Episcopal Press and News
Episcopal Relief & Development helps southern storm victims
Episcopal News Service. April 28, 2011 [042811-05]
ENS staff
Episcopal Relief & Development said April 28 that it has been in contact with dioceses in the southern part of the United States and is working with local churches to respond in a number of locations after powerful spring storms battered the region.
The New York Times reported that more than 200 people died as at least 100 storms tore through the area during the night of April 27-28. A National Weather Service map showing known damage is here.
By the afternoon of April 28, the Times said, some 269 people had been killed by storms that have swept across the South during the past several days. The National Weather Service said the deaths were the most since a tornado outbreak killed 315 people in 1974.
This most recent wave of destructive weather comes after storms barreled through the Southeast over the weekend of April 16.
Episcopal Relief & Development said in a press release that it "encourages prayers for people who are at risk or who have suffered losses, for the families of those who have died, and for the rescue and relief teams who are working to save lives and address immediate needs."
Katie Mears, program manager of Episcopal Relief & Development's U.S. Disaster Program, has been in contact with the dioceses of Alabama and Atlanta. According to Mears, reports indicate that none of the churches in the Atlanta diocese were damaged, but a number of parishes have member families that have been impacted by the storms. Several churches are involved in immediate relief efforts, including providing temporary shelter and distributing food and other necessities, according to the release.
"The diocesan disaster coordinator in Atlanta has been in contact, and we are waiting to see how we can be of assistance," Mears said in the release.
She also reported that the Diocese of Alabama is still assessing damage, but that at least one church is beginning to respond to local needs. "We have been in touch and we are ready to assist them as they carry out this valuable ministry," Mears said.
In heavily-damaged Tuscaloosa, local news reports said that volunteers were using St. Matthias Episcopal Church as a staging area.
It was just little more than a year ago that the diocese was beginning the recovery process after an F-3 tornado severely damaged Christ Episcopal Church in Albertville, Alabama. Currently a note on the church's website reads "Tornado damage devastating, but parish and community will rise..."
Episcopal Relief & Development said it is also supporting the Diocese of North Carolina (which covers the central region of the state) and two congregations in the Diocese of East Carolina (covering the coastal region of North Carolina) as they minister to their communities in the wake of the April 16 storms.
Fourteen Diocese of North Carolina parishes (one in Sanford and the rest in the Raleigh area) are involved in a diocesan-wide response effort, which is being coordinated through the diocesan offices. According to a diocesan report, a number of clergy and lay leaders gathered on April 26 to hear an overview of the diocese's response to the damage so far, and its plans for moving forward.
The report said that the Rev. Canon Michael Buerkel Hunn advised congregations to assemble a designated team and contact the diocese to let them know who was the best point of contact for disaster response (for the current disaster in addition to potential future events) and communicate specific projects the congregation is working on or would like to work on so that the diocese can provide additional resources. Episcopal Relief & Development said it will sent emergency funds to the diocese to aid congregations involved in local disaster response.
Buerkel Hunn said in the diocesan report that there "is a longer role that the Episcopal Church can be part of, because this is not a sprint, this is a marathon. We have hundreds of displaced people in temporary housing who have nowhere to go."
"There are people who have insurance, but have high deductibles that they can't possibly afford to pay, or maybe your insurance covers the materials and you can't afford to pay for the labor. There are people who are going to need pastoral care and someone to talk to as they deal with the shock of losing everything. There are going to many gaps between what relief organizations and the government can do, and I think the Episcopal Church can play a vital role in assisting in those areas."
In the Diocese of East Carolina, Episcopal Relief & Development said it is supporting relief efforts in two communities that suffered significant damage: Windsor, in rural Bertie County, near the coast, and Newton Grove, about 35 miles northeast of Fayetteville.
In Windsor and the surrounding communities, tornadoes destroyed at least 67 homes and damaged 30 others, Episcopal Relief & Development said. Many people were injured, and 14 residents were killed by the storm. Windsor is in an impoverished rural part of the state, the organization said.
With support from Episcopal Relief & Development, St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Windsor is responding to residents' needs for basic household items, temporary shelter and pastoral care. For people whose homes were damaged or destroyed, the release said, St. Thomas is providing vouchers for the church's thrift store and other local vendors so families can purchase clothing, school supplies and other items. Motel vouchers and funds for small emergency home repairs to prevent further damage were also distributed.
Episcopal Relief & Development said "connections to other congregations and social service organizations in the area helped to maximize the reach of their response effort. In addition, the church is providing pastoral care and financial assistance for funeral expenses to families who are grieving."
"After this sort of traumatic event, people deeply need spiritual support," Mears said in the release. "Local churches, like St. Thomas, can provide a safe space to talk through the grief and loss that people are feeling, and the churches can also work with families to meet their immediate physical needs. Pastoral care and immediate relief ideally go hand-in-hand."
More than a hundred miles away from Windsor, the same storm system affected families in the town of Newton Grove and the local Episcopal congregation, La Iglesia de la Sagrada Familia, is responding to needs through its Episcopal Farmworker Ministries (EFM) program. With help from Episcopal Relief & Development, Sagrada Familia is providing vouchers to purchase clothing, food and household supplies to people in need, as well as temporary housing assistance and support for grieving families, the release said.