News of the earthquake in Haiti came first as a fact, 7.0 on the Richter scale, estimated forty-five to fifty thousand people dead and many more wounded and homeless.  Then there came a more personal reality through eye-witness reports on the radio, and TV and internet images of damaged buildings, makeshift morgues and grieving family members finding loved ones in the rubble.  We see the devastation and hear the cries of grief.  We identify on a very human level with those who are suffering, and we want to respond.

There are two ways we can respond immediately.  One is by sending money to the relief organization of our choice.  Included in this newsletter is a message from ELCA Disaster Relief who through already established contacts in Haiti was there from the very moment of the disaster and has the reputation of staying with people in disaster areas even after other relief organizations have packed up and gone home.

The other very important and immediate way that you can respond is through prayer.  Never underestimate the power of prayer.  I don’t know how prayer works, but  I trust God’s presence and care for all people in all times and places especially in the midst of trouble.  God is present and active in the world with or without our prayers.  Jesus clearly commands us to pray and teaches us how to pray, and, according to Luke’s gospel, Jesus himself made prayer a regular activity of his life and ministry.  I urge you to pray for the people of Haiti and to continue to pray continually for all people in all circumstances of life.  We pray trusting in God’s power and wisdom to act.  In prayer, we entrust our world and our selves to God, and in prayer we open ourselves to God’s action in our own lives as well.

Throughout this season of Epiphany, we will find Jesus revealed to us through prayer.    Also, in Lent, which begins in February, we will enter into a time of prayer and take a close look at the prayer that Jesus taught us, using Luther’s explanation of the Lord’s Prayer in his small and large Catechisms.  I invite you to strengthen your understanding and practice of prayer for the ordinary and extraordinary times of life.  May we know God’s love and presence in all times and circumstances of life, and always turn to God in prayer.

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4.6,7)

In God’s Peace,

Pastor Matthew