Bishop Skelton's Request for Prayers for Ft. McMurray

For the past few days our news media, locally, nationally and even internationally have been full of the frightening images of roaring fires and billowing clouds of smoke enveloping the forests and the inhabited areas of Fort McMurray, Alberta.  

We are blessed in this part of the world to live in prosperity and abundance. And so it is unusual for us to experience a disaster of this magnitude, one causing destruction and human suffering in a place so geographically near to us.  

Over 80,000 residents have been evacuated and are traveling or have traveled south to urban areas with emergency services and aid capabilities. Much of the outskirts of the town have been destroyed by fire, and the level of future damage may hinge on the unpredictability of the weather and the direction of the winds.  

I am asking that you join with me and pray for those: who have lost their homes and face an uncertain future; who fight the fires in trucks, in planes, in helicopters and on foot; first responders who care for the injured and displaced; who are separated from their loved ones because of the path of the fire and the difficulty in getting around. Also please pray for all those in leadership who make decisions about how resources are directed to aid those who are suffering. Pray that God may grant them strength and wisdom as they deal with this catastrophe.  

The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) has set up a Fort McMurray Wild Fire Fund to assist efforts in the area. Please click the link and scroll down to designate your gift to “Fort McMurray Wild Fire”.  

Thank you for all you do to pray for and assist our brothers and sisters in need.  

In Christ,  

+Melissa