wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Hurricanes are opportunity for PC(USA) to come together,

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8923 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05504
Sept. 23, 2005

The perfect storms

Hurricanes are opportunity for Presbyterians
to join hands, PDA chief tells WMD committee

by Alexa Smith

SACRAMENTO, CA - The coordinator of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA)
told the Worldwide Ministries Division Committee (WMDC) Thursday that the
hurricanes bashing the U.S. Gulf coast are an ideal opportunity for
Presbyterians to set aside their differences and join in an unprecedented
expression of the meaning of the gospel.

	Susan Ryan said the response of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to
the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina and likely to be compounded by
Hurricane Rita could be the redemption of a church long riven by dissent.

	Ryan made her comments as the committee debated whether to establish
PDA - and, possibly, several other Presbyterian relief and development
programs - as related, but legally independent, non-profit corporations.

	Such non-profit (501.c.3) status would make the agencies eligible for
funding that is now unavailable because of their direct links to the
denomination.

	The committee later voted to study the advantages and disadvantages
of such a change.

	"It's not like we're moving out and not being part of the church,"
Ryan told the Presbyterian News Service. 

	She said the change would put PDA on equal footing with such other
church-related entities as the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation and the
Presbyterian Investment and Loan Corporation.

	Among other programs to be included in the committee's study are the
Presbyterian Hunger Program, Self-Development of People and International
Health Ministries.

	The result could be a broadly constituted Presbyterian relief and
development agency. 

	Because establishing a separate corporation requires General Assembly
approval, the WMDC is "fast-tracking" the study. It hopes to be ready with a
recommendation before the GAC's February 2006 meeting, so that the matter can
be acted upon by the 2006 General Assembly. 

	"I hardly know where to start," Ryan said, describing PDA's current
hurricane relief work (and its ongoing response to last year's Pacific Ocean
tsunami). She said word that Hurricane Rita was turning north, increasing the
likelihood of further flooding in New Orleans and along the Mississippi
coast, was increasing her sense of urgency.

	Presbyterian volunteers living in four tent camps in Mississippi are
on alert. Those in two of the camps are prepared to move temporarily to an
air force base further north.

	Ryan said PDA intends to expand its on-site outreach to 15
PC(USA)-sponsored camps in hard-hit areas, so that the church's witness is
clearly seen and will be remembered.

	"There will be a visible presence of the PC(USA) in the region for
long-term recovery," she said.

	"If there was ever a time in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to be
redeemed from our fighting, now is the time," she told the committee. "Time
to be redeemed from our polarization. Time to be redeemed from destroying
what our foremothers and forefathers built. ... Now is the time. God has a
great love for the church."

	Ryan said she had been meditating on Psalm 130 as PDA scrambled to
respond to the Gulf coast storms. The Psalm calls on Israel to "hear" the
Lord, whose love is steadfast and who has great power to redeem.

	"This is a good time to know what PDA is and how it works - and how
it doesn't," she said. She explained that the organization follows up on the
short-term emergency responses of governmental and charity organizations such
as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Red Cross.
"Understand that we specialize in long-term recovery," she said.

	Twenty trained PDA disaster-response specialists are working in five
states, she said, alongside presbytery officials and volunteers who are
organizing for the long haul.

	Ryan told the WMDC that PDA's international connections served it
well in past weeks. Norwegian Church Aid assisted in establishing the first
PDA tent camp, she said, and asked PDA to help it learn how to deploy church
volunteers in disaster response, rather than just seeking financial help.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to
pcusanews-subscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org or
pcusanews-unsubscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org

To contact the owner of the list, please send an email to
pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org