- Louisiana churches received no major damage.
- Brethren response efforts continue: Shipments of relief materials, grant allocations, Disaster Child Care trainings.
- Church World Service announces program to relocate and house hurricane survivors.
- Two Church of the Brethren stories appear on Disaster News Net.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Newsline Update on Hurricane Relief
Louisiana churches received no major damage.
The church buildings of the two Church of the Brethren congregations in southern Louisiana--Lake Charles Community Church of the Brethren and Roanoke Church of the Brethren--were not significantly damaged by Hurricane Rita, report denominational and district staff from conversations with leaders of the congregations.
Lake Charles deacon Cornell Thomas told the Emergency Response office late last week that the church suffered no major damage, said Brethren Disaster Response coordinator Jane Yount. But members of Lake Charles church have not been able to return home yet, said A. Joan Lowry, executive minister for Southern Plains District. "They are scattered all over," she said.
Lake Charles residents have not tried to return home because the town still does not have power, Lowry said. Generators provided by the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries were to have arrived on Tuesday this week. Lowry said that Myron Jones, lead pastor at Lake Charles, had sent an e-mail to all members to contact the district in case of needs. All of those she has heard from are "ok, sort of," she said, given the difficulties of an evacuation.
"I feel very much at a loss up here" in the district office in Oklahoma, Lowry said, as she expressed her concern for the Lake Charles members and the fact that not much can be done until people return home. "They will need to do a lot of cleaning up when they return," she said, envisioning families coming home to spoiled food in refrigerators and freezers, and to find areas of their houses to be rotted. She also shared that two small communities south of Lake Charles were completely destroyed, and she does not know if any Brethren lived there.
Members of Roanoke (La.) Church of the Brethren "said that they were doing well," Lowry added. Power has been restored in Roanoke, Yount said.
Emergency Response director Roy Winter is scheduled to visit Louisiana and Alabama next week to do further assessment of how the Church of the Brethren can help, Yount said.
For more information about the Emergency Response/Service Ministries work related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, see www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm/NewsUpdates.htm.
Source: 10/06/2005 Newsline Special Report
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The church buildings of the two Church of the Brethren congregations in southern Louisiana--Lake Charles Community Church of the Brethren and Roanoke Church of the Brethren--were not significantly damaged by Hurricane Rita, report denominational and district staff from conversations with leaders of the congregations.
Lake Charles deacon Cornell Thomas told the Emergency Response office late last week that the church suffered no major damage, said Brethren Disaster Response coordinator Jane Yount. But members of Lake Charles church have not been able to return home yet, said A. Joan Lowry, executive minister for Southern Plains District. "They are scattered all over," she said.
Lake Charles residents have not tried to return home because the town still does not have power, Lowry said. Generators provided by the General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries were to have arrived on Tuesday this week. Lowry said that Myron Jones, lead pastor at Lake Charles, had sent an e-mail to all members to contact the district in case of needs. All of those she has heard from are "ok, sort of," she said, given the difficulties of an evacuation.
"I feel very much at a loss up here" in the district office in Oklahoma, Lowry said, as she expressed her concern for the Lake Charles members and the fact that not much can be done until people return home. "They will need to do a lot of cleaning up when they return," she said, envisioning families coming home to spoiled food in refrigerators and freezers, and to find areas of their houses to be rotted. She also shared that two small communities south of Lake Charles were completely destroyed, and she does not know if any Brethren lived there.
Members of Roanoke (La.) Church of the Brethren "said that they were doing well," Lowry added. Power has been restored in Roanoke, Yount said.
Emergency Response director Roy Winter is scheduled to visit Louisiana and Alabama next week to do further assessment of how the Church of the Brethren can help, Yount said.
For more information about the Emergency Response/Service Ministries work related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, see www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm/NewsUpdates.htm.
Source: 10/06/2005 Newsline Special Report
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Brethren response efforts continue: Shipments of relief materials, grant allocations, Disaster Child Care trainings.
In an update on Church of the Brethren denominational response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, shipments of relief materials continue from the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.; the Emergency Disaster Fund has provided a grant for work related to Hurricane Rita; and Disaster Child Care has announced a new training workshop for volunteers.
As of today, Oct. 6, shipments of relief materials related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes totaled 27,900 blankets, 98,595 Gift of the Heart Health Kits, 10,500 School Kits, 525 Baby Kits, 304 Kids Kits, and 4,115 Clean-Up Buckets. These shipments by the Service Ministries program of the General Board were made on behalf of Church World Service.
An allocation of $10,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund supports Church World Service work in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. The money will be used for material resource shipments of blankets and deployment of Disaster Response and Recovery Liaisons, as well as spiritual and emotional care support.
A new Level I training for Disaster Child Care volunteers has been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 21, at Mount Morris (Ill.) Church of the Brethren (409 W. Brayton Rd., Mount Morris, IL 61054), from 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. Previously announced training dates and locations are Oct. 22-23 in Norfolk, Neb., and Nov. 11-12 in Brook Park, Ohio. Disaster Child Care is expanding its training schedule because of the need for new volunteers following Hurricane Katrina.
For more information about Emergency Response/Service Ministries see www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm. For more about Disaster Child Care and training registration see www.disasterchildcare.org. For specific information about the Mount Morris training, call local coordinator Uldine Baker at 815-734-6434.
Source: 10/06/2005 Newsline Special Report
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In an update on Church of the Brethren denominational response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, shipments of relief materials continue from the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.; the Emergency Disaster Fund has provided a grant for work related to Hurricane Rita; and Disaster Child Care has announced a new training workshop for volunteers.
As of today, Oct. 6, shipments of relief materials related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes totaled 27,900 blankets, 98,595 Gift of the Heart Health Kits, 10,500 School Kits, 525 Baby Kits, 304 Kids Kits, and 4,115 Clean-Up Buckets. These shipments by the Service Ministries program of the General Board were made on behalf of Church World Service.
An allocation of $10,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund supports Church World Service work in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. The money will be used for material resource shipments of blankets and deployment of Disaster Response and Recovery Liaisons, as well as spiritual and emotional care support.
A new Level I training for Disaster Child Care volunteers has been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 21, at Mount Morris (Ill.) Church of the Brethren (409 W. Brayton Rd., Mount Morris, IL 61054), from 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. Previously announced training dates and locations are Oct. 22-23 in Norfolk, Neb., and Nov. 11-12 in Brook Park, Ohio. Disaster Child Care is expanding its training schedule because of the need for new volunteers following Hurricane Katrina.
For more information about Emergency Response/Service Ministries see www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm. For more about Disaster Child Care and training registration see www.disasterchildcare.org. For specific information about the Mount Morris training, call local coordinator Uldine Baker at 815-734-6434.
Source: 10/06/2005 Newsline Special Report
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Church World Service announces program to relocate and house hurricane survivors.
Churches in 10 states can now contact local refugee offices of Church World Service (CWS) to offer housing and other assistance for hurricane survivors, according to a Sept. 30 release from CWS. The Emergency Disaster Fund of the General Board has contributed some of the grant money that is making the new program possible.
The program is providing comprehensive, individualized services to Gulf hurricane evacuees who have been displaced to the 10 states, helping them become self-sufficient in their new communities. The help is provided whether the evacuees' stay ultimately is short or long.
The following CWS affiliates are providing the new service: in Florida the CWS Miami Office; in Georgia the Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta; in Illinois the Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries, based in Chicago; in Kentucky the Kentucky Refugee Ministries, with offices in Louisville and Lexington; in Michigan the Programs Assisting Refugee Acculturation/Bethany Christian Services, based in Grand Rapids; in North and South Carolina the Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas, with offices in Greensboro, Raleigh, and Hickory, N.C., and in Columbia, S.C.; in Tennessee the Bridge Refugee and Sponsorship Services, with offices in Knoxville and Bristol; in Texas the Refugee Services of Texas, with offices in Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth (an Amarillo office was to open in October); and in Virginia the Virginia Council of Churches, with offices in Richmond and Harrisonburg.
CWS is enlisting and training congregations and other volunteers to provide moral and material support to evacuees, moving them beyond the "offer of an extra bedroom." CWS will not place evacuees with host families but will help evacuees find their own affordable transitional housing, working on the local level with such partners as FEMA and HUD. The CWS case management program is strictly voluntary on the part of the beneficiaries. Evacuees will be free to "opt into or out of" the program. Potential participants will get full information about the program, and individual needs will be assessed. Clients' confidentiality will be respected.
CWS is the only voluntary agency helping Gulf hurricane survivors that has both an in-house domestic emergency response unit and a refugee resettlement program. It is applying its professional refugee case management experience to help meet the particular needs of Americans displaced by the Gulf hurricanes, the release said.
Erol Kekic, acting director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program, said the program "is intended to assist uprooted people currently living in temporary arrangements and, often, under tenuous conditions, recover their dignity and regain self-sufficiency in communities to which they have found their way or have been relocated." Giving priority to people most in need, the program is helping hurricane evacuees sort out the myriad disaster relief programs; find jobs, health care, and affordable housing; get their children enrolled in school; and get oriented to and integrated into their new communities.
Services are being provided through CWS's established network of local agencies normally serving refugees resettled from around the world. Following Hurricane Katrina, CWS quickly became convinced that the refugee resettlement model could be adapted to meet the needs of Gulf Coast residents displaced within the US. National church bodies that support the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program stepped forward with special funding for the new program, and additional money is being raised as part of public appeals for funds to support a broad CWS program of assistance to Gulf hurricane survivors.
Church World Service is an ecumenical emergency response, development, and refugee assistance agency connected with the National Council of Churches.
Source: 10/06/2005 Newsline Special Report
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Churches in 10 states can now contact local refugee offices of Church World Service (CWS) to offer housing and other assistance for hurricane survivors, according to a Sept. 30 release from CWS. The Emergency Disaster Fund of the General Board has contributed some of the grant money that is making the new program possible.
The program is providing comprehensive, individualized services to Gulf hurricane evacuees who have been displaced to the 10 states, helping them become self-sufficient in their new communities. The help is provided whether the evacuees' stay ultimately is short or long.
The following CWS affiliates are providing the new service: in Florida the CWS Miami Office; in Georgia the Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta; in Illinois the Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries, based in Chicago; in Kentucky the Kentucky Refugee Ministries, with offices in Louisville and Lexington; in Michigan the Programs Assisting Refugee Acculturation/Bethany Christian Services, based in Grand Rapids; in North and South Carolina the Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas, with offices in Greensboro, Raleigh, and Hickory, N.C., and in Columbia, S.C.; in Tennessee the Bridge Refugee and Sponsorship Services, with offices in Knoxville and Bristol; in Texas the Refugee Services of Texas, with offices in Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth (an Amarillo office was to open in October); and in Virginia the Virginia Council of Churches, with offices in Richmond and Harrisonburg.
CWS is enlisting and training congregations and other volunteers to provide moral and material support to evacuees, moving them beyond the "offer of an extra bedroom." CWS will not place evacuees with host families but will help evacuees find their own affordable transitional housing, working on the local level with such partners as FEMA and HUD. The CWS case management program is strictly voluntary on the part of the beneficiaries. Evacuees will be free to "opt into or out of" the program. Potential participants will get full information about the program, and individual needs will be assessed. Clients' confidentiality will be respected.
CWS is the only voluntary agency helping Gulf hurricane survivors that has both an in-house domestic emergency response unit and a refugee resettlement program. It is applying its professional refugee case management experience to help meet the particular needs of Americans displaced by the Gulf hurricanes, the release said.
Erol Kekic, acting director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program, said the program "is intended to assist uprooted people currently living in temporary arrangements and, often, under tenuous conditions, recover their dignity and regain self-sufficiency in communities to which they have found their way or have been relocated." Giving priority to people most in need, the program is helping hurricane evacuees sort out the myriad disaster relief programs; find jobs, health care, and affordable housing; get their children enrolled in school; and get oriented to and integrated into their new communities.
Services are being provided through CWS's established network of local agencies normally serving refugees resettled from around the world. Following Hurricane Katrina, CWS quickly became convinced that the refugee resettlement model could be adapted to meet the needs of Gulf Coast residents displaced within the US. National church bodies that support the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program stepped forward with special funding for the new program, and additional money is being raised as part of public appeals for funds to support a broad CWS program of assistance to Gulf hurricane survivors.
Church World Service is an ecumenical emergency response, development, and refugee assistance agency connected with the National Council of Churches.
Source: 10/06/2005 Newsline Special Report
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Two Church of the Brethren stories appear on Disaster News Net.
Two stories from Church of the Brethren hurricane relief efforts have been featured on Disaster News Net this week:
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Two stories from Church of the Brethren hurricane relief efforts have been featured on Disaster News Net this week:
- "Kids Cope with Post-Storm Stress" by Susan Kim about the work of Disaster Child Care, appeared Oct. 3 (for the full story see www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=2877).
- "Alabama Delayed by Supply Shortage," is an Oct. 5 interview by Susan Kim with Paul "Mike" Walker, manager of the Brethren Disaster Response clean up and repair project based in Citronelle, Ala., about the problems of getting building supplies in hurricane-affected areas (for the full story see www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=2884).
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Credits
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board, on every other Wednesday with other editions as needed. Newsline stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. Jane Bankert, Jon Kobel, Helen Stonesifer, and Jane Yount contributed to this report.
Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board, on every other Wednesday with other editions as needed. Newsline stories may be reprinted if Newsline is cited as the source. Jane Bankert, Jon Kobel, Helen Stonesifer, and Jane Yount contributed to this report.
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