In the Presence of Destruction

Our thoughts are on the people in Moore, Oklahoma where a terrible tornado hit yesterday afternoon and the people have faced such rampant destruction.   This is the very same place that was hit by a tornado in 1999.   This is such a terrible calamity.    But it pulls people together and the Ministry of Presence is not a theological misnomer;  it is a humane reality.    From the First Responders, to a slew of people who have come in to repair gas lines and water mains and dig in the rubble for 3rd graders who have drowned in their school hallways, people have responded with presence.

In fact, they are now asking for people to keep their presence to themselves because of the traffic congestion.  And not to bring piles of old clothes for someone to deliver and find a place for.   Presence sometimes means the "right" presence for the time and this is one of those times.

To all of the people in Moore, I send my prayers and my financial support to the Red Cross.   This tornado --2 miles wide and 20 miles long--has left a sheet of rubble in its path and devastation and death along the way.   May those 56 families who have lost someone feel the presence of Christ as they try to pick up the pieces of what is left of their lives.