Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2006

The Suffering Of The World Is God's Suffering

On Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2006, the following list of natural and humanly wrought disasters was read to the congregation by Elder Sharon Thomas as Pastor Allen marked a cross over the location on a map of where the tragedy occurred.

Please read each one as a prayer to God.

These notations were taken from the alerts sent out by our Week of Compassion office. To sign up for regular updates from WOC on disasters, relief efforts, and development programs, please go to Week Of Compassion Updates

The Suffering Of The World...
- December 24, 2004 ~ Earthquake & Tsunami, Indian Ocean and Southern Asia, as many as 225,000 people dead, hundreds of thousands injured and homeless. The quake, measuring 9.15 on the Richter Scale, unleashed a wall of water that reached speeds of 500 mph and heights of 80 feet.

- Mid-February 2005 ~ Earthquake in Southeast Iran, 500 people killed, 40,000 persons affected.

- Late February 2005 ~ Heavy floods in Southern California, nine dead and thousands evacuated.

- March 2005 ~ Death toll from violence, disease and hunger in Sudan's Darfur province is now estimated to be two to three times the previous estimate, about 180,000 people, with 10,000 more dying each month. Some 2 million people have been forced from their homes in the face of mass executions, rape, burning and looting and are living under the direst of conditions in makeshift camps and settlements.

- Ongoing African Suffering: Angola (emerging from decades of war that killed more than 1.5 million people and left the country in ruins); in Burundi (where drought and violence have displaced several hundred thousands of people); in Eritrea (where a five-year drought is threatening millions and has already created the highest maternal malnutrition rate - 53% - in the world); and in Uganda (where more than 1.6 million people are displaced and in desperate need).

- March 28, 2005 ~ an 8.7 magnitude earthquake aftershock struck just off the coast of Sumatra. At least 1000 persons have been killed, and hundreds more remain missing. The island of Nias bore the brunt of the destruction. Some 25,000 people have been displaced, and 85% of the buildings in the capital of Gunung Sitoli, including homes, schools, churches and hospitals, have been destroyed.

- Early April, 2005 ~ Tornadoes hit the Southern United States, especially Mississippi, hundreds of structures destroyed and many injured.

- April 2005 ~ Offerings from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations for the Tsunami tops $2.1 million dollars, a record.

- Mid-June, 2005 ~ Floods in El Salvador from Hurricane Adrian and in China, where some 17 million people have been affected.

- Mid-July, 2005 – Hurricane Dennis hits Haiti, Cuba, and Florida

- Late July, 2005 - Hurricane Emily, the fifth named storm of the season, hit the northeast coast of Mexico. Emily previously left a path of destruction across the Caribbean and over the Yucatan peninsula. Assessments are still preliminary, but some 7,000 homes have been reported damaged or destroyed across the Yucatan, and hundreds of fisheries and farms are also damaged.

- July 2005 ~ The central Saharan nation of Chad is struggling to cope with several hundred thousand Sudanese refugees who have fled the crisis in Darfur. Chad's already over-stretched capacities make it difficult to respond to the immense humanitarian needs of its own people, much less the influx of such a vast number of refugees.

- July 2005 ~ Partners in Zimbabwe have made an urgent appeal to their international church partners for assistance in responding to the staggering humanitarian needs that have resulted from the government's recent forced eviction policy. At least a half-million people have been affected and are in desperate need of just the basic essentials of life.

- Late July 2005 ~ A severe infestation of locusts has combined with a drastic lack of rainfall to put some 3.5 million people at risk of acute malnutrition in the Saharan nation of Niger. The situation has been described as a "silent famine." Doctors Without Borders report about 5000 children a week are being admitted to its five emergency feeding centers - all weak and emaciated, many on the verge of starvation. The World Food Program estimates that 2.5 million people are on the brink of starvation, including 800,000 children

- Early August 2005, massive flooding in Mumbai, India and the surrounding state of Maharashtra. 

More than 1000 people have been killed and millions affected by unusually heavy rains (37 inches in one day alone!) and the ensuing floods that have paralyzed the region.

- Late August, 2005 ~ Hurricane Katrina hits Gulf Coast states, especially Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses flooded, basic infrastructure systems (roads, bridges, utility lines) have been heavily damaged, as many as 2,000 people killed and half a million persons displaced, many permanently.

- September 2005 ~ ongoing concerns/work regarding the growing drought in Burkina Faso; famine mitigation in Malawi; refugee assistance in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea; floods in Romania, and relief and rehabilitation efforts in Iraq.

- Late September 2005 ~ Hurricane Rita caused severe flooding and damage, primarily in SE Texas and Louisiana.

- Early October 2005 ~ Hurricane Stan swept through southern Mexico and Central America, killing at least 600 people and causing widespread destruction through heavy rains, flooding and mudslides.

- October 8, 2005 ~ a powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter Scale struck along the Pakistan/India border and is already being described as the worst disaster in Pakistan's 58 year history. The death toll in Pakistan is reported to be 86,000. As many as 3.3 million are homeless. In India, more than 1300 people were killed and some 150,000 made homeless. The situation has been made even more perilous by ongoing aftershocks, heavy rains, mudslides and the approach of winter weather. Entire cities and villages have been destroyed. 244,668 homes destroyed or damaged, displacing more than 3 million people. 2210 schools destroyed or damaged, along with 238 medical facilities.

- Late October 2005 ~ Hurricane Wilma hit southern Florida, millions of people remain without electricity and have difficulty finding basic provisions of water, ice and food. At least ten people died in Florida. Wilma also left a large path of destruction throughout the Caribbean region, especially in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, western Cuba and the Hispaniola island nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

- November 6, 2005 ~ unseasonal but powerful tornadoes ripped across the Ohio River near Henderson, KY, and Evansville, IN. At least 23 people were killed and 200 injured. Especially hard hit was the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park just east of Evansville, where more than 100 homes were destroyed.

- Late November 2005 ~ Still coping with the effects of Hurricanes Katrina, Stan, Wilma, and Beta, several Central American countries have now been hit by Tropical Storm Gamma. Torrential rains have caused severe flooding and dangerous mudslides throughout the region. The storms have destroyed thousands of homes, displaced many thousands more, and damaged thousands of acres of cropland. Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have been especially hard hit.

- November 2005 ~ A prolonged drought in Mozambique has added that country to the growing list of African nations facing a severe and extensive hunger crisis. An explosive combination of scarce rainfall, chronic poverty, soaring rates of HIV/AIDS, poor governance and economic failure has put millions of people at risk.

- Early January, 2006 ~ Across the United States: Heavy rains and flooding in northern California and southwestern Oregon have flooded up to a thousand homes, and several rivers are at their highest level in years. Warm temperatures and high winds continue to fuel grass fires in drought stricken Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. Several hundred homes have been destroyed, including 90 houses in the small Texas town of Cross Plains. Two western Texas villages - Ringgold and Kokomo - also fell to flames on Sunday, leaving about 125 people homeless. Firefighters in Texas were battling at least 32 wildfires - including a 22,400-acre blaze that threatened 200 homes near Carbon, some 125 miles west of Dallas. About 200 families near Oklahoma City were evacuated as fires threatened their homes.

- Mid-January, 2006 ~ A little over three months after a powerful earthquake hit northern Pakistan and India, killing more than 80,000 people and leaving some 3 million homeless, relief organizations are now facing their biggest challenge yet - harsh winter weather in the mountainous areas. Heavy snows, high winds, bitterly cold temperatures and mudslides are major hurdles to overcome in reaching tens of thousands of quake survivors.

- Mid-February, 2006 ~ An already precarious food security situation in the east African country of Kenya has further deteriorated with the failure of the current rainy season. Expected seasonal rains simply have not materialized and have worsened drought conditions in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Crop harvests have been reduced drastically and livestock herds are being depleted. Some 2.5 million people are now in need of emergency food aid over the next six months.

- February 17, 2006 ~ A landslide in the southern Philippine province of Leyte, the death toll has reached 100, more than 1500 people remain missing and are feared dead. The village of Guinsaugon was essentially buried, including some 500 houses and an elementary school.

- Ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the tragic deaths of thousands of military and civil service personnel, as well as innocent civilians and aid workers.





Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2006 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096