New Orleans

Of course the big story at the moment is the devestation in New Orleans. The hurricane broke a couple of levies and 80% of the city is flooded. The death toll is expected to be heavy, and will get heavier if idiots don't stop firing guns at rescue helicopters and hospitals.

Of churches similar to the one I attend, there are 3 congregations in New Orleans and 1 across the lake in Slidell. There is no word about the loss of life and destruction there. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is evacuated and has set up temporarily in their extension center in Atlanta.

We sometimes talk about the brevity of life, but in North America we assume destruction can only happen in other countries. Death, when it occurs, is a personal thing with car accidents and terminal illness. All of a sudden many people are confronted with the fact that dead is possible on a massive scale even within the boundaries of our well fed and well satisfied North American society.

The Governor of Louisiana called for yesterday to be a day of prayer. I suppose this is a good thing, depending on what people pray about. I note with some satisfaction that the ACLU decided to pass on their usual sprint to the courts to argue for separation of church and State.