Breaking News: Prayers sought for tornado ravaged Leamington

June 7, 2010
- Dan Dyck

Winnipeg, Man. — A fierce tornado early in the morning on Sunday, June 6, wreaked millions in damage to Leamington, Ont., say news reports, but thankfully there have so far been no reports of deaths or injuries.

David Martin, Executive Minister of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, was able to contact two of three local congregations. Many members of North Leamington Mennonite Church have suffered damage. Three families have lost greenhouses, and another farmer has lost buildings and equipment.

Members of Faith Mennonite Church have had a few members affected, with one family living along the lake seriously hit. Martin reported that the main damage occurred on the Lake Erie shoreline. Attempts to reach Leamington United Mennonite Church continue.

Mennonite Church Canada staff is in consultation with Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and will release more information as it becomes available.

Martin and  Robert J. Suderman, General Secretary of Mennonite Church Canada, have sent a message of care and concern to the affected congregations. (see below)

Prayers for the 30,000 resident community are welcome:

• Thank God that no loss of life or serious injury occurred, and that the local community is already showing signs of rallying together.
• Pray that community churches in the area will be able to serve others even as members themselves recover and rebuild.
• Pray for all area farmers who have suffered significant damage during a critical crop production time. Several Mennonite farms are reported to have suffered severe damage.
• Pray for the vulnerable, such as those who may lack insurance or other means of recovery.
• Pray for exhausted emergency personnel.
• Pray for Mennonite Disaster Service workers who are discerning how to respond.

Care Letter to Leamington Area Congregations

June 7, 2010

To: Leamington and surrounding congregations of Mennonite Church Canada/MCEC

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Our concern and prayers for you were immediate as we turned on the National news yesterday, and saw and heard of the devastation that the Leamington area suffered early yesterday morning.

Our first concerns were for your safety and the safety of those in your communities. The initial news, at least, reassured us that there were no deaths and, miraculously, no injuries. For that we praise God.

But the reports indicated that the destruction was wide-spread and the damage significant. We are concerned also because of what this may mean in terms of financial losses, interruption of work and business, and the energy now needed to respond to and rebuild the realities around you, both inside and beyond the churches.

We have issued a Mennonite Church Canada-wide call for prayer on your behalf, and we trust that you know and feel the support of church surrounding you in this time.

We also trust that very tangible methods of support will be there for you from the rest of the Body of Christ that suffers when one part suffers calamity.

May God’s presence strengthen you, and may your faith provide those windows of perception that allow you to see, feel, and experience the goodness of God and the support of the church even in these difficult days.

Sincerely in Christ,