Church of the Brethren responds to disasters with grants totaling $117,000.

The Church of the Brethren has responded to recent disasters around the world, and to the world hunger crisis, with grants totaling $117,000. The grants focus on response to the China earthquake and the cyclone in Myanmar. The grants were given from the denomination’s Emergency Disaster Fund and Global Food Crisis Fund.

In other disaster news, a Church of the Brethren congregation in Windsor, Colo., has escaped all but minor damage from a devastating tornado that hit the town yesterday, May 22.

The two funds--Emergency Disaster Fund and Global Food Crisis Fund--each provided a grant of $30,000 to support Church World Service (CWS) and its partner agency Amity Foundation following the massive earthquake in China. The initial response by CWS and Amity Foundation includes immediate relief supplies of food, quilts, and shelter materials. A longterm response will include the rebuilding of homes, schools, hospitals, and safe water supplies.

The Global Food Crisis Fund gave a grant of $30,000 to support CWS hunger development work in Myanmar following the cyclone. The money will help purchase rice seed that is urgently needed for this planting season. Another allocation of $15,000 from the Global Food Crisis Fund supports Heifer International designated hunger development work in Myanmar, assisting 1,700 families toward achieving sustainable food sources and income over the next three years.

A grant of $7,000 from the Emergency Disaster Fund responds to spring storms in the United States, given to a CWS appeal following a severe outbreak of tornados and flooding. The money will help provide material aid, staff deployment, training, and financial support for longterm recovery groups in parts of Georgia, Maine, Missouri, and Virginia.

An allocation of $5,000 from the Global Food Crisis Fund assists with distribution of 250,000 packets of seeds in Liberia. The logistics for the project are handled by Church Aid Inc., Liberia, a Global Food Crisis Fund partner.

In other news, members of Northern Colorado Church of the Brethren in Windsor escaped harm and serious damage to their homes, and the church building received only minor damage in yesterday’s tornado. The church building is on the northwest side of town, and the area decimated by the storm was on the southeast side of Windsor. "We were out of the path," said pastor John Carlson. "We do need to be in prayer for the people who have lost so much," he added. News reports this morning said that 100 or more homes were severely damaged or completely destroyed in Windsor, a town of some 19,000 people. One person was killed.

Source: 5/23/2008 Newsline