I am writing this message during the first week of October, sitting in a beautiful rental home on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Hurricane Ian passed here with little damage, yet devastated parts of Florida and South Carolina.

Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and with many who have lost their homes or suffered severe damage. It will be years before some can recover.

The United States and most of the world have pretty much weathered the perils of Covid. Many lost loved ones. Many more suffered the vicissitudes of shutdowns, lockouts and other intrusions on daily life thrust upon us during the last 30 months.