Storms and Poverty…
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,….(Isaiah 25:4)
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Nahum 1:3)
TODAY (OCTOBER 24, 2019) IS "FOOD DAY" at the Flat Rock Community Center. The above building and program are an outcome of four separate tornadoes that plowed through our immediate area on April 27, 2011, killing a total of some 46 people. On that day 62 tornadoes struck Alabama and moved off the mountain into Chattanooga. In the Chattanooga region, over 81 people were killed. Across the south, 316 died that day from tornadoes.
ONE OF THE TORNADOES SWEPT ACROSS THE LOCAL Widow’s Creek Steam Plant by the Tennessee River at Stevenson. It took down the high-voltage towers that carried electricity away from the plant. A large area was without power for several weeks.
SEVERAL EMERGENCY VEHICLES WITH ELECTRIC GENERATORS ON-BOARD came to Flat Rock and provided power to the Flat Rock Community Club so that meals could be provided there for several weeks. Here is a link to a local 4-minute newscast, if you care to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5F95bgVbOc
THE STORMS LEFT NOT ONLY GREAT DEVASTATION AND DEATH, but also, an unexpected blessing. Through the storms, the area community came together like no other time. Suddenly, we were all “neighbors.” When the funerals were over and storm debris was finally removed, we were left with “ourselves.”
THE STORMS HAD HEIGHTENED THE REALIZATION that we had in our community many families that were having a tough time of it, long before there was a storm. Before the storm, there had been an effort to provide food and clothing to those in need. But the storms brought a new and deepened realization of that need.
IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL AGING OUT OF A GENERATION, there were many grandparents who were trying to raise grandchildren on minimal Social Security and food stamps. Drugs and disintegration of families is the twin engine that is requiring grandparents all over America to raise their grandchildren on a reduced income. Sand Mountain has its share.
AFTER THE STORMS, BEFORE LONG, a separate organization was formed: The Flat Rock Community Center that focused on food and clothing. The Flat Rock Methodist Church donated land and a new building was erected. Electricians, carpenters, painters and planners came together. With a new building came a new and concentrated way of helping the poor. The plan was simple: used clothing and household items could be recycled and sold at very low prices in the store and the money could be used to buy food for those who could provide proof of need through their tax records.
SO, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. People bring their used clothing and a crew of ladies come together every Tuesday morning and spend the day sorting clothing and hanging it up on racks in the store: “just like Goodies!” It’s all volunteer.
ON THE FOURTH TUESDAY, THE CENTER'S BIG BOX TRUCK picks up our food order (from a local warehouse that serves several centers) and a volunteer crew meets the truck at the Center to unload it and get things lined up for Thursday.
ON THE FOURTH THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH, volunteers (12 to 90 years old) arrive to fill food tubs that move past them along the rollers. It takes 20 people to “man” the food line on the 4th Thursday. We are helped much by local public-school students and church groups and homeschoolers. Currently, the project is serving about 220 families who are signed up with the program.
IT IS AMAZING TO SEE HOW SO MANY PARTS OF THE PROGRAM come together on a regular basis to make it work. Beyond the valuable labor supplied by the various groups, is the steady comradery that is formed by people glad to have a part in a very noble cause. It’s not easy. But it is doable and has been going on for eight years, now. If you live in the area, you might want to come by and see if you are interested in being a part of the outreach.
ONE SIGNATURE OF THE STORMS THAT I SAW was a shovel that had been driven through a 12” tree about ten feet above the ground. At various meetings, people gathered to share their stories of what happened to them. Some of the stories are almost unbelievable and I will not print any of them here. Sand Mountain, Alabama is referred to as a “tornado magnet” because of some peculiar factors that seem to assist the formation of tornadoes. The weather bureau has been conducting scientific studies to try to explain it. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
OCTOBER 24, 2019 – THURSDAY
A.M. Jeremiah 11-13 P.M. 1 Timothy 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Great Memory Verse:
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,….(Isaiah 25:4)
Song for Today:
‘Till the Storm Passes By (3:32) (Gaither Quartet)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpr5HPyI4z8
You may have to adjust the volume.
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,….(Isaiah 25:4)
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Nahum 1:3)
TODAY (OCTOBER 24, 2019) IS "FOOD DAY" at the Flat Rock Community Center. The above building and program are an outcome of four separate tornadoes that plowed through our immediate area on April 27, 2011, killing a total of some 46 people. On that day 62 tornadoes struck Alabama and moved off the mountain into Chattanooga. In the Chattanooga region, over 81 people were killed. Across the south, 316 died that day from tornadoes.
ONE OF THE TORNADOES SWEPT ACROSS THE LOCAL Widow’s Creek Steam Plant by the Tennessee River at Stevenson. It took down the high-voltage towers that carried electricity away from the plant. A large area was without power for several weeks.
SEVERAL EMERGENCY VEHICLES WITH ELECTRIC GENERATORS ON-BOARD came to Flat Rock and provided power to the Flat Rock Community Club so that meals could be provided there for several weeks. Here is a link to a local 4-minute newscast, if you care to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5F95bgVbOc
THE STORMS LEFT NOT ONLY GREAT DEVASTATION AND DEATH, but also, an unexpected blessing. Through the storms, the area community came together like no other time. Suddenly, we were all “neighbors.” When the funerals were over and storm debris was finally removed, we were left with “ourselves.”
THE STORMS HAD HEIGHTENED THE REALIZATION that we had in our community many families that were having a tough time of it, long before there was a storm. Before the storm, there had been an effort to provide food and clothing to those in need. But the storms brought a new and deepened realization of that need.
IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL AGING OUT OF A GENERATION, there were many grandparents who were trying to raise grandchildren on minimal Social Security and food stamps. Drugs and disintegration of families is the twin engine that is requiring grandparents all over America to raise their grandchildren on a reduced income. Sand Mountain has its share.
AFTER THE STORMS, BEFORE LONG, a separate organization was formed: The Flat Rock Community Center that focused on food and clothing. The Flat Rock Methodist Church donated land and a new building was erected. Electricians, carpenters, painters and planners came together. With a new building came a new and concentrated way of helping the poor. The plan was simple: used clothing and household items could be recycled and sold at very low prices in the store and the money could be used to buy food for those who could provide proof of need through their tax records.
SO, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. People bring their used clothing and a crew of ladies come together every Tuesday morning and spend the day sorting clothing and hanging it up on racks in the store: “just like Goodies!” It’s all volunteer.
ON THE FOURTH TUESDAY, THE CENTER'S BIG BOX TRUCK picks up our food order (from a local warehouse that serves several centers) and a volunteer crew meets the truck at the Center to unload it and get things lined up for Thursday.
ON THE FOURTH THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH, volunteers (12 to 90 years old) arrive to fill food tubs that move past them along the rollers. It takes 20 people to “man” the food line on the 4th Thursday. We are helped much by local public-school students and church groups and homeschoolers. Currently, the project is serving about 220 families who are signed up with the program.
IT IS AMAZING TO SEE HOW SO MANY PARTS OF THE PROGRAM come together on a regular basis to make it work. Beyond the valuable labor supplied by the various groups, is the steady comradery that is formed by people glad to have a part in a very noble cause. It’s not easy. But it is doable and has been going on for eight years, now. If you live in the area, you might want to come by and see if you are interested in being a part of the outreach.
ONE SIGNATURE OF THE STORMS THAT I SAW was a shovel that had been driven through a 12” tree about ten feet above the ground. At various meetings, people gathered to share their stories of what happened to them. Some of the stories are almost unbelievable and I will not print any of them here. Sand Mountain, Alabama is referred to as a “tornado magnet” because of some peculiar factors that seem to assist the formation of tornadoes. The weather bureau has been conducting scientific studies to try to explain it. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
OCTOBER 24, 2019 – THURSDAY
A.M. Jeremiah 11-13 P.M. 1 Timothy 4
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Great Memory Verse:
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat,….(Isaiah 25:4)
Song for Today:
‘Till the Storm Passes By (3:32) (Gaither Quartet)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpr5HPyI4z8
You may have to adjust the volume.
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