Beloved sisters and brothers:
We call on the global Anabaptist family to pray for people in the Caribbean region after Hurricane Melissa.
“The prospects from the human eyes are dismal but as his children we continue to hold fast to our hope in Christ. Keep praying for faith,” says pastor Liston Aiken, president of Jamaica Mennonite Church.
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, blew through the Caribbean the last week of October. The impact included heavy flooding, buildings destroyed by wind and rain, landslides, felled trees and crops washed away. Disruptions in communications and transportation networks has made it difficult for aid to get through.
The human toll from the storm is 65 confirmed deaths across the region at time of writing, with the figure expected to rise as communication and access is restored to more remote areas. Thousands are living in temporary shelters.
The recovery from the destruction will take years. However, advance disaster preparedness is credited with savings lives and speeding response.
- Of the four Jamaica Mennonite Church congregations directly in the path of the storm, Joyland lost its roof and has further damage; Ridge had the door blown off; and no reports have been received from Abrams and Salter Hill. Church members from around the country are overwhelmed by the destruction, but trusting God to show them how to help as both short-term and long-term strategies are developed.
- In Cuba, all 56 BIC congregations in the five eastern provinces of the island have been impacted. Some church members lost their homes to the winds and floodwaters. Since, most congregations meet in homes, the impact is multiplied. The aftermath of the storm compounds the economic hardship people were already suffering.
- At the front end of the gathering storm, congregations in the Dominican Republic were impacted by flooding that came at the front end of the storm and increased as Melissa passed over the island.
“The assessment of the damage is still being done, many of the roads are being cleared, electricity is being restored. Material aid being provided for those who were affected. This will continue for a long time because the damage was very bad in places where the eye of the hurricane passed over,” says William George Broughton, MWC regional rep and a retired health administrator in Jamaica.
We invite your prayers for our brothers and sisters in these island nations.
May solidarity replace the sense of isolation they often feel.
May communities be strengthened to rally together in response, lifting each other up and ensuring no one is left behind.
May the love of Christ fill us all: for our members in the Caribbean to care for each other; for those of us around the world to put our prayers into action.
We pray for world leaders who have been challenged by Jamaica and others to set up climate financing. They are asking for reparation from wealthy countries for their disproportionate role in exacerbating the climate crisis.
By the grace of God, we seek to live and proclaim the good news of reconciliation in Jesus Christ as part of the one body of Christ at all times and places. (Shared Convictions)
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
In the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace, amen.
Henk Stenvers,
president,
Mennonite World Conference