Conger

The Church of Bangladesh has elected a new primate.  At the meeting of General Synod last month in Dhaka, the Bishop of Kushtia, the Rt. Rev. Paul Sishir Sarkar was elected moderator of the country’s United Church.

He succeeds the Rt. Rev. Michael Baroi, who also announced that he would retire as bishop of Dhaka in October 2009.

Cyclone Sidr was the primary topic of conversation among delegates to the Bangladeshi synod.  The tropical cyclone came ashore on Nov 15, killing at least 3000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

Aid agencies have been working with the Church of Bangladesh and other NGOs in the country to alleviate the damage caused by the force 5 storm.  Government efforts to protect coastal dwellers appear to have paid off, however.

On April 29, 1991 Cyclone Gorky came ashore near Chittagong killing at least 138,000 and leaving 10 million homeless.

Last month’s storm was more powerful than Cyclone Gorky, meteorologists note, but the loss of life and property was sharply reduced due to the construction of shelters and the creation of an early warning system.

Church leaders have urged the outside world to be generous in their support of those driven from their homes by the storm, but have also asked government and aid agencies to continue the investment in improved communications and infrastructure in coastal Bangladesh so as to prevent future loss of life and economic hardship.