Dear brothers and sisters,
On Thursday of this week, Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Flat Rock because of a continuing HAZMAT situation discovered on Tuesday. On Tuesday evening, the Flat Rock fire department and other agencies set up a staging area in our church parking lot as they began a search for the source of “explosive fumes” detected in the basements of nearby homes. The staging area was quickly moved to the Flat Rock Community Center as the number of agencies involved grew to about fifteen. It was not determined until Friday evening that the odor was benzine. They later determined that the source was a fuel leak at the Ford plant on Gibraltar Road and perhaps as much as 3,000 gallons of fuel had leaked into the sewer system. As it stands, there is no indication that our church building is affected, however, ten homes directly across the street and River Heights Academy (formerly Summit) were evacuated. Last night, Olmstead Rd. was blocked off between Gibraltar Rd. and Woodruff Rd. as teams work to mitigate the contamination. Consequently, the Flat Rock fire chief informed me that the EPA has requested that we not gather at our building this Lord’s Day. You can read the details of this story here.
Gibraltar Bible Baptist Church has kindly extended an invitation for us to gather with them for worship tomorrow. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to encourage our brothers and sisters in Gibraltar and also to display the bond of Christ that exists between us. I encourage everyone to attend. Their location is 29321 Fryer Dr. in Gibraltar. The service time is 10:30 AM and will conclude with the Lord’s Supper.
After the service, we are invited to join them for a potluck luncheon. I encourage you to stay; it will be a great time of fellowship. Please bring a dish and/or dessert to pass.
See you tomorrow.
Pastor Thomas