wfn.org | United Methodists assist in Alabama tornado cleanup

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Dec. 21, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212)870-3803·New York
10-71B{582}

By United Methodist News Service*

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 No. 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 (800) 554-8583.
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*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.

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United Methodist News Service
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