid. We are here. A bit battered, but here! We can worship together. We have fellowship together in whatever form! God has shown up!
Not a person has asked, “Why has God allowed this?” That’s not the question. The question is, “Have we listened?” Have we heard the words of Jesus Christ telling us to care for each other. Extend your hand and your heart to one another. Not just at times of disaster or pandemics, but every day in our lives. God has not failed us. If we truly have listened, we understand that God has given us something very precious -- strength and faith.
In the end, I hope you have all realized, like me, that throughout these 2 hurricanes of weather and pandemic, God has never left us, and neither has Church of the Incarnation. God showed up for us in both cases! We are stronger and richer. We have lost loved ones to illness and storm, livelihoods, and homes, but if you have listened, we have More Than Enough. We are blessed with the love of Jesus Christ, each other, and our church.
And now, as God and our parish have shown up for us, we must strive to show up for God and our beautiful Church of the Incarnation. A neighbor posted a picture today of her fellow parishioners helping someone with their destroyed house. She captioned the photo with... “I love watching our church BE the church.” AMEN.
From Naples and in peace,
Mona Antaramian
Stewardship Chair
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