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Pastor's Page

Posted on September 7, 2005 ...

For more than a week now we have seen and heard of the stories of lives directly affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Our hearts, prayers, and help go out both to the victims and those people serving to rescue and minister to the displaced.

September is traditionally a time when we emphasize the mission work of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. I am proud that Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams were quick to mobilize and locate to places affected by Hurricane Katrina. Here is a brief summary of how these groups are ministering:

» At Jefferson Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, LA over 14,000 meals are being served each day. They are also providing shower, laundry, and communication facilities.
» In Long Beach, MS over 8,000 meals are being served a day with crews sleeping under awnings and on sidewalks. Shower facilities are provided here as well.
» Water purification equipment is stationed at Grace Baptist, Slidell, LA.
» More Disaster Relief units are being sent to Laurel, MS, Tylertown, MS, and Monticello, MS.
(People interested in serving on a Disaster Relief team in the weeks ahead are asked to attend a Disaster Relief Training Event. For more information on these events, go to www.tnbaptist.org.)

In addition to the work of the Disaster Relief Teams, the Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes are providing housing for hurricane victims on several campuses. Our church's gifts to the Cooperative Program and to the Golden Offering for Tennessee Baptist Missions help make all these ministries possible.

Franklin Graham is challenging American churches to respond to this crisis by adopting displaced families. If you know of a displaced family our church might assist, please contact our church office. Crisis times create opportunities for the church to be the church, extending the grace, ministry, message, and unconditional love of Jesus. We should do no less.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we consider another relevant question Jesus asked.