08/19/04

News from the Pews – from a former pastor Brian Dill

Some of you who have been at Beulah for more than 15 years will remember Brian Dill, one of our associate pastors, who worked with Cliff Stewart. Brian is now a pastor in Florida, and he sent a note around to others about the damage their church and area is suffering due to Hurricane Charley.

Please add Brian and his family and congregation to your prayer list, as we lift up all of those who suffered loss and damage due to this storm

Here is a prayer from our Book of Common Worship that may help inform your own prayers.

Peace, - Ken H .

God of earthquake, wind, and fire,
tame natural forces that defy control,
or shock us by their fury.
Keep us from calling disaster your justice;
and help us, in good times or in calamity,
to trust your mercy which never ends,
and your power,
which in Jesus Christ stilled storms,
raised the dead,
and put down demonic powers. Amen.

Here is Brian’s letter:

Dear Family and Friends,

We are tired but fine following Hurricane Charley's visit to Orlando. Wind gusts at the Orlando International Airport (not far from our house) were clocked at 105 mph, with sustained winds around 80 mph. So it was a blustery night! We huddled in an interior bathroom as the storm bore down on the area. Our transistor radio kept us informed and the wind confirmed this. After 30-45 harrowing minutes things began to ease up, and around 10:00, we ventured outside with flashlights. Nothing prepared us, however, for what we saw in the morning: massive trees uprooted everywhere, shingles blown off, and in many neighborhoods, power lines and poles knocked down. It was staggering. Hardly a spot in the city was spared. Many people are still digging out; fortunately, no one was killed. Statewide, the devastation was even worse, as Charley followed a diagonal path from Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte in SW Florida all the way to Daytona Beach on the east. In its wake, the historical grounds at Cypress Gardens suffered major damage, as did the beautiful gardens surrounding one of my favorite spots, Bok Tower in Lake Wales. Total destruction is what I heard regarding the Bok acreage (the tower itself was spared). Several churches in the Orlando area suffered damage, including our church, St. Stephen, which is getting a new roof and steeple as a consolation prize. The steel spire was twisted so that it tilted at an angle, and this afternoon a crane crew painstakingly removed the steeple so that it can be repaired or replaced. We are planning a major debris cleanup this Friday so that we can reopen our preschool next week.

The worst part about surviving a hurricane? No power. Ours just came back on this afternoon--six days after the storm struck. Thousands of work crews from around the country are literally putting Humpty Dumpty back together down here in the Sunshine State, and we are grateful. My sermon for Sunday is called "Angels in Hard Hats," and I intend to salute these wonderful workers, who are modeling for us Christianity in action. Now we can take a hot shower, eat real food, find where we put things, stay up late if we want to, and, of course, write e-mails. Trust me. When the power goes, everything goes. We have been a city without traffic lights for several days. We have stood in long lines to get a hamburger. We have coveted gas stations with gas. And we have spent untold hours doing dangerous things like climbing on roofs, using chain saws, and playing lumberjack.

The best part of surviving a hurricane? Getting your power back. (There is a sermon in here somewhere, isn't there?) The resumption of air-conditioning--which makes Florida living possible--has made us all human again. We can smile. We are breathe. We can think. As I write this, I can feel brain cells flickering to life again in my skull, each of them grateful for the gift of incandescent lighting and a cool feeling to the room.

I hope you are well. Barb goes back to work Monday, and David returns to classes on Tuesday. Bit by bit, normalcy is creeping back in. But I hope a bit of Charley hangs around. For, you see, Hurricane Charley brought Orlando together in a way few things ever could have. People now actually know their neighbors, and strangers are starting to feel at home. While this development won't make the evening news, it is helping to heal hearts. The soil is softening for opportunities to plant not only new trees (we lost thousands), but also new believers. I'm grateful for that. Pentecost started with a burst of wind, and maybe the Orlando Awakening has too.

With love in our hearts,

Barb, Brian, Dan, and David