Seeing God at Work

A few weeks ago, Ray and I traveled to southeast Alabama to give two presentations on congregational disaster preparedness. One of those presentations was at a LC-MS congregation, Christ the King Lutheran Church, in Enterprise, Alabama.

As we do each time in our presentation, we explained what LDR is and described the work LDR is doing in Alabama, we discussed what kinds of disasters are mostly likely to occur in Alabama, and then talked about how congregations can help their members prepare individually, how the congregation can prepare to care for their members and their facility, and how the congregation can do ministry in the community following a disaster.

Less than three weeks later, we heard on the news of the devastating tornado which struck Enterprise. I know that both of us were struggling with our emotions and our memories of being at Christ the King as we listened to the news reports of the extensive damage to the community and the nine deaths – eight of which were students killed in the collapse of the local high school.

After several phone calls and emails within the LDR staff here in Alabama, I quickly packed a bag and drove to Enterprise to join other staff already on site. On a Sunday morning exactly three weeks after our presentation, I found myself worshipping at Christ the King and attending a special called meeting of the congregation to discuss their plans for ministry following the disaster.

I stayed for a day and a half, helping run the volunteer reception center as over 600 volunteers came into Enterprise to help with the cleanup and removal of debris in the first few days following the storm. I talked with many volunteers as they arrived to help, some from the community and some who had traveled much farther to be there. I also talked with the members of the congregation – especially those who were taking active roles in their newfound ministry to the community.

For this small Lutheran congregation, in the center of town, just a few short blocks from the heavily damaged high school and other devastated neighborhoods, surrounded by many much larger churches of other denominations, is taking an active role in the recovery of their community. While other churches are feeding and housing victims of the storm, Christ the King has been designated by the mayor as THE location for all volunteers to check in, so that they can be registered, receive safety training, and their hours of labor can be tracked, which is crucial to help the city reduce its emergency-related expenses.

While I know that the congregation did not have time to develop concrete plans after our presentation, I also know that our presence and our presentation did help make them more aware of LDR and of ways that the congregation could respond in the event of disaster.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to walk with them both before and after this event, and I know that I will be returning to continue to walk with them as the recovery process continues. A few nights spent sleeping on the nursery floor in my sleeping bag, and a couple days without a shower are a small price to pay for the opportunity to see God at work among his people!