A United Methodist Insight Column
Louisiana Storm Damage
Tornadoes tore through parts of Louisiana Dec. 14, prompting immediate assessment by the Rev. Bob Deich, Louisiana Conference disaster response coordinator. (Louisiana Conference Photo)
This week's most immediate crisis news: Strong storms swept across the United States wreaking havoc and causing deaths and property damage.
From the Louisiana Annual Conference: "Two people in Louisiana died, and multiple injuries were reported after tornadoes and severe weather impacted portions of the Monroe District, specifically Caddo Parish and Union Parish.
"In Farmerville, twelve people were injured, and a neighborhood was destroyed. That is the area where the Rev. Bob Deich found himself Dec. 14.
"While surveying the damage with some local law enforcement officials, Deich says a young man who was shaken by the loss, especially ten days prior to Christmas, approached him.
"'It was tough. The Sheriff's deputies would not allow the young man to walk down to his home for safety and security reasons, but you could see that the loss shook him,' Deich remembers. 'It's striking to see Christmas decorations in yards on one side of the street and absolute devastation at the neighbors right across the street. Storms don't respect boundaries, and they most certainly don't know holidays.'
Louisiana truck
People know when Louisiana Conference disaster coordinator Bob Deich arrives thanks to the sign on his truck. (Louisiana Conference Photo)
"As much as Early Response Teams in Louisiana are known for the work of their hands with tasks ranging from debris clean-up to chainsaw work, sometimes it's their ears that are needed more than ever.
"'We say it all the time, "Listen, Listen, Love, Love". The most important thing is to listen to the person's story, look into their eyes as they talk, and not focus on the devastation,' he said, 'Instead, we focus on the heart.'"
To aid Louisiana folks and all those hurt by the tornadoes in Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, give to UMCOR's Domestic Disaster Response, Advance Project 901670.
Worse gift than coal: gun violence
Christmas brings a paradox: the season of joy is also the season of sorrow, when human losses are felt keenest. This Christmas, one of the keenest losses comes from those mourning victims of gun violence, a slaughter to rival King Herod's massacre of the innocents (Matthew 2:16). Here are some of the latest reports on the ongoing efforts to halt the violence.
From The Marshall Project: "Gun violence has become the leading cause of death for children since December 14, 2012, when 20 young students and teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. At least 117 children and teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade have been fatally shot going to school, attending class, or walking home in the past decade. BUZZFEED NEWS More: Mary Sherlach, the school psychologist at Sandy Hook, was murdered when she confronted the gunman. Her husband works to prevent more school shootings. USA TODAY More tales of modern gun safety advocacy. THE WASHINGTON POST"
In her daily "Letters from an American" blog post, Professor Heather Cox Richardson wrote Dec. 14 about the movement to regulate guns: "Dave Cullen, who writes about school shootings, argued yesterday in a New York Times op-ed that there is reason to hope we will finally address our gun problem. The Sandy Hook Massacre galvanized Americans into pushing back to reclaim our safety, as Shannon Watts and congressional representative Gabrielle Giffords—herself a survivor of gun violence–—organized the gun safety movement. That movement, in turn, got a dramatic boost from the activism of the survivors of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in which a 19-year-old gunman murdered 17 people and injured 17 others."
How is your church advocating for gun safety for everyone in the United States?
Media Mentions as of Dec. 15, 2022
2022: Noteworthy United Methodists remembered - UM News
UM News
NC pastor: The split among Methodists feels like a divorce | Charlotte Observer
Nearly 200 North Alabama Churches Leave United Methodist Church over Disputes ... The Ohio Star
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011. To reproduce this content elsewhere, please email for permission.