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Check here often for information about how our church is helping with the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina. This page will be updated as soon as we have new information. Please pray for God's direction for our church during this difficult time. For questions concerning this ministry opportunity, contact Lee Woodall or call him at 770-358-4516. To report news or correct any aspect of this page contact Charles Glass or call 770-872-2651.
Local Relief Efforts
After Hurricane Katrina our church hosted five people relocated to this area. They were in two homes just outside of New Orleans. Both were destroyed and under water. They moved into a house here that we furnished for them and we were able to provide them with food, clothes, a car, and tools for the father to get a job in construction.
We try to have a community mission effort each quarter. Previous efforts include building wheel chair ramps at homes for families in need, some repair and organization work at the Community Center, repainting some rooms and some yard work for disabled folks. If you have a need that we might be able to help with as part of a future community mission effort contact Susan Walter (770-358-0057) and let her know. If you would like to help with one of our future community mission efforts (either through donations of money or materials or with your labor) please call the church office (770-358-1494) and provide your contact information.
We have an opportunity to help with tornado recovery efforts in Sumter County (Americus, GA). We are only about 90 minutes away so these are day trips. We can leave early in the morning and return that evening. This keeps the lodging facilities there free for teams traveling further than us and minimizes the burden on the coordinators there in Sumter County.
If you are interested in joining us for a trip to Sumter County contact Charles Glass for more details about the dates and activities.
Other Opportunities to Help
You can donate to UMCOR and 100% of your donation goes to relief. The overhead for UMCOR is paid out of our apportionments so they take nothing from your donation. Not even the Red Cross can make that claim (Charity Navigator reports that the Red Cross sends 91.1% of their donations to programs such as hurricane relief.)
Flood buckets and health kits are needed. These can be collected up at our church to be sent along to the right parties. UMCOR maintains stockpiles of these kits but the stocks have been wiped out and the need is always there.
Lee Woodall and Charles Glass are working with UMVIM and the North Georgia United Methodist Conference to coordinate work parties to help clean-up and re-build along the Gulf. Remember that trained and certified volunteers are sought during the Relief stage (debris removal and mucking out houses). Training is suggested but not required for teams conducting recovery. Recovery is going to take months and years. United Methodists excel in the Recovery stages, we are always the last ones out of a disaster area.
Our last trip to the coast was during the Winter Break at school (18-22 February, 2007). We had 18 people on this trip to Gulfport, MS. We met some amazing people and had a wonderful time. We tore out and replaced insulation and wall board, jacked up and re-leveled a sagging house, replaced some windows, and replaced some rotted floor joists. We got to meet other mission-minded Christians and we got to share God's love with people that were almost giving up hope.
If you want to be on a Recovery team contact Charles Glass for more information about the next trip. Watch this page for more information about the schedules for future recovery teams. We are looking at the possibility of a trip in October this Fall.
The Mississippi Conference has a well coordinated recovery effort in place. If you want to make your own plans for a trip or make a donation you can contact Chris Bowers, Volunteers and Resource Coordinator, at the Disaster Center or call 866-435-7091.
Remember to check back often for new information. This page will be updated as soon as we have any additional news. To report news or corrections please contact Charles Glass.
Last Update: 24 October, 2007 |