The Church Being the Church

June 4, 2013

Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 

“In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”
- Mark Twain

It would be an understatement to say that this has been quite a week, for indeed, it has been quite a month.  A church member made the observation to me that we have had record snowfall, record low temperatures, record high temperatures, and now record flooding all in the last four weeks.  I had always been told that if you don’t like the weather in Iowa, just wait fifteen minutes.  I had no idea that applied to seasons of the year as well.

Nothing quite makes us feel more powerless as human beings than when confronted by the whim and force of Mother Nature.  We cannot control weather events, despite our best efforts to predict and prepare for them.  Mark Twain was right. 

We can, however, pull together in community to give assistance to each other in the wake of devastation.  To date, all of our major roads into town have reopened, the river has receded to a manageable level, and public areas have been cleaned up to project normalcy.  But look behind the closed doors of people’s homes, and you’ll find a very different story.  There are many, many houses that still contain mucky, mud-filled basements with belongings that have yet to be hauled out.  Many folks on the outskirts of town are still without running water, including many of you.  A number of residents are overwhelmed by the sizeable corn field debris that has washed up in massive piles in their backyards. 


THE CHURCH BEING THE CHURCH

Last week, one of our volunteer teams cleaning out a local basement discovered a small, wooden cross covered with mud.  The resident told us that the cross was made by one of her daughters as a gift, and therefore had sentimental value.  But now, she would use the cross to remember the loving and willing hands of the church volunteers who helped her remove the wreckage from her basement.  That mud-covered cross would remind her that even in the midst of chaos, God was still with her.

You and I are called to be the church at a time when this community needs us.  Your every effort to put God’s love into action will remind people that even when the storms of life crash upon us, the love of God prevails.  There are specific ways that you can be part of making that happen:

1)  SERVE
By far the greatest need right now is to have volunteers dispatched into the community to help residents clean up their homes.  The list of houses continues to grow, with new names coming in daily from City Hall.  This morning at 9:30, folks will gather at St. Paul’s UMC and divide into teams to serve throughout the community.  We have a major demolition at one house, along with fairly urgent basement cleanup at five other houses.  You can stay as long as you are able, and folks of any strength or ability are useful.  Every hand, and every minute, makes a big difference.  Additional organized volunteer days are this Friday and Saturday at 9:30am. 

2)  GIVE
The Cherokee County Ministerial Association will be expanding its benevolence fund to receive donations and provide financial assistance to victims of the flood.  All of your contributions will stay here in town to help those in need.  We will receive a special offering this Sunday, and you can make your checks payable to St. Paul’s, designated for flood relief.  If you are aware of anyone that is in need of financial assistance to replace lost items, have them call Pastor Ethan Sayler at the Memorial Presbyterian Church.

3)  DONATE
Consider replenishing the supple of cleaning buckets that have been picked up at the fire station over the last week.  It is very simple to assemble the standardized contents of these buckets by following the guidelines on the UMCOR website (umcor.org).  Completed buckets can be brought to the fire station for distribution.

4)  GIVE THANKS
Finally, you can offer a prayer of gratitude for the amazing way that this local congregation, and the United Methodist connectional system, have been responding to the flood.  St. Paul’s has taken the lead in organizing volunteers from churches across the town, receiving from City Hall names of people to help.  From last Thursday to Saturday, over 50 volunteers contributed over 250 total hours of service, enabling us to cross many, many homes off our list.

The Iowa Conference has been a great support as well.  Catie Newman, the disaster response coordinator for our Northwest District, has been in regular contact with me and Ben Shuberg, the county disaster response director, and was instrumental in transporting 270 cleaning supply buckets to us last week.  Many of those buckets have been picked up and used by Cherokee residents, and remaining buckets will be stored here in town to be used in future disasters throughout Northwest Iowa.  Tom Carver, our District Superintendent, came on Saturday with his wife Linda to contribute a long day of volunteer service at one of our affected homes.  And just yesterday, Vickie Wiedermeyer, the disaster response coordinator for the Southwest District of the Conference, arrived to make personal visits to about eight homes, assessing their needs, and providing lunch items for volunteers serving later today. 

Yes, there is much to do, as we steadily help the most needy in this community return to normalcy.  And you can rest assured that, with your support and prayer, this St. Paul’s congregation and the United Methodist Church will join with these folks, every step of the way.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey 

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA  51012
Ph:  712-225-3955
Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org