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October 5, 2001: In response to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, UMCOR is working with churches in the New York Annual Conference to provide listening posts in several New York City churches. UMCOR has been asked to coordinate cleanup volunteers to assist elderly and infirm residents of Battery Park City, near the World Trade Center site. UMCOR consultants are providing workshops in New York City and around the country to address the needs of children and youth following trauma.
Because this is an unprecedented disaster, the response will continue to develop and unfold as the needs become evident for months and years to come. UMCOR will continue to provide counseling and case-management assistance for those who are suffering economic loss because of these events. UMCOR is also providing counseling and support for pastors in parts of the Virginia and Baltimore-Washington Conferences.
A nationwide program to address the needs of children and youth following trauma is taking shape. Workshops are available to any church in the denomination. For more information, please contact the UMCOR Emergency Services Office at 202-548-4002.
UMCOR is working with our ecumenical partners to provide shelter materials for Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The UMCOR office in Tajikistan is positioning itself to respond to refugees arriving in that country from Afghanistan.
To support all these efforts to respond to the events set in motion by the September 11 attacks, please give to UMCOR Advance #901125-3 "Love in the Midst of Tragedy." Your gifts will be used in the national and international responses.
At the request of the Florida Annual Conference, UMCOR has sent a grant to assist with recovery from flooding caused by tropical storm Gabrielle. United Methodists are assisting residents as they clean-up from the flooding. Hurricane Juliette has left nearly 75,000 people homeless in the Mexican states of Southern Baja California and Southern Sonora. UMCOR has sent an initial emergency response grant to the Methodist Church of Mexico, and staff will be traveling to the area to assess the needs and help develop further recovery plans. Your gifts are urgently needed for Hurricanes 2001, Advance #982350.
Please remember the people of Central America who continue to suffer malnutrition because of drought. Recent UMCOR response includes grants for emergency food relief in Honduras and Nicaragua and a shipment of food to El Salvador. You may join in this response by giving to Advance #501300-0, "Central America Emergency."
Gifts may be made through local United Methodist churches, or by calling 1-800-554-8583. Credit card donations are accepted. (Read more about how you can help UMCOR's emergency responses.)
UMCOR is providing emergency relief in many areas of the world. To find out more about current UMCOR ministries, please visit the website: http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/
Please pray for those who have suffered from these tragic events, and for all who suffer from hunger, poverty, war, and natural disasters.
Photo: Memorial to victims of the World Trade Center tragedy on a column in the subway at Times Square in New York City. Credit: Nancy A. Carter, September 16, 2001. (Click for larger version.)
