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RSSAn Ecology of Need and Spirit
Proper 7, Year A
Genesis 21:8-21
Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
or
Jeremiah 20:7-13
Psalm 69: 8-11, (12-17), 18-20
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew 10:24-39
Do not let me look on the death of the child. — Genesis 21:16
There have been more than two dozen fatalities directly resulting from recent devastating storms and flooding in the American Midwest. Some of them have been children — the four Boy Scouts who died when a tornado swept their campground come to mind, as do their heroic young comrades, who set immediately to administering the first aid in which they had all been trained. The waters continue to rise, in some places, as teams of citizens work round the clock to pile sandbags against the flood.
It could have been worse, of course. More could have died in the raging waters. But the Midwest flooding will have a ripple effect throughout the world: this is the agricultural heartland of America. Its bounty feeds us and also feeds the hungry in many other places. Farmland in the hundreds of thousands of acres has been destroyed. There will be less grain to buy and sell and less to give away, at a time when the worldwide food supply is already running into frightening shortages. Not many children will die here from this flooding, although the loss of even one child anywhere is a tragedy. But many might die of hunger elsewhere because of it.
Episcopal Relief & Development is assisting the dioceses in which the storms and flooding have occurred. In Iowa, Episcopal Relief & Development is working with its partner the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa to provide support to people who have been displaced from their homes. Mental health services will also be offered as the need arises. In Milwaukee, Episcopal Relief & Development will partner with the Diocese of Milwaukee to assist people in rural counties. In northeastern Wisconsin, the agency is working in Fond du Lac to restock the food pantry at the Cathedral and provide temporary rental assistance to families as they clean up their flooded homes. In Indianapolis, Episcopal Relief & Development will work with the Diocese of Indianapolis to provide rental assistance, food and water aid to families in communities that have no potable water. Episcopal Relief & Development officials are in contact with the Episcopal dioceses in Missouri and Illinois, as rising water threatens towns and farmland there, as well.
We are all connected — an American family, suddenly homeless in Iowa, and a poor family in Haiti, in need of bread. There is an ecology of human need: everything that happens in this world affects everything else, though not always in obvious ways. And there is an ecology of the Holy Spirit in the world as well, joining those in need and those with plenty in a fellowship of compassion and concern.
Episcopal Relief & Development has made a special bulletin insert about the Midwest flooding available to us for this Sunday and the weeks ahead. Go to their new website. www.er-d.org, where you will find it available for downloading. You can learn more about Episcopal Relief & Development there, too, and make a donation. Or telephone 1.800.334.7626, ext 5129.
