Presbyterian churches located within a few miles of the Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport are still trying to wrap their minds around last Friday’s shootings that left five people dead and several injured. The suspect, Esteban Santiago, 26, appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Monday and could possibly face the death penalty.
It’s been over a month since fire broke out in an Oakland, California warehouse, known as Ghost Ship, killing 36 people. Just before Christmas, members of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s National Response Team, were invited to visit the community and meet with faith leaders.
The past year has been a challenging one for communities dealing with contaminated water supplies. Flint, Michigan has garnered national attention for nearly three years after improper source treatment caused lead from aging pipes to leach into the water. Between 6,000 and 12,000 residents have experienced a series of health problems including high levels of lead in the blood.
Fire officials in Inglewood, Tennessee are still trying to determine the exact cause of two separate fires at the Eastminster Presbyterian Church on Sunday. The first fire was extinguished quickly, according to Pastor Gilbert Varela.
It’s been two months since Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti, leaving a path of death and destruction that will take years for its residents to recover. More than a thousand people are believed to have perished when the hurricane made landfall as a Category 4 storm on October 4.
For Greg Bennett, hours seemed like days last week as he awaited the approval to travel into smoke-filled Gatlinburg to see if the church he’s pastored had survived the flames. Bennett is a commissioned ruling elder with the Presbytery of East Tennessee as well as pastor of the Gatlinburg Presbyterian Church.
Days after fires scorched parts of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, within the Great Smoky Mountains, residents and church leaders are still waiting to find out how significant the damage is
Rebuilding continues for thousands of people in South Louisiana whose homes were damaged or destroyed by flooding when the Amite River crested at 46.2 feet near Denham Springs in mid-August, breaking the previous record of 41.5 feet set in 1983.
It was November 8, 2013 when one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded slammed Southeast Asia, doing damage in particular to Philippines. The result: more than 6,000 dead, towns and communities were destroyed and millions of people were left homeless, with no food and little hope.
They may have been traveling for days or even weeks, but asylum seekers hoping to start new lives in the U.S. are finding a bright spot in their long and difficult journey. A Catholic church in McAllen, Texas provides a rest stop for the weary travelers, giving them a place to rest, eat and fellowship with volunteers who have come to help.
