United Methodists launch churchwide appeal for hurricane relief
10/8/1998 NOTE: A photograph is available with this story. by United Methodist News Service The United Methodist Church is launching a churchwide appeal to provide funds for the extensive relief effort already under way to alleviate suffering in the wake of Hurricane Georges, which raked island nations in the Caribbean and the eastern Gulf states.
In a letter being mailed Oct. 9 to every minister, the Council of Bishops and the church's General Council on Finance and Administration are asking each congregation to receive a special offering during October or in the first week of November. The letter, along with relevant information, is in both English and Spanish.
The Board of Global Ministries is coordinating relief efforts through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and with autonomous Methodist churches in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, and the most affected conferences (regions) in the United States: Florida, Alabama-West Florida and Mississippi.
The funds raised by the appeal will be used to:
· supplement government assistance for humanitarian responses;
· distribute great quantities of material donations made by businesses and individuals from across the country;
· complete repair budgets for basic housing;
· cover some costs associated with pastoral care; and
· assist conferences and congregations in the repair of local church property.
So much damage was done by flooding in the Dominican Republic that entire communities vanished and many of the dead may never be found. Gordon Knuckey, UMCOR field staff, termed the situation "a true catastrophic disaster, the worst I've ever seen." UMCOR team members was told by residents that they were the first representatives of any church-related relief group to reach them.
Aid to the Dominican Republic will be channeled through the Iglesia Evangelica Dominicana (the Dominican Evangelical Churches), an organization of Methodist, Presbyterian and Moravian churches.
No area of Puerto Rico has been left untouched. Two-thirds of the population had damage to their home or business, or both. With help from UMCOR, seven centers have been established by the church to serve as collection and distribution points for relief supplies.
Counseling has been given to the children of a community where 200 families were left homeless. Three Methodist camps where the kitchens are relatively intact have been offered to authorities to use as feeding centers. UMCOR has shipped generators to the island and is arranging for other relief supplies to be sent.
In Haiti, the land mass itself has become unstable. Three Methodist schools were evacuated and stored food was destroyed. Mudslides destroyed mountain homes. Throughout the islands, getting drinking water and food to remote locations continues to be a problem.
The smaller islands of Antigua, St. Kits, Nevis and St. Maarten have reported extensive damage to homes, livelihood, churches and parsonages.
Throughout the Caribbean, agriculture was severely affected. Crops were destroyed, and in some cases, recovery of food sources may take three or four years. Although most of these areas are largely rural, other means of livelihood were damaged or destroyed as well.
In the United States, recovery is being aided by generators and other supplies. The first volunteer teams have already entered some areas to help with clean up and provide support. At least one additional distribution center has been established in Mississippi. Cleaning supplies and generators were distributed from UMCOR's Sager-Brown Depot in Louisiana.
In the Florida Conference, United Methodist churches housed Red Cross shelters and fed relief workers and those in shelters. Church volunteers have helped in removing debris and cleaning up - often in areas where no other organization was at work.
In Mississippi, recovery is expected to take at least a year. Additional shipments of cleaning supplies were brought to the Gulfport warehouse on Oct. 7 and 8. The food pantries at churches in the Seashore District have had their supplies of canned foods exhausted and have issued a call for replacements. Rain continues to be a problem for those with damaged homes and people working on debris removal. Additional volunteers are needed.
Historic Gulfside Assembly, virtually destroyed by a hurricane several years ago, was not in the direct path of Georges and sustained only cosmetic damage. Some windows were broken and trees were downed. Like other businesses in the area, it lost valuable income. A large group meeting scheduled that week had to be cancelled.
More information about hurricane relief is available from UMCOR at (800) 554-8583. Scheduling volunteers is being handled by UMCOR at (800) 918-3100. Arrangements for donation of material resources may be made at (800) 814-8765.
Donations made through local churches will be directed to the Churchwide Appeal for Hurricanes '98, UMCOR Advance No. 982515-0 by church treasurers and the annual (regional) conference.
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