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Tornado and flood recovery ministry



July 27,  2008


Today I went to LeRoy and Lona Klinghammer's house in Clarksville.  We tore down a room over the part of the foundation that was caved in. Here is the Link.


Next volunteer dates
July 31
August 2
The recovery has started.  I encourage each of you to help by volunteering on days you are available.  We will have regularly scheduled days for volunteering.  The next ones are listed to the left.
LeRoy and Lana  will have first dibs on our labor.  Then we will send groups to Waterloo/Cedar Falls

If you wish to volunteer on your own you may call 235-6781 to make arangements.

                                     

On June 22, 2008

Fill the church with love by emptying our building this Sunday

. . .Don't come to church, go be the church

Click for more information




Download the pastoral letter
PDF file

Word File




"Bring the Rain" video
Click here to download the video we used on
June 15th featuring pictures and video from recent disasters in Iowa and around the world.

To download a copy - right click on the link - choose "save target as-"



God of mercy, hear our prayer—

 

We come with the only offering we have-our broken hearts for the ocean of need surrounding us.

 

We come to cry.  Receive our tears for our personal losses>> loss of sleep, loss of security, loss of crops, loss of homes and cherished possessions,  and all the intangible, un-nameable losses that haunt our souls.

 

We come to ask-why, Lord, why?  Why are our communities suffering so?  Why tornado AND flood?  Why the lives of four bright young future leaders taken while they were so innocently attending Boy Scout Camp?  Why our neighbors, our families, our fields?  Have we displeased and dishonored you? We don’t think so.   Will you speak to us, O God?  Will you explain it to us?

 

We come, O God, hearts broken and heads bowed. We do not understand.   But we know we  need you.  O Lord, how we need you. 

 

So we come, boldly, to praise you even in this storm.  We praise you for your faithfulness through out our lives.  We have weathered storms before, haven’t we Lord, and you have always been at our side.  We had have floods before, by your grace we have rebuilt our lives.  We have been afraid, worried, overwhelmed , sick in body and sick in soul, yet you, Our Great Physician,  have brought us healing. 

 

We praise you.  We sing glory to the name of the God of grace and love you have been, the God you are, the God you always will be.  God have mercy on us.  Christ have mercy on us.  Holy Spirit have mercy on us.

 

Amen. 

 

Pause

 

Let us pray together….Our Father….God of mercy, hear our prayer—

We come with the only offering we have-our broken hearts for the ocean of need surrounding us.

We come to cry.  Receive our tears for our personal losses>> loss of sleep, loss of security, loss of crops, loss of homes and cherished possessions,  and all the intangible, un-nameable losses that haunt our souls.

We come to ask-why, Lord, why?  Why are our communities suffering so?  Why tornado AND flood?  Why the lives of four bright young future leaders taken while they were so innocently attending Boy Scout Camp?  Why our neighbors, our families, our fields?  Have we displeased and dishonored you? We don’t think so.   Will you speak to us, O God?  Will you explain it to us?

We come, O God, hearts broken and heads bowed. We do not understand.   But we know we  need you.  O Lord, how we need you. 

So we come, boldly, to praise you even in this storm.  We praise you for your faithfulness through out our lives.  We have weathered storms before, haven’t we Lord, and you have always been at our side.  We had have floods before, by your grace we have rebuilt our lives.  We have been afraid, worried, overwhelmed , sick in body and sick in soul, yet you, Our Great Physician,  have brought us healing. 

We praise you.  We sing glory to the name of the God of grace and love you have been, the God you are, the God you always will be.  God have mercy on us.  Christ have mercy on us.  Holy Spirit have mercy on us.

Amen. 

Pause

Let us pray together….Our Father….




Bishop Palmer's statement on the storms





Volunteer in the Cedar Rapids area



  I sat down Saturday evening to write a brief pastoral statement about the flooding, which was to be read during our joys and concerns time.  Three pages later the tears cleared enough to realize I was writing a new sermon.  Though It is not the tightest, or most polished sermon I have ever written it deeply impacted me and others.  (See the whole Sermon by clicking here)

4 challenges---
1. Find a way to "wash feet"- volunteer (and let the rest of us know how to get involved) pray, donate.

2. Don't go to church on June 22. . . go be the church. Don't come to the Reinbeck United Methodist church on June 22. Go worship with a church in a disaster affected area and take this pastoral letter (PDF version or word version) to them.  Let them know that you are there as a representative of the larger Body of Christ, we are praying for them and we are anxious to be able to help.

3. There is a youth work camp that has been run out of Cedar Rapids for 20 years.  They WILL have camp this summer providing youth 7th -12th grade with a safe Chritian opportunity to minister to flood survivors by addressing some of the physical needs they have.

Find one youth to go to CVV on the second week of August and offer to pay for them.  It sounds like it will be less than $100 per person.

Let's fill the camp!!

4. There is almost a visible gray cloud hanging over the state.  We are having a celebration of friendship and hope on August 3.  Invite someone who needs help overcoming the gray cloud of depression and discouragement and dismay.  We will celebrate Christian hope in the worship service and celebrate Christian friendship in the FREE TO THE PUBLIC picnic lunch to follow.  This will all be at the city park in Rienbeck. 10:00 worship.  Lunch to follow.