We’ve heard from many of you who are wondering how our two OP churches in Louisiana fared in the recent disastrous flooding, and whether or not the OPC will be involved in the relief efforts.

Louisiana flooding

First, we are thankful to report that Rev. Jack Sawyer, Pastor of Pineville OPC in Pineville, LA, responded to us on August 17th: “Our congregation is on high ground and we are safe. As far as I know, while Natchitoches has experienced flooding this year, the church family there has not been affected.”

Secondly, while the OPC does not have plans to pursue its own disaster response efforts in the region, the Committee on Diaconal Ministries (CDM) has sent an initial gift of $10,000 to our sister denomination—the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) Mission to North America (MNA) Disaster Response Ministry—who are hard at work ministering to affected PCA families and others in Louisiana.

The PCA kindly responded to us: “We are truly so very grateful for your partnership in the ministry of disaster response. We are delighted to have your folks serve with us. We pray that our bond as brothers and sisters in Christ will help underscore the beauty and wonder of the Gospel, the real hope to the broken!”

For those with an interest in becoming directly involved, MNA Disaster Response is looking for volunteers. Information can be found here: http://pcamna.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Louisiana-Second-Letter.pdf. We highly commend participation in the work of the PCA. The PCA is very experienced at this and does it well. They were incredibly generous to us when the OPC was so significantly impacted by Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey in 2012. They came to our aid.

Those interested in making a financial contribution to Louisiana flood relief through the OPC can find information on how to do so here: http://opcstm.org/how-to-donate/.

What a comfort to know that despite the difficult circumstances, the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. Please keep the CDM in prayer, that we may glorify him as we seek to participate in showing mercy to our neighbors!

Sincerely in Christ,

David Nakhla
Administrator for the Committee on Diaconal Ministries
Cell: (562) 760-7606
david.nakhla@opc.org