Hopefully, most of you are aware of the devastation that struck Nashville and the surrounding areas this weekend. I know that the national news hasn't covered it as much as the Times Square bomb or the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but I think word is getting out regardless.
The Wilsons, all facets of us are ok. Our house had a little bit of water in the garage from the deluge on Sunday, but nothing significant that couldn't be taken care of with some brooms and a sump pump connected to an outlet. My mom and dad's house was fine as well, since they are on a high hill, but much of their neighborhood was not. My sister Julie is fine, even though her house was cut off by an impromptu lake over the soccer fields where Connor plays. My brother is fine and had no issues, and my sister Sarah is good as well. We were fortunate.
Much of this city and especially the Bellevue area where we live are not good. Water got into places where it's never been before and had never been thought that it could get to. Neighbors of ours on our street had mudslides which brought significant amounts of earth into their yards and even trees onto their houses. Downtown has flooded from the Cumberland river and some of the poorer areas of Nashville have been affected as well, including a homeless encampment where Otter Creek has done work called Tent City was completely swept away.
Nashville is hurting. But Nashville is also stepping up. When volunteers for sandbagging were called for, people of all faiths and no faith banded together to save a water treatment plant from flooding and putting Nashville in even more dire straits with regards to water supply. And these sandbags were put together by inmates who volunteered for the duty to help the city where they are incarcerated. A movement has sprung up on Facebook and Twitter called "We Are Nashville." And it's not just for Nashvillians; it's for those that wish to stand in solidarity with Nashville. Those who have called it home and moved, or just those that sympathize.
But more importantly to me than Nashville stepping up, the church is stepping up. Due to many churches having experienced clean up in NOLA and the surrounding areas during Katrina, most of them know the task facing the city and how to respond. And to me that's one of the best ways that the church can be Jesus to an area that needs the church to be the Body of Christ, perhaps more than ever.
Just a couple of links.
If you want to keep up on the news within Nashville, www.nashvillest.com is one of the best ways.
If you want some tangible ways to help and you're in the Nashville area, my congregation Otter Creek has a lot of options on the home page www.ottercreek.org
If you're out of town and want a way to help, you can send gift cards to national store like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes, etc to the Otter Creek Church office at 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN, 37027 and those will be given to those who need them.
Thanks so much for your continued prayers for us.
2 comments:
God bless you all. Having been flooded out in my own home, I know what that feels like. Thanks for the links. I posted some on my blog as well.
Where was Jim Cooper our Congressman?
I believe many of us have become complacent with Jim Cooper our Congressman. For instance, many of us have grow accustomed to the norm of having politicians like Jim Cooper working for the lobbyist and self interest groups, but not for the best interest of We the People here in Nashville.
As patriotic Americans we must remember it hasn't always been this way. Before Jim Cooper, we within the 5th district of Tennessee had elected many great statesmen to represent us within the U.S. Congress.
As you may already know, I'm one of the candidates running against Jim Cooper. However this doesn't necessarily mean you need to elect me to the U.S. Congress in order to fix this injustice. What is most important here is we need to replace Jim Cooper with someone that will live up to the words of being “our representative” in Congress.
Thank you, and God bless the Republic of the United States of America.
Eric Pearson, Democratic Party candidate for US Congress in the 5th district, Tennessee.
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