Wind & Rain, Cold & Hope

It’s been a wet and windy couple of days, but I think the winds and rains have finally stopped. As with the tornadoes a couple of weeks ago, damage has been done. Thankfully no deaths have been reported.

Unfortunately, much of the storm damage has centered in the same areas that were smashed up during those previous tornadoes. Tonight the weather service has said that weather spotters and others reported more than half a dozen tornadoes and funnel clouds across Indiana today. Most of the damage consisted of downed trees and power lines, although homes were reported damaged in three Indiana counties. I am happy that we decided to send the offering taken up during worship at last Sunday’s Association meeting to our sister Association in southwest Indiana where the tornadoes were the most destructive.

These storms and tornadoes are unusual for this time of year. That concerns me—along with all of the other natural disasters that have occurred since the horrible destruction of last December’s tsunami. A lot of people are questioning these phenomena—some wondering if they are signs of “the end of the world.” As I have written previously, if by “end of the world” folks mean that God is behind these events, I believe they are wrong. Rather, I see us humans—and especially our continued misuse of our planet and its resources—as somehow being related to what has been happening. Could it be global warming that is the culprit? I don’t know. I am concerned.

Back to the weather. Even with the rains and winds, the temperature here has been extremely mild for this time of year. However, the forecasters say that is to end. The temperatures are predicted to drop so that, over the next several days, our high temperatures with be up to ten degrees less than our low temperatures have been.

The predicted low temperatures raise another concern for me: the homeless in our community. I chair the Bridge of Hope Kentuckiana Steering Committee, the vision of which is to end and prevent homelessness for women and children by calling churches into action. Our Bridge of Hope program here in Kentuckiana is still in its start-up stage and it may be a year or more before we can impact homelessness. In the meantime, I am doing what I can.

Several weeks ago, with the aid of the members of a United Church of Christ congregation and the mission program of a Roman Catholic Church, we were able to prevent the eviction of a woman and her children. Tomorrow I am making room in my house for a young couple—the woman is pregnant—and their 18-month-old daughter. I can’t do a lot, because my own resources are very thin. However, that does not prevent me from doing anything.

We can’t change the weather, so we have to accept it, and share with those whom it has affected. We can’t instantaneously end poverty and homelessness, but we can reach out in love to whoever is in need.