Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service -- April 14, 2008 Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director 800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org
BRETHREN DISASTER MINISTRIES OPENS NEW HURRICANE KATRINA REBUILDING SITE
(April 14, 2008) Elgin, IL -- Brethren Disaster Ministries has opened a new Hurricane Katrina rebuilding site in East New Orleans (Arabi), La. An allocation of $25,000 from the Church of the Brethren's Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) helps fund the new project site, where volunteers will rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Katrina.
The Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding site in Pearl River, La., was moved to Arabi on the weekend of April 11-13. "The reason for making this move is that there is little work left at the Pearl River site," explained Brethren Disaster Ministries coordinator Jane Yount. "Volunteers have been traveling across Lake Pontchartrain down to East Orleans daily. It will be much more convenient and better stewardship for both the project directors and the volunteers to be housed closer to where they are working."
The new project site has been dubbed "NOLA East." Volunteer groups and project directors will continue to work on cases provided by the Southeast Louisiana Recovery Network. The work will be mainly in the Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes.
Both the NOLA East project and the other Louisiana rebuilding project based in Chalmette, La., will use volunteer housing in Arabi. Volunteers will be housed in travel trailers and in a new bunk trailer. "We now have two housing locations and capacity for 30 volunteers!" Yount said. The site "has been blessed with a 48-foot trailer that was transformed into three sleeping rooms by hardworking Shenandoah District volunteers." The trailer worth about $5,000 was donated by IDM Trucking and had previously been used to haul soft drink products. A new housing option for volunteers at both sites--the Madery house--may be completed by May. Meals will be prepared in the Carolyn Park Presbyterian Church kitchen.
In other news from Brethren Disaster Ministries, a rebuilding site in Rushford, Minn., is now a longterm rebuilding project working with the local recovery organization, Lutheran Social Services/Lutheran Disaster Response. The project is scheduled to rebuild eight homes, and hopes to have at least one or two foundations completed by the first of May. The local recovery organization has hired a construction coordinator to help with the project. There are repair jobs to be done as well. "Project directors are needed!" said Yount.
For more information about Brethren Disaster Ministries, call 800-451- 4407.
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts almost 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.
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For more information contact:
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
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