Out Of Difficulties Come Blessings

Rev's. Brian North and Gwen Stidham-North

As you know, we have experienced two major floods in our community of Chehalis in the past 17 months. Recovery has been a long and arduous process for the people in our corner of God's Creation. And after all of it, we have been blessed by the Presbyterian Disaster Relief's act of grace to send a few pastors and their spouses who served in communities impacted by natural disasters in the last couple years to Ponte Vedra, Florida, for the National Pastors Sabbath and special pre-conference seminars put on by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) in April.

We admit, we felt guilty going. Sometimes receiving grace and being blessed does this to us. We feel undeserving. And we are. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't walk in grace. And one of the greatest blessings of grace on this study leave (besides the seminars) was the interaction with other pastors from around the country – particularly those who had also been through disasters and received the same blessing we did. (Twenty-two of us were there for the PDA portion, while 250 pastors and spouses were there for the National Pastors Sabbath portion of the conference.) We met a pastor from Brooklyn, N.Y., whose church had been hit hard by a tornado in the early fall of 2007. In early April, 2009 they celebrated their sanctuary being put back together.  One pastor's first Sunday at his new church in Texas was five days after Ike left three feet of water in the church he was going to serve. They were packing up his house in California when the disaster struck. Another Pastor from Galveston said that the house they had purchased was flooded as well as their historic church.  A nearby church has allowed them into their church for Sunday services, while that host church worships in their Fellowship Hall. Another pastor was out of her home for 18 months because of a hurricane but was given a home to use for free from a congregant. These are just a few of the people we met whose communities were impacted by natural disasters, and the blessings in the midst of them. We also gained insight from a lecture on compassion fatigue.

We are grateful for the ministry of PDA that not only shows up to support during a time of disaster but they also help the pastors “inner-recovery” when it is all said and done. It was an opportunity and a blessing that we will never forget, and we are so grateful.

In Christ,

Rev. Brian North

Rev. Gwen Stidham-North