24 August 2026

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings!

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!

Yesterday, Sunday, 23 August, I went to visit several of the faith communities who are part of the Calumet Episcopal Ministry Partnership (CEMP). As of yesterday, more than 28,000 people were still without power in Northwest Indiana!

At 9 a.m., I gathered with the saints who are St. Stephen’s Hobart for the Eucharist. They have significant tree damage and some property damage, yet, while the storm came through Tuesday, 11 August, their power wasn’t restored until Saturday, 22 August. Several faith communities weren't able to worship until yesterday and many parishioners reported power outages, loss of perishable food and tree damage at their homes.

I then worshipped with the saints who are St. Barnabas Miller Beach and St. Augustine’s Gary for the 11 o'clock Eucharist. Fortunately, neither of their buildings were damaged. After our worship, I drove to St. Timothy’s Griffith and St. Paul’s Munster. There is significant tree and property damage at St. Timothy’s. St. Paul’s Munster suffered roof and tree damage. There are two faith communities in Porter County, St. Andrew’s Valparaiso and St. Francis’ Chesterton. While there is tree damage, there doesn’t seem to be any property damage. I am not aware, at this time, of any significant damage at our faith communities in LaPorte County, Trinity Michigan City and St. Paul’s LaPorte.

I am so grateful for the leadership of Pastor Pamela, along with senior and junior wardens of our six faith communities in Lake County. I’m especially grateful for the opportunity to hear from Corya Channing, Pastor Pamela, and John Tucker, as they shared their experiences in this video.

Thank you for your continuing prayer and support, as we continue to discern next best steps to assist these and other faith communities. We will keep you updated and please contact the diocesan office to make us aware of any needs.

Bishop Doug

You can still make a donation to the Bishop's Discretionary Account to help provide disaster relief funding to people in the affected faith communities. https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bishops-discretionary-fund-for-disaster-relief