Friday, September 02, 2005
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.”
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.”
Brethren staff member joins coordinating group for mass care operation.
The General Board’s Emergency Response/Service Ministries has a long history of responding to disasters, and that experience is being tapped by the American Red Cross. The Red Cross mass care operation based at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., has assembled staff from key disaster response organizations to coordinate efforts following Hurricane Katrina.
Disaster Child Care, a ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board, has been asked to be a part of this vital group. Roy Winter, executive director of the Brethren Service Center and the Emergency Response/Service Ministries in New Windsor, Md., will be working out of the Red Cross headquarters on an as-needed basis.
Disaster Child Care also has been asked to deploy volunteers to family assistance centers by both FEMA and the American Red Cross. Details for this deployment are being finalized.
The Service Ministries Distribution Center at New Windsor has sent an additional shipment of relief material to Louisiana this afternoon that included Church World Service blankets.
Disaster coordinators for the Church of the Brethren districts are ready to respond when the flood waters recede, and when clean up and rebuilding can begin. “Volunteers are asked to be patient, since it may be months before the community is ready to invite us in to do rebuilding,” said Jane Yount, Brethren Disaster Response coordinator. “While we cannot send volunteers to Louisiana or Mississippi now, we have two other disaster response projects that desperately need volunteers--Pensacola, Fla., and Glencoe, Ohio.
Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the General Board, also said that congregations may consider preparing for possible opportunities to house refugees. He anticipates that housing initiatives will be put in place by federal and state governments, and that churches will be invited to take part.
“Now is the time for patience,” Noffsinger said. Emergency personnel and aid workers on the ground “need our prayerful support, and our encouragement,” he added. “They are all working at a feverish pitch to do the right thing.”
For more about the Church of the Brethren response to Hurricane Katrina, see www.brethren.org or www.brethrendisasterresponse.org.
The General Board’s Emergency Response/Service Ministries has a long history of responding to disasters, and that experience is being tapped by the American Red Cross. The Red Cross mass care operation based at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., has assembled staff from key disaster response organizations to coordinate efforts following Hurricane Katrina.
Disaster Child Care, a ministry of the Church of the Brethren General Board, has been asked to be a part of this vital group. Roy Winter, executive director of the Brethren Service Center and the Emergency Response/Service Ministries in New Windsor, Md., will be working out of the Red Cross headquarters on an as-needed basis.
Disaster Child Care also has been asked to deploy volunteers to family assistance centers by both FEMA and the American Red Cross. Details for this deployment are being finalized.
The Service Ministries Distribution Center at New Windsor has sent an additional shipment of relief material to Louisiana this afternoon that included Church World Service blankets.
Disaster coordinators for the Church of the Brethren districts are ready to respond when the flood waters recede, and when clean up and rebuilding can begin. “Volunteers are asked to be patient, since it may be months before the community is ready to invite us in to do rebuilding,” said Jane Yount, Brethren Disaster Response coordinator. “While we cannot send volunteers to Louisiana or Mississippi now, we have two other disaster response projects that desperately need volunteers--Pensacola, Fla., and Glencoe, Ohio.
Stan Noffsinger, general secretary of the General Board, also said that congregations may consider preparing for possible opportunities to house refugees. He anticipates that housing initiatives will be put in place by federal and state governments, and that churches will be invited to take part.
“Now is the time for patience,” Noffsinger said. Emergency personnel and aid workers on the ground “need our prayerful support, and our encouragement,” he added. “They are all working at a feverish pitch to do the right thing.”
For more about the Church of the Brethren response to Hurricane Katrina, see www.brethren.org or www.brethrendisasterresponse.org.
Manchester College offers to take students from affected areas.
Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., is offering to enroll students whose colleges or universities are closed because of Hurricane Katrina, among many other colleges and universities across the country making similar offers. In addition, the college community is uniting to raise funds and donate blood for the victims of the disaster, and is inviting its neighbors to join the relief effort, according to a press release.
Manchester will speed financial aid packaging and course registration, and waive application and late-registration fees to the transfer students, said David F. McFadden, executive vice president. The offer is extended to students already admitted or enrolled in four-year baccalaureate colleges or universities closed by the hurricane and resulting flooding.
Meanwhile, Manchester is collecting monetary donations in collaboration with the Church of the Brethren and Church World Service, and is working with the Red Cross to conduct a special blood drive on Tuesday, Sept. 20. For more see www.manchester.edu.
Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., is offering to enroll students whose colleges or universities are closed because of Hurricane Katrina, among many other colleges and universities across the country making similar offers. In addition, the college community is uniting to raise funds and donate blood for the victims of the disaster, and is inviting its neighbors to join the relief effort, according to a press release.
Manchester will speed financial aid packaging and course registration, and waive application and late-registration fees to the transfer students, said David F. McFadden, executive vice president. The offer is extended to students already admitted or enrolled in four-year baccalaureate colleges or universities closed by the hurricane and resulting flooding.
Meanwhile, Manchester is collecting monetary donations in collaboration with the Church of the Brethren and Church World Service, and is working with the Red Cross to conduct a special blood drive on Tuesday, Sept. 20. For more see www.manchester.edu.
New hymn is made available to those supporting Church World Service.
A new hymn for Sunday services remembering the hurricane survivors has been released by the National Council of Churches, for use by those supporting Church World Service relief efforts. The Church of the Brethren supports CWS through its Emergency Disaster Fund grants.
“God of Creation”
(Herzliebster Jesu 11.11.11.5 “Ah, Holy Jesus”)
God of creation, We have seen the horror.
Great devastation, overwhelming sorrow!
Hear now your people, homes and loved ones taken,
Feeling forsaken.
Christ of compassion, you who calmed the rough sea,
Hurricane crashing, we prayed for your mercy!
Comfort your people! Hold them close, now giving
Hope for their living.
Give to your children food to end their hunger,
Clean water’s blessing, news of those they long for!
And by your Spirit, use our gifts and labors
To help our neighbors.
Biblical references: Genesis 1; Psalm 13; Matthew 8:23-27, 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37. Tune: Johann Cruger, 1640. Text: Copyright 2005 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette gives permission for the hymn’s free use by churches that support the relief efforts of Church World Service. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette and Bruce Gillette are pastors at Limestone Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, Del. Carolyn is the author of “Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today’s Worship” (Geneva Press, 2000).
A new hymn for Sunday services remembering the hurricane survivors has been released by the National Council of Churches, for use by those supporting Church World Service relief efforts. The Church of the Brethren supports CWS through its Emergency Disaster Fund grants.
“God of Creation”
(Herzliebster Jesu 11.11.11.5 “Ah, Holy Jesus”)
God of creation, We have seen the horror.
Great devastation, overwhelming sorrow!
Hear now your people, homes and loved ones taken,
Feeling forsaken.
Christ of compassion, you who calmed the rough sea,
Hurricane crashing, we prayed for your mercy!
Comfort your people! Hold them close, now giving
Hope for their living.
Give to your children food to end their hunger,
Clean water’s blessing, news of those they long for!
And by your Spirit, use our gifts and labors
To help our neighbors.
Biblical references: Genesis 1; Psalm 13; Matthew 8:23-27, 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37. Tune: Johann Cruger, 1640. Text: Copyright 2005 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette gives permission for the hymn’s free use by churches that support the relief efforts of Church World Service. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette and Bruce Gillette are pastors at Limestone Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, Del. Carolyn is the author of “Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today’s Worship” (Geneva Press, 2000).
Credits
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board, on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month, with other editions as needed. Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the source. Kathleen Campanella and Jeri S. Kornegay contributed to this report.
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board, on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month, with other editions as needed. Newsline stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the source. Kathleen Campanella and Jeri S. Kornegay contributed to this report.
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