German United Methodists respond with flood aid
9/24/2002 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York By United Methodist News Service United Methodist churches in Germany have made a significant response to assist those affected by August flooding.
German congregations raised a record $700,000 within three weeks of the disaster, according to the Rev. Peter Siegfried, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. That money, along with an initial $10,000 grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief, allowed the church to immediately distribute $1,000 grants to nearly 80 United Methodist families that had lost their homes in the flooding.
The United Methodist Church was the first organization to help in such a direct way, according to German Bishop Walter Klaiber.
The August floods were particularly devastating in eastern Germany, sweeping several villages away and causing significant damage in the historic city of Dresden. United Methodist churches were among the buildings damaged. One church that escaped major damage was the United Methodist Church in Freiberg, rebuilt in 2000 through the Board of Global Ministries' Millennium Fund. Waters approaching that building disappeared about 100 feet away, sinking into an empty coal pit that had been closed years ago, Siegfried said.
Once the government and insurance companies complete their damage assessments, German United Methodists will be able to provide additional support, which will not be limited to church members, Siegfried said.
Others outside the country also have contributed to the flood relief. The United Methodist Church in Mozambique gave a $5,000 gift in response to the assistance the Germans gave that African country when plagued by its own floods a few years ago.
Flooding also struck other parts of Europe. In the Czech Republic, water damage was heavy in Prague and along the Moldau and Elbe Rivers. Siegfried reported that most United Methodist buildings were not affected, although the houses of some church members were damaged. Tents were washed away at a church summer camp two days before the campers were to arrive. The Rev. Josef Cervenak, United Methodist superintendent, has organized a humanitarian assistance committee to respond to needs there.
Some church members also lost homes to flooding in Austria, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and Russia, where crops were destroyed. In Southern Russia, a youth leader for a United Methodist congregation drowned in flooding near the Black Sea, according to Siegfried.
Donors to flood relief in Europe should designate checks to UMCOR's Europe Emergency Advance No. 368210-5. Checks can be dropped in church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583 or at http://umc.org/umcor/ online.
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