Yesterday I drove down into Joplin Missouri to deliver the 2nd truck load of necessities collected from the Episcopal churches in the Kansas City metro area. I will share a few of my initial responses with you here.
Seeing the magnitude of the devastation was certainly overwhelming. As I drove into the section of the city that at the heart of the tornado's path it was like driving into another world. Everything was quiet, everyone had a "certain look" in their eyes. No one honked their horn, no car radios where on, no one was talking. It was a silent hush. And there was a gravity in the air that I can't explain. The horror of the event was still palatable as I enter the devastation path.
It was inspiring to see all the relief workers, professional first responders (I saw police cars, firetrucks and response vehicles from all over the United States) and National Guard there. It is good to see so many others seeking to help the people of Joplin.
I'm going to share one lament, one negative comment, and then I'll close with what was most inspiring to me. But, I must express my sadness at a story that Father Frank (the Episcopal priest who is rector of St. Philip's Joplin - their building is still standing!) shared with me. A few days after the storm Father Frank began to hear rumors of a prayer service that was being organized for the entire community. He heard it would be held on Sunday, but he had no other details and had not been contacted. So, he called up a few of his fellow pastors in the area and they too had not received any details about it or been invited. Odd. But, his fellow pastors where Roman Catholic, UCC, and Lutheran. They then started to piece things together. They then called the Jewish and Muslim community in town and they also had not heard anything about the prayers service. Sad. I don't want to dwell on this; but as a "recovering fundamentalist" my heart gravitates toward lamenting over this, and praying that we can find another way to live out our faith that truly reflects what we confess with our lips - there is only One God! It is us who have divided him up and claimed this God as our own. But, if we truly believed our monotheistic faith, then we would not be so threatened and fearful of praying together. An inter-faith prayer service where Christians, Jews and Muslims will offer prayers to the One God according to their way of prayer is being held on Monday evening at 6pm.
Okay, I can't leave you on that note. Because truly, I came away from that trip more inspired than discourage and I want to share that sense with you by leaving you on a positive note. Probably the most inspiring thing for me was listen to the talk radio station in Joplin (FM102.9) for the 4 hours I was down there. They have been on air covering the storm since 4pm last Sunday. And after the storm they have dedicated themselves to being a "community billboard" to help victims and aid workers communicate. Folks would call in and say, "I can help in this way, here is my number," or, "I'm looking for Joe Smith, what do I do?", or, "I'm from this church and we are having a cookout and afternoon of games for families with young kids just to give them a sense of normalcy for a few hours." The outpouring over that radio station was simply amazing. A few times my heart was overwhelmed at the stories I heard; and often a smile came across my face as I thought to myself, "yes, this is it, human being beholding other human beings and saying 'I love you, I am here for you in your time of need'." Allot of folks in Joplin right now - the victims and relief workers - are giving glory to God as they serve one another as Christ showed us how to serve. I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe that he is calling each of us (even if we are unaware of the source of that call) to live out his life in relationship to one another. I saw that in Joplin yesterday. Christ is present. Christ is Risen!
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