Do you have power yet? Josiah and I were here at the church when the lights went out. We watched the hail pound and the wind howl as limb after limb came down. Sheets of rain punctuated the chaotic scene, but the church was a refuge in the storm which left as quickly as it came.

We missed not meeting together Sunday night, but if I know the people of St. Bart’s, you were helping your neighbors clean up the devastation. Some of you sustained significant damage, and for that I’m deeply sorry.

After everything cleared, we drove home from the church to survey the seen in our own neighborhood. Not surprisingly, everyone was outside raking, sawing, and lugging branches to the curb. One family, who came through unscathed, rolled out their grill and a cooler full of cold beverages, and we had an impromptu block party on their front sidewalk. I was grateful and in awe. But the work on our street is not yet done.

I’m also deeply grateful for what we have seen God do through you in our Rogation Days of prayer and fasting, your response of generous giving, and your responses to our sermon series on Vision and Values. But our work is not yet done. Many of you have given generously and sacrificially resulting in a strong month of May and a good start to June; but we need to continue praying and giving as we hope in God to finish this fiscal year strong.

I’m thankful for St. Bart’s. It is a refuge in the storm for me as I know it is for you. Let us continue to shore up God’s good work in our midst in authentic generosity. For it is not yet done.