News Media Contact: Linda Bloom • (212) 870-3803 • New York, N.Y.
United Methodists across Alabama are assisting in cleanup efforts after deadly tornados ripped through the state Dec. 16.
The hardest hit area was the city of Tuscaloosa, in the western part of the state, where 11 people were killed, about 100 injured and nearly 400 homes destroyed. Ten of the fatalities occurred at Bear Creek trailer park. A woman who recently had been attending Tuscaloosa First United Methodist Church died in the storm. Later that afternoon, the same tornado touched down in east Alabama, resulting in injuries and destruction in Etowah County. A tornado also ripped through the city of Geneva in southeast Alabama, claiming one life and moving on to cause damage in four counties.
Response was immediate from churches in the United Methodist North Alabama Conference. Providing direction to congregations wanting to help was the Rev. Fred Grady, pastor of Big Sandy United Methodist Church, who serves as the public health officer for Tuscaloosa County.
Birmingham Area Bishop Robert E. Fannin and the Rev. Rick Owen, North Alabama Conference director of servant ministries, visited the devastated areas Dec. 18 to organize relief efforts. Eight work teams already have formed to assist with debris removal. Two United Methodist contractors have aided in the effort by donating their equipment, including dump trucks, front-end loaders and dumpsters.
The conference already has received an initial grant of $10,000 from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) for its work. "Our best talent is to help in the long-term recovery and rebuilding of disaster areas," Owen said. "That is where we will focus most of our efforts."
The Rev. Milton Booth, Tuscaloosa District mission coordinator, will oversee the recovery and rebuilding efforts in that area. Booth has previous experience, having served as the conference's full-time work team coordinator for its response to the April 8, 1998, tornado in Alabama that killed 34 people and devastated areas of western Jefferson County. A rebuilding support plan for Etowah County also is being organized.
Lawrence Bowden, disaster relief coordinator for the United Methodist Alabama-West Florida Conference, and the Rev. Marquis Wingard, disaster relief coordinator for the Dothan District, surveyed the damage in the Geneva area on Dec. 18. Wingard is working with the American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine the best way the church can assist. Pastors also were being recruited to provide trauma counseling for storm victims. One church, Mt. Hebron United Methodist Church in rural Geneva County, suffered minor roof damage.
Donations earmarked for Alabama tornado relief can be directed to UMCOR, Advance #901670-1. Checks can be placed in church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Suite 1948, New York, NY 10115. Credit card donations can be made by calling 1-800-554-8583.
December 20, 2000
Source: United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church.
*Information for this story was provided by Danette Clifton, managing editor of The Voice, the newspaper of the North Alabama Annual Conference, and Andy Ellis, editor of the Advocate, newspaper of the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference.