November 2024 Current

HURRICANE HELENE & MILTON RESPONSE

THREE SHIPMENTS OF DISASTER RELIEF HEAD TO THOSE IN NEED

CHATHAM – Praise God with us as we celebrate sending $408,254.10 worth of disaster relief supplies to those affected by the recent hurricanes! If you’ve been following along, you know that we had previously planned to send our first shipment of disaster relief on Monday, Oct. 7, but due to Hurricane Milton’s arrival it was postponed due to our partner, Food For The Poor’s, request. After Hurricane Milton made its landfall, and Food For The Poor made assessments on the ground, we were anticipating the first shipment going out the week of Oct. 14. Instead, we sent THREE shipments of disaster relief out! The first shipment was to the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla. , to provide much- needed relief to Pasco County residents still recovering from Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The shipment left our warehouse on Monday, Oct. 14 and has already arrived and they have started distributing supplies. Food For The Poor kindly sent us a video thanking Midwest Mission (volunteers, donors, prayer warriors!) for all that was sent. “Behind me are all of your amazing Cleaning Kits… I just want to say thank you from Food For The Poor to Midwest Mission.” A second truck quickly arrived on Wednesday, Oct. 16 and was filled with cleaning kits, disaster hygiene kits, and tarps. The truck will make two stops – one in Lakeland, Fla. and one in Safety Harbor, Fla. Both stops are distribution points about 20 miles away from the epicenter of the hurricane. The third shipment was a little unexpected. Every year, we send Student Kits as part of Food For The Poor’s giant Disaster Relief Kits that they pre-stage in nine countries, and hold here in the United States in case of disaster. They asked if they could receive the shipment of student kits earlier, so they can pre-stage the Kits earlier, and if they could have more student kits than normal. So, Brad Walton, Midwest Mission’s Operations Manager, prepared the supplies. But, there was still room. It was decided, since the truck would be going to Food For The Poor’s warehouse in Coconut Creek, Fla., that more hurricane relief supplies would be added for immediate distribution! When the truck pulled in on Wednesday, Oct. 16, they loaded the Student Kits and were able to add 1,008 Disaster Hygiene Kits and 280 Personal Dignity Kits on the shipment! God works in great ways!

Bishop Robin Dease, the episcopal leader of the Georgia area, expressed her concern and urged people to donate to UMCOR’s U.S. Disaster Response. “On behalf of the South Georgia and North Georgia Conferences, we send our earnest prayers to all those persons and communities affected by Hurricane Helene,” she said. Florida Conference Bishop Tom Berlin said in a video message that approximately 50 churches in the conference have been affected in some way. He shared a video from his recent visit to Cedar Key United Methodist Church in Cedar Key, Florida, which was hit by Helene’s storm surge. The church just opened in April after rebuilding from Hurricane Idalia last year. “The congregation here wants to enjoy life together, but this storm damage is going to impact them again,” he said. “People’s lives have really been impacted.” He said the conference is working to provide relief and encouraged United Methodists to consider helping by volunteering or offering financial support. (Patterson is a UM News reporter in Nashville, Tenn. Annette Spence of the Holston Conference, Sybil Davidson of the North Georgia Conference and Kelly Roberson of the South Georgia Conference contributed.) You can: • Purchase supplies that are needed now: For the Cleaning Kit: Laundry Detergent (32-64 oz.) Liquid Dish Soap (16-34 oz.) Work Gloves with Leather Palms Kitchen Gloves Heavy Duty Trash Bags or Contractor Bags (2+ mil thickness) Other Requests: Shampoo (12-19 oz) Deodorant (2-3 oz) Items can be brought to Midwest Mission or a Permanent Collection Site near you (sites within the IGRC are: Coal City UMC, Peoria Forrest Hill UMC, Shiloh Church, Mt. Vernon West Salem Trinity Church, Carbondale Grace UMC, Kankakee Trinity UMC, Saint Joseph UMC) or send them through the mail to 1001 Mission Drive, Pawnee, IL 62558. • Donate funds here so we can continue purchasing supplies to build Cleaning Kits and Hygiene Kits. • Get a group together to make Kits at home. Lists can be found at: https://www.midwestmission.org/kits • Pray! Pray! Pray! Pray for those who are in the midst of this crisis, pray for the volunteers on the ground, the truck drivers, the donors – everyone involved in bringing help and hope to people in this devastating time. Photos courtesy of Midwest Mission (ABOVE) Jenifer Brownell read the recent Midwest Mission newsletters and knew of the desperate need of supplies, so she gathered her friends together. They made 86 Disaster Hygiene Kits for the hurricane victims! (LEFT) Kent Douglas, a regular desk shop volunteer, is a Thrivent member. He applied for Thrivent’s Action Team Grant and received $250 that he used to purchase 32 bottles of laundry detergent and 11 boxes of heavy duty trash bags. If you’re a Thrivent member, you can also seek funds for a Thrivent Action Event, and go out and get supplies! Thank you, Kent!

Aftermath of Helene: the United Methodist response

There is so much being sent out that volunteers were packing kits the same day they were being loaded onto a truck! We can’t thank you enough for your outpouring of generosity. Because of your quick response with monetary and

physical donations, we have sent: • 6,496 Disaster Hygiene Kits • 3,024 Disaster Cleaning Kits

(CLOCKWISE) United Methodist Church staff, volunteers and relief workers pray at the altar at Cedar Key United Methodist Church, which was heavily damaged by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene. Molly McEntire of the Florida Conference hugs Stephanie Barnwell (right), a member of Cedar Key United Methodist Church, following Hurricane Helene. Barnwell had been helping clean up after flood damage at the church. At left is the Rev. Alex Shanks of the Florida Conference. United Methodist Bishop Tom Berlin (left) visits with the Rev. Augie Allen at his parsonage in St. Petersburg after Hurricane Helene caused major flood damage to the home. Volunteers from Riviera United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, where Allen is pastor, had removed sodden household items to the front lawn for disposal.

encompasses eastern Tennessee and parts of Georgia and Virginia, have been busy assembling and distributing cleaning kits and raising money for relief efforts. Three days after a conference flood relief fund was set up to help survivors in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, more than $36,000 has been received through the online giving link alone, reports Annette Spence, who has been providing live updates from the Holston Conference. Additional funds are promised from local churches and United Methodist annual conferences, according to the Rev. Mike Sluder, Holston connectional ministries director. Neighboring conferences also are sharing cleaning kits. The North and South Georgia conferences and UMCOR have deployed a solar microgrid trailer to the Valdosta area, where it is powering lights, a well for water, and refrigeration at a church camp just north of the area. The solar power is allowing that location to serve as basecamp for trained UMCOR Early Response Teams from Georgia. It serves as a mobile solar power station to provide clean, quiet and portable power. Earlier this week, the North Georgia Conference made a delivery of water, tarps and portable phone chargers to Wesley United Methodist Church in Evans, Georgia. Wesley members are deploying the supplies to the communities where the needs are greatest, the conference reports. • 13,807 Heavy duty trash bags (Many donated by Masco in Springfield, in conjunction with the Bank of Springfield) • 240 Tarps (Donated by Lamar Advertising) • 208 Personal Dignity Kits • 1 Generator • 6,400 Disposable diapers These disaster relief supplies were worth a total of $408,254.10 – and that doesn’t even include the 7,280 Student Kits! All of this was able to happen because of YOU. Whether you assembled Disaster Cleaning Kits at the Bucket Brigade at Midwest Mission Iowa, or assembled Disaster Hygiene Kits at Midwest Mission in Illinois, or you’ve volunteered here, donated funds, sent supplies, or built kits at home … we couldn’t do it without you. Keep the generosity going! There are still so many people in need, and we foresee this disaster response continuing for several weeks, if not months. Our shelves are empty. We need to quickly replenish supplies so we can send out more relief as we receive requests.

Photos by Mike DeBose, UM News

The conference’s Council on Finance and Administration and Board of Pensions and Health Benefits have voted to contribute $1 million each toward the relief and recovery of churches and communities. Local churches also are being asked to receive a special offering on Oct. 6 for relief efforts. “It’s pretty devastating,” said Brian Mateer, director of missional engagement for the Western North Carolina Conference, who took on the additional post of disaster response coordinator in 2021. “What’s complicating matters is there’s no access in and out of some of these places, no roads.” Mateer said the National Guard was dropping supplies via air, and volunteers are using motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles where they can. “There’s even a pack of mules helping people hike in supplies in one area,” he said. “Our focus really right now is getting just the basic necessities to people, and focusing on some cleaning as we can. But it’s more about the food, water, diapers, formula — that sort of thing is where we are right now.” The flooding was receding but not completely gone, he added. “It’s just mud — I mean, just feet of mud.” Mateer stressed that volunteers are not yet needed, but that will probably change. “We’ve got our assessors and we’re identifying churches that can house teams and places where they can access their needs so they don’t become part of the problem,” he

said. “So yeah, we’re moving toward receiving (volunteer) Disaster Response Updates Conference Communicators and Disaster Response teams are keeping updated information posted on Conference websites. Western North Carolina Conference https://www.wnccumc.org/newsdetail/hurricane-helene- response-18662070 Holston Conference https://www.holston.org/article/next-phase-how-to- help-hurricane-survivors-in-holston-18696868 North Georgia Conference https://www.ngumc.org/newsdetail/disaster-response- update-helene-18670010 South Georgia Conference https://www.sgaumc.org/disasterresponse South Carolina Conference https://www.umcsc.org Florida Conference https://www.flumc.org/2024-hurricane-season-updates teams in the near future.” Mateer helped with cleanup with a youth group after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “With Katrina, everything was impacted,” he said. “Here, it’s just pockets of impact. You can go to an area that looks normal, and then you go over the hillside or the

BY JIM PATTERSON NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNews) – United Methodists across the southeastern U.S. are doing their best to raise morale and get organized after many communities have been devastated by flooding from Hurricane Helene. Flip Butler, a member of Boone United Methodist Church in Boone, N.C., is spending his time cutting wood, passing out candy and just trying to do anything he can think of to help. “My gift is the gift of gab,” he said. “I make people laugh in the worst situations sometimes, and that’s what I’ve been doing all day (on Oct. 1), going around … and just sitting down and talking.” Historic rainfall, flooding, power outages and 140 mph winds plagued the Southeast, with the mountains of western North Carolina being particularly hard hit. According to The Associated Press, at least 179 people over six states were killed as a result of the storm, which made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 26. President Biden promised resources including food, water, communications and lifesaving equipment. Bishop Ken Carter, who leads the Western North Carolina Conference, said it’s estimated that more than half of the 44 counties in the annual conference have been affected. “We want you to know that we see you, we are praying for you, and you will not be in this alone. Your well-being and recovery is the mission,” he said in a message on Facebook.

AFTERMATH RESPONSE CONTINUED FROM 8

mountainside, and it’s completely devastated.” Bishop Carter said Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is housing search and rescue personnel who’ve come from all over the U.S. to help. “The calling of Lake Junaluska is to be a place of Christian hospitality for the renewal of mind, body and spirit. That is happening in a profound way, not only for these men and women but also for the vulnerable and traumatized residents of the mountains they are helping,” Carter said in a Facebook post. The United Methodist Committee on Relief reports that it is offering consultation and coordinative support to all affected conferences as communities begin to assess their needs. So far, grants have been awarded to the North and South Georgia, Western North Carolina and Holston conferences. “The devastation from Helene is heartbreaking, but it is in times like these that the church is called to embody hope,” said Roland Fernandes, top executive of UMCOR and the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. “Emergency response teams are gearing up to work with those affected, to offer immediate relief and plan for long-term recovery.” United Methodists in the Holston Conference, which

AFTERMATH RESPONSE CONTINUED ON 9

8 | NOVEMBER 2024 | THE CURRENT

THE CURRENT | NOVEMBER 2024 | 9