Pineridge Blog

“Unprecedented;” That’s how I started last week’s blog and it seems applicable again this week as Florida braces for the brunt of Hurricane Irma’s category 5 wrath.  Another week and another massive hurricane is bearing down on the continental U.S.  As Yogi Berra said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” And yes, I have just changed Texas to Florida from last week’s post below not to be cute, but because PDA offers the best response to any and all disasters including the one next week…

If you gave to the One Great Hour of sharing offering in the spring, part of the money you gave is already working in Florida to provide assistance. A third of the offering goes to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), which is a kind of Presbyterian Red Cross.  They don’t have nearly the resources or the humanpower of larger relief organizations but they partner with churches and people on the ground in disaster areas to offer assistance in whatever ways possible. Trained volunteers are mobilized to offer help in recovery, guide the use of resources and help create order out of chaos.

The truth is that the rebuilding in Florida will take months and probably years. Long after this story has faded from the headlines, I hope that we continue to pray and find ways to offer real help.

For now we have to leave it to the experts.  If you want to do something, then there is really nothing better that you can do at this moment than pray and offer support to PDA.

Peace+,
Jim