Please join us in prayer for various members of our church family who have been impacted by southern Ontario’s record-breaking downpour this past week. The flooding has particularly affected churches in the west end of Toronto and Etobicoke.
Kingsway Baptist Church pressed on with innovative programming for their summer kids’ camp without any electricity.
Flood debris blocks a bridge in front of Humber Boulevard Baptist ChurchDespite the flood-proofing infrastructure that was put in place in the Black Creek area following Hurricane Hazel in the 1950s, water rose past the ceiling of the basement at Humber Boulevard Baptist Church. Please pray for John and Maria Thadickal as they manage flooding at their own home and demolition of the church basement. John’s resilience and praiseful spirit remains undiminished: “Despite all the damages, I thank God for his strength to deal with the situation. Last evening there was music playing outside and the smell of barbeque was in the air again. God’s goodness can never be completely washed away.”
Central Baptist Churchin Oakville was unaffected by the flood, but members of the church came to clean up their pastor’s neighbourhood in Etobicoke. Pastor Michel Belzile’s house took in three feet of standing water in the basement, but that didn’t stop him from hosting an impromptu outdoor gathering of 24 neighbours to share stories and a light meal, bringing together people from their street who had never met each other.
CBOQ’s office was closed on Tuesday, July 9 with a power outage, but power was restored the following day and there are only minor signs of water damage in some offices.
Through this event, our gratitude has been renewed for the everyday functioning of electricity, phone lines and traffic signals here in Canada. We are also reminded of God’s sovereign control of the universe. In Job 38, God alludes to himself as the Father of Rain, who can lift up his voice to the clouds and send flood waters down. But he is also the Father of Compassion, who sustains us through times of suffering and loss, and inspires us to give his compassion away to others in need.
At the same time, we also remember the many victims of the Lac-Mégantic train crash last week, and pray that the survivors would deeply sense God’s compassionate presence as they grieve this tragedy.
