Church Under Water

I spoke to Pastor Linda Bibb this evening. She’s the outgoing pastor at Salem Church where I have been appointed effective July 1. Salem is just a couple of blocks from the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids. She told me they were evacuated from the church building at 4:00 pm yesterday. The wonderful people of this congregation worked together sandbagging and moving as much as they could to the second and third floors. But the river was too much. Linda said the water is at least 8-10 feet deep at the church building. There is a car port over one of the entrances and the water is above that car port. So the water could be to the second floor now.

This picture from the Cedar Rapids Gazette shows how high the water was earlier today at the Dairy Queen which is right across the street from Salem United Methodist Church. Unfortunately, the river hasn’t even crested yet so the flooding will probably get worse.

We will attempt to get to Cedar Rapids tomorrow. In the midst of all this we are trying to secure a home to rent in less than three weeks. Please join me in praying for our brothers and sisters of Salem Church and for all who are so deeply affected by the flooding, the storms, and the tornados that have caused such devastation in people’s lives. God brings beauty from destruction! We may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.