Who We Are

Earthquake Update

by the Rev. Kate Jenkins

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks. The looming threat of Hurricane Irene. We often hear about earth quakes in California and hurricanes devastating island nations, but these events are in far away places with other people. This week, we experienced that vulnerability first-hand in the aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake.  

To date, we have not heard of any parishioners that were hurt and the building had minimal staff at the time of the earthquake. Immediately afterward, St. Paul's Parish Administrator Mike Koschak (a former resident of California who has actually lived through a number of earthquakes) did a thorough review of the church and parish house with the sextons. They checked from roof to basement and found no sign of damage, structural or otherwise, that they could detect. The church bells were not even thrown off, which was pretty amazing. Not all churches have been as fortunate. The Diocese of Virginia issued this update about the impact of the earthquake throughout the diocese.  

This earthquake, so close to home, reminded me that this earth we walk upon daily is still in creation and there is a fragility to everything that we take for granted. I'm still digesting the experience, but the words of our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori come to mind:    

"May we all be reminded that we live on a fragile earth, in continual process of creation and destruction, and that we share a common responsibility for healing wherever  we are able." 

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Tags: creation, earthquake, hurricane