Dear Siblings in Christ,
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you this day!
As you have seen in the news, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and a 7.5 magnitude aftershock has devastated the southern region of Turkey and northern Syria.
The death toll is over 33,000 lives and expected to rise as the rescue efforts are hampered by cold winter weather losing precious time for those who are trapped underneath the rubble. The devastation is beyond words.
As our hearts ache for the people of Turkey and Syria, I invite all of us to pray for all who are affected by this disaster: families who lost their loved ones, families who do not have everyone accounted for, all those who lost everything, without shelter and basic necessity suffering amid the freezing cold weather and all the rescue workers trying to save those who are trapped. For now, prayer is the best thing we can do interceding for the powerful hand of God to help.
Information will be forth coming soon from UMCOR (United Methodist Committee On Relief) about how we can be of help and bring hope to our siblings as they try to make sense of the devastation and begin to rebuild their lives from the rubbles of the earthquake. As soon as the information becomes available, it will be posted here and announced on Sunday during worship.
God is gracious, hearing our prayers spoken in words and also our prayers of groaning, coming to our aid of those whom we lift up in our prayers!
Shalom,
Rev. Dr. Grace Pak
Pastor, Calvary English Ministry
