Thursday Thoughts
It seems the story of Noah and the flood is becoming all too real in the past couple weeks. First it was the devastating rains and floods in Pakistan, which left more than 1500 dead and thousands without homes. The aftereffects are even worse, if possible, as the fetid waters have brought life-threatening disease, particularly among Pakistan’s children. You’ve probably seen the photos; they are jarring and the situation unimaginable.
Just this week, the floods came for Puerto Rico, which was still reeling from the effects of Hurricanes Maria and Irma. I read this week that the entire island is without electricity thanks to the ravages of Hurricane Fiona. (Incidentally, our church’s most recent mission trip in 2019 was a rebuilding project also prompted by those two previous hurricanes.) The news from Puerto Rico is difficult to watch.
But we can’t turn our heads away or change the channel. In fact, the UCC relief efforts, already underway, are possible in part because of your gifts to the church that support our annual mission budget. Because you support the United Chester, and because we support the United Church of Christ, people and materials are already in place to provide to the deep needs we are seeing. So thank you for your continuing support. Still, these are extraordinary emergencies, and if you are able to make an additional gift, simply label it “Disaster relief” and it will go directly to our larger UCC’s relief effort.
I’m writing this on Thursday because I won’t be holding Coffice Hours tomorrow morning. But I’m looking forward to being with you all as usual on Sunday morning, and speaking of worship, here is a happy statistic: last Sunday’s church attendance reached 80% of our pre-pandemic average. No, it is not always about how many folks are in the pew, but we’re grateful that more of you are feeling safe and comfortable enough to move from virtual to in-person worship.
Whatever your method of attending, here are the links to Sunday’s bulletin and on-line service:
PS Look closely at the topmost windows of the building in the bulletin photo; we’ll be talking about them on Sunday!