OPC Spared in Midwest Tornadoes

by David Nakhla, OPC Disaster Response Coordinator (November 2013)

Following the news of the destructive tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest on Sunday, November 17, 2013, we were thankful to hear from the Presbytery of the Midwest that our OPC churches and congregations had escaped harm.From John Voss, Deacon at Covenant OPC, Orland Park, Illinois, and member of the OPC Committee on Diaconal Ministries:"The areas hardest hit were in the New Lenox and Manhattan/Wilmington area, as far as churches within the Presbytery of the Midwest.  We had no one at our church directly affected.  New Covenant Community Church in New Lenox, soon to be in Joliet, has one woman who was ... not affected, but her parents live in Washington (IL) which was really hard hit.  However, Praise God, her folks were unscathed physically as well as their possessions.  The town is obviously hurting, but no one within the OPC has been harmed or affected.  I'll check with others, but at this point, there really weren't any other churches near those areas."Also, Rob Brinks, director of Reformed Mission Services, a work of the United Reformed Churches (URCNA), our sister denomination, reports that he knows of no URCNA churches or members affected by the tornadoes, praise the Lord!