[5]
By Oregon Faith News Note,
New Hope City Church in Longview held a church service that highlighted those who had been lost in the horrific chemical plant disaster. The pastor, in the photo above, can be seen reading the names of those who had been killed.
KGW-TV highlighted and the church service. KGW reported [6]; “At the first Sunday morning church service since the Nippon Dynawave mill disaster, the atmosphere was heavy at New Hope City Church. The loss of the 11 men killed on Tuesday felt nigh-unbearable.“Most of the time people would say, ‘Wow that was right in our own backyard.’ No. This was in our living room. This hit everybody very hard,” NHCC Pastor Scott Olin said.Members of the congregation put their arms around those in attendance who knew the victims.Dan Derby worked in a paper mill for nearly 40 years and said that type of work is ingrained in the community.“We all kinda get pictures in our mind of what happened. Just a bunch of workers going to work,” Derby said. “All of a sudden, everything’s changed. … Our hearts really go out to the families.”
First Baptist Church of Longview put out this message [7], “Friends, our hearts are heavy today as our community reels from the implosion at the Nippon paper mill. Moments like this remind us how fragile life can feel, and how deeply we need one another.Let’s lift up every worker, every family, every first responder, and every neighbor affected. Prayer is not a small thing; it is one of the most powerful gifts we can offer.If you or someone you know needs specific prayer, our church family would be honored to stand with you. You can share prayer needs here:https://forms.ministryforms.net/viewForm.aspx… [8]If you’re new to prayer and would like a little help getting started, here’s a simple guide our church recommends:https://canva.link/x7rolblhb79d03a [9]May God’s peace settle over our community today.”