Since our last issue of the Parish Visitor, a devastating flood has hit Coffeyville. About a fourth of the town was utterly destroyed, including homes, businesses, hotels, restaurants, a grocery store, churches, parks, etc. Many people were, and still are, displaced. Seeing the floodwaters, and the destruction they have left behind, has affected us all. We have seen up close what the forces of nature can do and how powerless we are in the face of them.
But in the midst of this natural disaster, wonderful things have been happening. God can work, and is in fact at work, bringing good out of the bad. The churches in town, coordinated by the ministerial alliance, have set up a distribution center for those affected by the flood where they can get free clothes, furniture, toys and personal items. Many people have worked many long hours sorting, packing, and transporting clothes to get them ready for the distribution center, named, “Here’s Hope,” and we thank you for all you have done.
We have learned that in disasters, such as the flood we experienced, things do not always move as smoothly or as quickly as we would hope. But we have seen so many people come together to work on the issues to help us move forward as a town.
In this time of recovery, the Holy Spirit is among us, bringing us closer together as a community. I see that happening both in our church community, and in the community at large. Through the hours we have spent together sorting and folding clothes, dividing up breakfasts, sorting food or simply the conversations we have with one another at church, in the community or on the phone that perhaps have taken on deeper meanings in the past several weeks, we are growing closer to one another.
It will take a long time for Coffeyville to recover completely from the flood of ’07. But we can know for certain that God will be with us, showing us the light so that we can find our way even in the darkest times.
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