Friends,

I woke up today to a news story about yet another “Bomb Cyclone” weather event hitting the Bay Area in Northern California – more devastation, more destruction, more injuries and loss of life. It seems like these events have been frequent and severe this year. Add to them the devastation that still lingers in Syria and Turkey from earthquakes. Climate experts tell us that this is our new normal – more frequent and more severe climate events that cause damage to land and property and cause injury and death.

It seems overwhelming; how can we respond to such devastation? What can one person, one congregation do? By ourselves, our resources and abilities, our responses and behaviors seem negligible. But when we consider the behaviors of all of us together, as a community, as a nation, as a species, we can make a difference in the way we affect Climate change. And when we consider the resources of all of us – community, congregation, denomination, nation – we can alleviate suffering and rebuild lives.

During Holy Week, we will highlight the PC(USA) special offering to “One Great Hour of Sharing.” This is a national offering in our denomination that, along with other priorities, contributes to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, our denomination-wide agency that responds to national and global disasters, like the ones in California, Syria, and Turkey. On Palm Sunday, you will begin to see information about the OGHS offering and how you can contribute to it. By ourselves, our resources and responses might seem small, but together we can rebuild lives and communities.

Peace,

Pastor Jack