9/11 anniversary, Morocco earthquake, and Hurricane Idalia response

For many who lived through 9/11, the 22nd anniversary of the far-reaching tragedy is now a day to reflect, seek self-care and pray, said Kareem Goubran, pastor of Graffiti Church in Brooklyn.

“I’m being very intentional in reaching out to people who I know who experienced a lot of loss and just need a safe place to be heard,” Goubran told Baptist Press on the anniversary. “Today, our staff is there at the church and I’m making some phone calls, just being available to remind people they’re not alone.”

Graffiti included references to 9/11 during Sunday worship with a sermon focused on The Good Samaritan, a lesson Goubran said came to life as Southern Baptists helped the community recover from the tragedy.

The Moroccan state news agency says around 2,800 people have been killed by an earthquake in the country on Sept. 9. Rescue workers are continue to search for missing people.

Send Relief leaders and partners are on the ground in the region to help ramp-up the response efforts that began within hours after the disaster took place. Send Relief provided urgently needed help and supplies to families that have been displaced from their homes, according to a statement from Send Relief.

“As you can imagine, the focus right now for first responders is on saving lives and rescuing as many people as possible,” said Bryant Wright, president of Send Relief.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is reaching out to assist as much as possible.

Send Relief has posted a giving page where people can give to support Send Relief’s international crisis response efforts taking place in Morocco.

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Like most of the surrounding area, First Baptist Church of Madison was without electricity last week due to Hurricane Idalia, but that didn’t stop its members from preparing and serving hundreds of meals each day to first responders, local residents and a growing Emergency Management team.

When Idalia passed through Madison County with its 120 mph winds Aug. 30, it knocked down plenty of trees and power lines, causing power outages throughout the county. But the church’s gas lines were not impacted, leaving its stoves and cooking equipment fully operational. With that in mind, the church’s kitchen team jumped into action Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the hurricane passed through town.

Pastor Aaron Hale said he had met with June Malin, captain of the kitchen, earlier in the week to talk about having provisions on hand to prepare some meals should they be needed.

It started off with Malin and her normal kitchen team preparing meals on that first day, but then about 25 or 30 church members joined in to assist. In addition to buying more provisions for the meals, the church also began receiving donations of food from a host of individuals, businesses and organizations.

By the end of the week, the church had provided around 1,000 meals to those in need.

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