Annual Conference moderator calls for prayer and action to care for hurricane survivors.

As the situation in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina seemed to fall into chaos and anarchy, survivors in other areas of the Gulf Coast waited for relief, and thousands more National Guardsmen were called in to the disaster area, the Church of the Brethren was called to prayer for those affected by the hurricane.

“First and foremost, keep the families and individuals in prayer, who have needs we can’t even begin to fathom,” said Annual Conference moderator Ronald Beachley. “Think of those people,” he urged Brethren, “and allow the Spirit to minister through the people who are helping on the ground.”

In addition to prayer, Beachley encouraged the Brethren to “contribute financially. Take up a collection,” he said. “Also I encourage them to make the Gift of the Heart kits. Certainly we can do those few things right now. We can’t volunteer because of the conditions of the moment,” he said, calling on Brethren to remain alert to volunteer opportunities as they become available in the future.

In a new service, put in place this afternoon, donations to the General Board’s Emergency Disaster Fund can now be made online at www.brethren.org, click on “Responding to Hurricane Katrina.” The fund supports the work of Disaster Child Care and Emergency Response/Service Ministries. Checks also may be mailed to 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 (payable to “Emergency Disaster Fund,” write “Hurricane Katrina” on the memo line).

Gift of the Heart Health, Baby, School, and Kids Kits will help survivors with necessary items for personal hygiene, infant care, return to school, and play items for individuals, families, and children who have lost everything. Kits are distributed from the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor on behalf of Church World Service. For information about making Gift of the Heart Kits see www.churchworldservice.org, click on “Tools, Blankets, and Kits.”

Christians and others of faith around the world have begun expressing their prayers for those affected by the hurricane as well. “The devastation...has also struck at the hearts of all brothers and sisters in Christ in Europe,” wrote Keith Clements, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, in a letter to the National Council of Churches (NCC). “We especially feel for the poorest, and most vulnerable, those who had no homes even before the floods came. May grace and strength be given to all congregations and their pastors involved, now and in the coming days.”

“We are hoping and praying that order and normalcy will be resorted as soon as possible,” wrote the Arab Group for Christian Muslim Dialogue to the NCC. “Our hearts and minds are with you as you help those who are suffering along the path of Hurricane Katrina.”