Date: October 8, 2024
VTS has many friends in North Carolina. Indeed we have two members of the Board of Trustees who are trying to navigate the horrendous devastation of Helene. Literally, there are churches that have been swept away. The cathedral in Asheville will need extensive repair. For Bishop José McLoughlin, every day is navigating the destruction of this hurricane.
Meanwhile, Florida is anticipating Milton, which is now a category 5 storm. Memories of Hurricane Ian haunt the region. The evacuation orders have been extensive. The Biblical witness invites us to recognize the severity of nature, to pray, and seek to do everything we can to support our siblings in Christ. To this end, I encourage you all to give to Episcopal Relief and Development that some assistance can reach those who are suffering.
We weep with those who are weeping and we pray that God might send angels to keep people safe and that grace might be found in the hardest of moments.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary