So we, who are many, are one body in Christ … made up of many parts” (Romans 2:5).
Aloha,
If we are one body, when one part is affected, what is the response of the other parts?
Our sisters and brothers at Sacred Heart Parish in Pahoa wake up every day facing an uncertain future. Even as they struggle to recover from recent storms, lava flows relentlessly toward them threatening to cut off access to vital roads lined with electrical wires and pipes for water.
The trauma is already taking its toll; simple travel time to nearby Hilo is doubling; the parish preschool has closed depriving parents of day care and the parish of income; families are preparing to move or already have moved temporarily or permanently; garage sales are everywhere; groundbreaking for the construction of affordable housing for kupuna is postponed; parish plans for safely storing records are beginning to be implemented; the parish council is exploring options for use of the previous Montessori site and researching what is required for removing the remains of loved ones from the parish cemetery.
In the midst of it all, the parish is coming together, especially during weekend Masses to be nourished as one body, sharing as one ohana. On Sunday, Oct. 12, a parish potluck and town meeting at noon will provide an opportunity to talk story about disaster preparedness and community resilience — connecting parishioners to community resources.
How can we respond as one body in Christ to the difficulties that one part of our ohana is facing? That is what the Pahoa parishioners will be asking as they gather. It is a question we all need to ask ourselves. How can we also respond in prayer and simple practical ways, like helping the parish pay for the Mass books they recently ordered but now cannot afford, or for the school supplies of kids struggling with all this uncertainty.
Please contact Sacred Heart Parish in Pahoa at 965-8202 or at shpahoa@gmail.com.
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry