When the lion comes to church

Hurricane Ike as we all know had a devastating impact on the Texas coast. Some people, in spite of the direst of warnings, stayed to ride out the storm. Those who stayed did so for a variety of reasons. I read about one couple who stayed because they couldn't get their son, who has cerebral palsey, down the stairs after the loss of power put their apartment's elevator on the fritz. Some stayed because they didn't really believe that the storm would be as bad as all the experts were predicting. Those who did stay behind found themselves in a terrible predicament.

When disaster strikes, you can't tell who you may find yourself hanging out with, fighting for survival. Here's the story:

"Many years from now, a small group of Hurricane Ike survivors will probably still be telling the story of how, on the night the storm flattened their homes, they took refuge in a church - with a lion. The full-grown lion was from a local zoo. The owner was trying to drive to safety with the animal when he saw cars and trucks stranded in the rising floodwaters. He knew he and the lion were in trouble.

He headed for the First Baptist Church at Crystal Beach, on Bolivar Peninsula, adjacent to Galveston, and was met by a group of residents who helped the lion wade inside. They locked it in a sanctuary as the storm raged. The water crept up to their waists, and wooden planks came floating through broken windows. But the lion was as calm as a kitten.


When daylight came, everyone was still alive. "They worked pretty well together, actually," said the lion's owner, Michael Ray Kujawa. "When you have to swim, the lion doesn't care about eating nobody." (web story)

I'm not trying to make too large a spiritual point here. I just found this story compelling because of the nature of the story itself but also because we're 'the church for whosoever'. We're supposed to be ready for whoever walks in, no matter the situation or condition. This lioness' owner was impressed at how well everybody worked together to rescue him and his charge from the danger presented by hurricane Ike.

How well do we at Unity work together to save those who come to us from the devastation caused by the world?

Just a thought.