The UMCOR Hotline

September 6, 2005

In Today's Hotline:
Gulf Coast: Aid, Pastoral Care Reach Hurricane Survivors
        Mississippi
        Alabama
        Louisiana
         Texas
Getting a Busy Signal? UMCOR's Phone Lines Are Humming!

GULF COAST: AID, PASTORAL CARE REACH HURRICANE SURVIVORS

United Methodist Committee on Relief aid workers and executives are on site in a three-state area of the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast region, as well as consulting with other areas participating in the relief efforts. The goal of UMCOR's initial actions is to empower survivors with comfort, tools, and other assistance as they plan their own recovery.

Mississippi

In one action, five truckloads of food and emergency supplies are on their way to displaced persons in Mississippi. More trucks are anticipated later this week. The first early response teams arrived on Sunday to remove debris and begin repairs. Lack of gasoline hampers the influx of teams, according to the Rev. Thomas Hazelwood, UMCOR disaster response executive. In addition sketchy security has endangered delivery of relief supplies. Rev. Hazelwood described a weekend incident in which a truck was stopped at gunpoint along the roadway. For future deliveries state troopers began accompanying the supply trucks.

Alabama

Along the section of Alabama coastline adjacent to Mississippi, shrimpers and other workers who depend on the sea have lost their livelihoods, reports the Rev. Kristin L. Sachen, head of UMCOR's emergency services office. She was in the region to partner with United Methodist pastors and bishops in an assessment of response capacity. She noted that persons serving as disaster response coordinators for the annual conferences have themselves experienced damage to their homes.

Louisiana

Three UMCOR consultants fanned out over Louisiana on Sunday to learn where volunteers could help. In disasters of this magnitude, UMCOR employs consultants with special training and disaster response skills such as pastoral care and call center start-up. Expected to roll out later this week, a new call center in Baton Rouge will enable coordination of response and relief efforts in the state. Workers at UMCOR Sager Brown, a mission and distribution center, assisted some 1,000 displaced persons with water, blankets, and health kits.

Texas

The Rev. Tom Hazelwood meets in Houston this week with Bishop Janice Huie and Texas conference disaster response coordinators. Their goal is to plan for long-term hosting of the large numbers of evacuees flooding the area. The South-West Texas Conference is also making plans.

GETTING A BUSY SIGNAL? UMCOR'S PHONE LINES ARE HUMMING!

UMCOR staff members answered up to 50 telephone calls an hour over the holiday weekend. Calls began as early as 7 a.m. Eastern time. A voice message recorded by the staff provided answers to the most frequently asked questions.

UMCOR provides emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about UMCOR's ministries, please visit umcor.org. You can donate to any project by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.

And, please pray for those who are hungry, displaced, sick or in poverty because of these and other natural and human-made disasters, and for the workers who minister to them.

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Featured Photos
United Methodist Committee on Relief

Frederick Williams scrapes mud from the kitchen floor of his sister's house in Biloxi, Mississippi. Credit: REUTERS/Joe Skipper. Courtesy: www.alertnet.org

Mississippi City United Methodist Church in Gulfport, MS, held worship outside this past Sunday in spite of the damage Katrina inflicted on their church building. Credit: Barbara Tripp/UMCOR

The Rev. John Edwards (right) visits with Hubert "Lawrence" Bosarge, owner of a shrimp boat in Bayou La Batre, AL. Edwards is disaster response coordinator for the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference. "Tears came to my eyes," Bosarge said, upon realizing his boat and home had survived the storm. Credit: Mike DuBose/UMNS

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• Hurricanes 2005 Global: UMCOR's Response.
• UMCOR Emergency Kits: Health kits, school kits, flood buckets, and more.
• Finding Hope in the Midst of Despair: Hurricane Katrina. UMCOR, Church Bulletin Insert.
• Zimbabwe: Hospital of Hope: UMCOR Church Bulletin Insert.
• Medicine Boxes: Contents and Instructions.
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