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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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Halifax harbor in Nova Scotia, Canada, was filled with ships whose schedules were dictated by the commerce of World War I (WWI). On Tuesday morning, December 6, 1917, a fully-loaded French ammunition ship, the Mont Blanc, was entering the harbor as a Belgian relief ship, the Imo, was exiting the Harbor to travel to New York to pick up relief materials for Belgium. After a series confusing whistle blasts and misunderstood signals, the ships collided in the narrows of the Harbor. The Imo’s bow ripped a hole at least 10 feet into the hull of the Mont Blanc. When the Imo tried to pull back, sparks ignited some of the munitions on board the Mont Blanc. The fire spread quickly and the crew abandoned ship. Fleeing in two rowboats, the French-speaking crew reached safety on the English-speaking Dartmouth shore as the burning ship continued to drift toward the Richmond Pier 6 on the Halifax shore. Because of the language differences, the crew was unable to warn the residents of the impending disaster. The Mont Blanc exploded at 9:04 AM, making it one of the worst maritime disasters in history. It still ranks as one of the largest ever non-nuclear, man-made explosions. The ship was instantly fragmented, with much of it vaporizing into a giant fireball that rose over a mile into the air. The explosion also caused a 15-foot tidal wave wrecking other ships in the Harbor and leveling anything in its path. The disaster resulted in approximately 2,000 deaths, 9,000 injuries, and according to one conservative estimate, roughly $30 million (1917 currency) in damage. The death toll could have been higher if not for the heroic efforts of an Intercolonial Railway dispatcher, P. Vincent (Vince) Coleman. Sensing imminent danger and thinking of passenger trains that were in route to the area, Coleman refused to evacuate and went back into his office to telegraph an urgent warning to incoming trains. ” Stop trains. Munitions
ship on fire. Approaching
Pier 6. Goodbye.” His warning was heeded and around 700 lives were spared. But Vince Coleman was killed at his post as the explosion ripped through the city. * The Bible warns that each of US, due to our sins, is on a fatal collision course. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God … and the wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Yet because of His great love for us (John 15:13) and in fulfillment of His Father’s will (Acts 2:23), Jesus, the Son of God, refused to “leave His post” and died on the cross to save us from our sins (Ephesians 1:7). He died for us so that we might live with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 5:10). To avoid this collision course with eternal death and enjoy eternal life, we must accept Jesus’ offer on His terms: believing in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:27). Then we must continue to follow Him faithfully in order to reach the heavenly shore (1 John 1:7). Jesus gave His life to save YOU. Don’t forfeit the eternal benefit of His Self-Sacrifice. Accept His offer of salvation TODAY! David A. Sargent, Minister Church
of Christ at Creekwood "Many thanks to Gary Hampton, Director of East Tennessee School of Preaching and Missions, for sharing this story with us!" *
Information gleaned from “Halifax Explosion” in
Wikipedia.com, “The Halifax Explosion” account by
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchzip.com Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
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