Pastor’s Corner: Storm Season

October 5, 2022

This storm season has wreaked havoc in a number of places. The Philippines has been hit several times by typhoons. In the Atlantic, Hurricane Ian moved over Cuba before making landfall in Florida, crossing the peninsula, and returning to shore in the Carolinas. Just five years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona left the island without electrical service and went on to cause major damage in the Dominican Republic and eastern Canada. According to Wikipedia, it was the strongest hurricane to hit Canada on record.

The storm season isn’t over yet.

The United Church of Christ has launched an emergency appeal to help with response and recovery. As well as conferences and local churches, the UCC works with other partners including churches and agencies in affected areas, ecumenical bodies, and in the US, the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. To give online, visit:

https://support.ucc.org/donate—hurricanes-2022

You can also give through Church of the Holy Cross with a special gift identified for “Hurricane 2022 Fund” in the notes section of the check. We will pass those gifts along through the Hawai’i Conference to the UCC’s Disaster Response Ministry.

We have seen our neighbors affected by local disasters, including Hurricane Iniki in 1992, Hurricane Lane in 2018, and of course the 2018 eruption in lower Puna. We know how long it takes to recover – the build Interfaith Communities in Action has planned with Habitat for Humanity Hawai’i Island is for a family that lost their home to a 2018 lava flow.

The dollars you contribute now will be at work for some years to come, as the UCC’s largest efforts tend to come in the recovery stage of a disaster, assisting with rehabilitation and replacement of damaged homes, providing people with new hope for their lives.

Please pray for those affected by these storms, and as you are able, please help.

Blessings to you,

Pastor Eric

Photo of downed trees and power lines in Bartow, FL, following Hurricane Ian by State Farm – https://www.flickr.com/photos/40567541@N08/52392891872/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=123557730.