Through the years we at PTS have been blessed with many wonderful sisters and brothers from Burma/ Myanmar.   My own love for your people began in childhood and my life as an adult has been enriched by special friendships with people from many parts of your land.  Now there are tears in my heart as I think of the overwhelming disaster and the many complications which have made responding so difficult.   There is also deep admiration for your faith and courage, as each of you, our sisters and brothers, ministers to so many despite your own pain.  Each day I pray that you may be given the strength and resources you need, and that we may be of some help to you.  With hope for healing, and trust that God is with you as you are with your people, Elsie McKee

I do not know why I was born and live here and not in the flooded regions of Myanmar or the earthquake-affected areas of China, but may God keep moving us who have been spared the more immediate effects of these events to remember and act out of the abundance of our faith and substance to show our solidarity with the rest of our human family.

In the worried days immediately following the May 2 cyclone in Myanmar, Princeton Seminary held a worship service in Miller Chapel to support the students from that country.  PTS student Hrang Hlei is from Myanmar, and found the service very encouraging. “Students and professors and staff members, in the midst of a busy time and writing papers, came and encouraged us,” he said.  “It was very meaningful for us because even though we are not experiencing the storm firsthand, it is directly or indirectly affecting us; we were worried about our families.”  To the PTS community, he adds, “Thank you for caring and encouraging us at this time of bitter experience.  Suppose I am in another place, maybe I would have no friends who would encourage me. What would happen if I didn’t have friends and professors?  Being a student here at Princeton is very meaningful, and it’s an honor.”

To learn about the work of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in Myanmar and to give to the relief effort, click here.

The prayer below is from the service held in Miller Chapel for the PTS students from Myanmar on May 7, 2008.

Let us pray.

O God, the psalmist reminds us that you are a very present help in trouble. We need that help, O God, for the people of Myanmar who have experienced such a devastating cyclone this week. O God, we pray for all those whose lives have been ravaged by this storm.
 
We lift to you those who have lost their lives, and we lift to you all those whose who grieve them.
 
We pray for those who are missing, and those who have not been able to communicate with loved ones.
 
We lift to you all those who have been injured by this storm in body and spirit. We ask for help and healing.
 
We pray for all those who have lost their homes and their work places. Those who have now no shelter in this storm.
 
We pray for all those who have no food or water. May supplies reach them soon. May they stay well, and be free of illness and disease.
 
We pray for the government of Myanmar as they deal with this tragedy. May they be open to aid from other countries and organizations. May that aid quickly reach those in need.
 
We pray that, out of this terrible tragedy, change and hope may come for this country.
 
We pray that, out of this terrible tragedy, the world may experience change and hope as well. May this deepen our understanding of what it means to be a global community. May we see beyond our own horizons, our own experiences, our own needs.
 
We pray for Hrang, Tin Tin, Joseph, Than, and their families, their loved ones, their church communities.
 
We pray for this community here at Princeton Theological Seminary. May we be a place where all are welcomed and embraced. May we be a place where prayers are prayed, and songs are sung, and hope is given. May we be a place of wholeness and light for the church and for the world.

An assistant lecturer in Christian education at Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT), S’ Joseph was introduced to PTS through former MIT principal and PTS alum Anna May Say Pa (Th.M., 1980; Ph.D., 1989). Accompanied by his wife and fellow PTS student Nant Tin Tin Win, Joseph came to Princeton Seminary to explore the link between Christian education and social transformation. Having worked with the relief and development organization World Vision for seven years prior to teaching, Joseph gained valuable insight into the link between Christian faith and social practice. “My background and experience with World Vision encouraged me to scatter the seeds of social gospel in community,” Joseph says. “This kind of disaster also reminds me to go deeply into the society and serve the people.” Joseph and Tin Tin will soon put their beliefs into practice. They return to Myanmar on June 2 after their graduation from Princeton Seminary and plan to join local relief efforts aimed at the heavily hit Irrawaddy delta region.

An assistant lecturer at Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT), Than Aung graduated from Princeton Seminary on May 17 with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies. After learning of the cyclone in Myanmar, he knew that his wife and two sons were safe because they were in the northern part of the country, but it took him four days to learn that his mother and sister were alright.  “We were catching the news every day, every hour,” he says of himself and his fellow PTS students from Myanmar.  He hopes the Christian community will pray for the people of Myanmar. “People are rushing to help in the affected areas,” he says. “When I heard how many people had died, I felt very sad. Pray for those who have survived.”

The Princeton Seminary community remembers the people of China in prayer as they grieve and rebuild after the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province on May 12.   PTS has a number of alumni/ae from China, and President Iain Torrance’s grandfather was from 1890 to 1933 the agent of the American Bible Society in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province. Last year President Torrance and the Seminary’s Board of Trustees visited the Sichuan Theological Seminary in Chengdu, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter of the quake. Recently President Torrance received the following email from Li Dong, dean of Sichuan Theological Seminary.

  Dear brother Torrance:

    I have received your letter. Sorry not to respond to you sooner, because we are very busy. I have told you that there are so many churches here that were damaged. Now there are many things that are under control through help from our government, the army, people all over our country, and all over the world. Of course, we would like to invite you to keep praying for our churches and people and our country. Thank you very much again.

 In His Love,

 Li Dong

To learn about the work of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance in Sichuan and to give to the relief effort, click here.

Sarah Zhang, a Ph.D. student in the Biblical Studies Department at Princeton Seminary, is from Shanxi Province in northern China. “Even though I don’t know anyone personally affected,” she says, ”because I am Chinese, the same blood runs through all the people and we have the feeling of being like family.” She learned of the disaster via the Internet, and was struck by the images of parents who had lost children in the fallen school buildings.  “Many times I couldn’t finish the news story,” she says.  She hopes the Princeton Seminary community will pray for the people of China.  “At this stage, what is most pressing is the relocation of millions of survivors; it’s a huge number of people that need to be provided food and shelter. A lot of financial support is needed,” she says. She is also concerned about secondary problems such as the risk of floods from dams that may be damaged, or the risk of epidemic.  Her hope for the people in China is that the genuine spirit of Christianity shines, and that the love of Christ be felt.