wfn.org | CWS Focuses on Pastoral Care Following September 11 Attacks

[Carol Fouke <carolf@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2252 news@ncccusa.org; www.ncccusa.org 
NCC9/20/2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CWS FOCUSES ON EMOTIONAL, SPIRITUAL COUNSELING, PASTORAL CARE

September 20, 2001, NEW YORK CITY - In the aftermath of September 11's
unprecedented terror attacks, Church World Service and its member
denominations are focusing their response on immediate and long-term
emotional and spiritual counseling and pastoral care for families and
disaster survivors - not only in New York and Washington, but throughout the
country.

This disaster response effort is vast in scope, national in scale and is set
for long-term recovery efforts, reported the CWS Emergency Response Program.
The CWS response to the emotional and spiritual needs of this crisis will
span several years.

The CWS Emergency Response Program has mobilized trained Interfaith Crisis
Counseling teams to New York. These teams have been requested to provide
emotional and spiritual care and stress debriefing. The teams will address
immediate needs as well as prepare for the provision of long-term recovery
services and model a direct interfaith response to other caregivers and
those affected in the New York community.

Qualified volunteer counselors from CWS-member denominations will be matched
with requests for counseling received from around the country. The
CWS-Emergency Response field office in New Windsor, Md., has been staffed
and fully operational since the afternoon of September 11. Space and
equipment for the office have been donated by the Church of the Brethren.

Three CWS volunteer emergency response consultants, assisted by three
volunteers from AmeriCorps, are in New York and are working with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Voluntary Agencies Active in Disaster
(VOAD) and local churches and judicatories to coordinate the faith-based
response with FEMA and the voluntary agencies.

The CWS-ERP Disaster Response Facilitators -- New York-based Joann Hale,
United Church of Christ; North Carolina-based Charles Moeller, Lutheran
Disaster Response, and Michigan-based Ellie Wykstra, Christian Reformed
World Relief Committee (CRWRC) -- are working with denominational
representatives, FEMA, the State of New York, the city of New York and New
York City VOADS.

As part of interfaith organizing efforts in New York City, CWS is
coordinating a September 20 meeting of denominational representatives.  The
meeting is intended for information sharing and to begin developing the
faith community's response strategies and coordination. Representatives of
FEMA and the Red Cross will also provide information.

In Washington, D.C., DRF Shirley Norman, Church of the Brethren, is helping
coordinate a meeting in Washington, D.C., next week for pastors to discuss
pastoral care issues.  An interfaith is not envisioned in Washington since
survivors and the families of those killed at the Pentagon will have
counseling provided for by the U.S. government.

CWS has provided financial support to help mobilize the Church of the
Brethren Child Care Aviation Incident Response (CAIR) teams. These teams
provide childcare and emotional support services to children of the families
and victims of the disasters. The teams have been on site since last week.

Two CAIR Teams -- with 11 members in all --set up a child care center at the
Family Assistance Center provided by the Office of the Mayor of New York
City and the American Red Cross.  A third CAIR Team of seven people arrived
in New York September 16 to help keep the Child Care Center open from 8 a.m.
to 10 p.m.

There may be a second Family Assistance Center opening in New Jersey so that
family members of victims in that state will not have to travel to
Manhattan, and some of the CAIR Team members are being transferred to New
Jersey to open that center. Additional volunteers are being called in to
support the two child care centers.

Other CWS Emergency Response consultants have been mobilized across the
country to provide assistance in Pennsylvania and California. Other
consultants have also been put on alert.  In addition, CWS Emergency
Response is holding twice-weekly coordination meetings with CWS
denominational national emergency response programs.

An appeal has been opened. Church World Service is seeking strong financial
support to help with both the initial and long-term response and recovery
efforts.  Monetary contributions may be directed to: Domestic Terrorism
Recovery, Appeal #6251, CHURCH WORLD SERVICE, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN,
46515. On-line contributions: www.churchworldservice.org; credit card
donations: (800) 297-1516.

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