wfn.org | Diocese of Central Florida helps tornado victims

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)]

February 27, 1998
Episcopal News Service
James Solheim, Director
(212) 922-5385
jsolheim@dfms.org

98-2099
Diocese of Central Florida helps tornado victims
By Joe Thoma
(ENS) Forget the analogies to freight trains and rocket lift-offs. To Lucille Stewart of the Hyde Park subdivision in Winter Springs, Florida, the February 23 burst of deadly tornadoes sounded like a screaming devil at her door.
"I was sitting there, listening to the wind, and all of a sudden the other side of that wall just went 'Whooooooooeeeeeee!'" she said.
Still, Mrs. Stewart says she got off easy, with some roofing torn from her home and a few holes in the wall. Many of her neighbors weren't as lucky-most houses in this manufactured-home community suffered worse damage, about half are uninhabitable and some were torn completely from their foundations, leaving behind a few shattered sticks littering a muddy rectangle of ground.
As the death toll from Florida's worst tornado catastrophe mounted to at least 38 people dead, 200 injured and three missing, help is pouring in from the Diocese of Central Florida and other church and social-service groups, as well as established relief agencies such as the Red Cross.
Bishop John W. Howe of Central Florida, immediately requested a $25,000 emergency grant from the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief to help aid tornado victims. The grant was approved and the fund sent application materials for additional assistance.

Worse than hurricane
"I was talking with a nurse who had spent six months in Homestead after Hurricane Andrew, and she said that, in many ways, this is a worse disaster for the victims," Howe said. "We thank God that more people weren't affected by the tornadoes. Our hearts go out to all those affected, and they are in our prayers as we all work together to rebuild our community."
Miraculously, the diocese has determined so far that only one parishioner was directly affected. 
Kim Mitchell, a member of Church of the Messiah in Winter Springs, was in her second-floor apartment in Winter Springs when the roof was torn off just before midnight on February 22.
"She was wiped out of her apartment," said the Rev. Tom Rutherford, rector of Church of the Messiah. 
The response from the congregation was swift: "We got together six pickup trucks and 18 people-old people, young people, some of them disabled but wanting to help.
"We had Kim moved out in one hour and completely moved into her new place in one hour," he said. "We were steppin' and fetchin'."
In response to numerous calls to Diocesan House offering assistance, the diocese is asking deaneries and clergy to work with their congregations in coordinating their efforts.
The diocese is working with the Florida Council of Churches and the Florida Interfaith Networking in Disaster.  The FCC is conducting "caregiver training" at various churches.

PB's Fund assisting
The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief has forwarded a $25,000 emergency grant to the Diocese of Central Florida for tornado relief efforts.  There will be medium and long-term recovery needs.
Contributions to assist in these relief efforts may be sent to The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, designated for tornado relief, at 815 Second Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017.  Credit card contributions may be made by calling the Fund's offices at (800) 334-7626, ext. 5129.

The website address:  www.pbfwr.org
The Email address: pbfwr@dfms.org

-Joe Thoma is editor and communications director for the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida.