From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


[UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 305-Katrina appeal 'solidifies connection' across church, bishop says


From NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>
Date Wed, 24 May 2006 17:38:11 -0500

Katrina appeal 'solidifies connection' across church, bishop says

May. 24, 2006 News media contact: Tim Tanton * (615) 7425470* Nashville {305}

NOTE: Photographs, audio, video and related stories are available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report By Tim Tanton*

For United Methodists in South Alabama and West Florida, when you talk about hurricane recovery, you're not talking about one storm.

Hurricane Katrina, which attacked the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, was the fifth named storm to strike the area in 11 months. Bishop Larry Goodpaster, who leads the United Methodist Church's Alabama-West Florida Area, says the cumulative effect of all those storms is what makes recovery so trying.

"We're looking at three to five years of disaster recovery and rebuilding, provided no other storm comes our way," he says.

The next hurricane season, which begins June 1, is looming large. "So we're hoping and praying that we don't have to do this again, but our track record for the last year and a half has not been real good," he says.

To help the churches of the Alabama-West Florida Area, as well as Mississippi and Louisiana, rebuild their ministries, the United Methodist Council of Bishops has launched the Katrina Church Recovery Appeal. The appeal, being promoted at this year's annual conference gatherings, will raise money for rebuilding churches, re-equipping congregations for ministry and paying pastors' salaries.

"The Katrina appeal really just solidifies that ... connection we have across the church," Goodpaster says.

United Methodist Communications has produced a video that is being shown at U.S. annual conference gatherings in May and June. The video "provides a visual story" of the struggle and commitment of the coastal congregations to rebuild, says the Rev. Larry Hollon, top staff executive of the communications agency.

Good news, bad news

The good news from Alabama-West Florida is that congregations have remained pretty much intact, so the area won't be using any money from the appeal to pay pastors' salaries, Goodpaster says. In contrast, members of congregations along the coast in Louisiana and Mississippi remain scattered across the country following their evacuations.

Getting a handle on the dollar amount of damage is an inexact art. "It keeps going up," Goodpaster says. From Katrina, "we're probably looking at $3-$4 million."

About half of those losses - $1.5 million to $2 million - are uninsured, he says. "Unfortunately, a lot of those churches didn't have adequate insurance."

Katrina destroyed one church in the conference, Coden (Ala.) United Methodist. Everything was a loss - the parsonage, sanctuary, education and fellowship areas. In addition, about a dozen others suffered damages of $500,000 and up, according to the bishop. Those include the church in Bayou La Batre, Ala., where the new parsonage sustained roof damage.

The dozen churches hit by Katrina are in addition to the 70 or 80 churches that were already recovering from previous storms, Goodpaster says. Hurricane Ivan, for example, struck almost every church in the Pensacola (Fla.) District - about 50 to 60 buildings - in 2004. Dennis retraced Ivan's path last year, and Hurricane Cindy and Tropical Storm Arlene brought more rain to the area.

Fortunately, no United Methodists in the Alabama-West Florida Conference perished in the storm, the bishop said.

Permanent office

Given the steady occurrence of hurricanes in the area, the Alabama-West Florida Area's disaster recovery center is "looking like a permanent office," Goodpaster says.

The Alabama-West Florida congregations have been "doing multifaceted disaster ministry," he says. While dealing with their own damages, the United Methodist Church has been serving evacuees from the hard-hit coastal areas and encouraging volunteer teams to go to Louisiana and Mississippi to help.

Likewise, Goodpaster says he is grateful for the help that the rest of the denomination has shown to his area following the hurricanes.

Before Katrina, the Alabama-West Florida Area's vision had been to cultivate vital congregations, which includes reaching out and helping others. Goodpaster says Katrina hasn't changed that. "It really hasn't changed our focus. It's crystallized it and helped us live it out."

Information on the Katrina Church Recovery Appeal is available at http://umc.org/churchrecovery. Donations can be made online or designated for Bishops' Appeal #818-001 and sent to an annual conference treasurer.

Says Hollon: "This appeal is important because it will provide the financial resources for local congregations to recover their mission and ministry.

"The congregations in the storm-affected states are heroic in their efforts to continue their ministry under these difficult conditions," he says. "Many are experiencing new life and new vision.

"As a connected community of faith we must stand with them."

*Tanton is managing editor for United Methodist News Service.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org

----------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe from this group, go to UMCom.org, log in to your account, click on the My Resources link and select the Leave option on the list(s) from which you wish to unsubscribe. If you have problems or questions, please write to websupport@umcom.org.

Powered by United Methodist Communications http://www.UMCom.org


Browse month . . . Browse month (sort by Source) . . . Advanced Search & Browse . . . WFN Home