wfn.org | Flooded Areas Still Need Help

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (525
notes).

Note 523 by UMNS on Dec. 22, 1997 at 15:34 Eastern (2533 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Bloom				711(10-21-71B){523}
	    New York (212) 870-3803		Dec. 22, 1997

NOTE: This is a sidebar to story #710.

Flooded Upper Midwest communities need
long-term assistance

				by United Methodist News Service

	For the water-soaked residents of the Upper Midwest, nothing has warmed the
spirit as much as the generosity of strangers.
	Robert Boyd, a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Grand Forks, N.D.,
and dean of outreach programs at the University of North Dakota, called relief
efforts there "a wonderful outpouring of unselfish caring" from across the
nation.
	"There are many who are saying we should be called `the American City'
because America helped us get back up on our feet," he said.
	But the need for help continues. The denomination has just finished its
rehabilitation work for the 1993 floods in Iowa and is projecting a similar
long haul for recovery in the Dakotas and Minnesota, said Gordon Knuckey of
the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
	"The church needs to remain concerned," he declared. "It always takes money
and it takes volunteers."
	The Dakotas and Minnesota combined have 610 United Methodist churches and
156,000 members.
     The Rev. Duane Gebhard, Northwest district superintendent in Minnesota,
considers the period leading up to the autumn freeze in 1998 to be crucial.
     "We have seen that our real challenge is in the next 10 months...to
really make a significant difference in the lives of most of these people," he
explained.
	"We're going to need hundreds of work teams through next spring and next
summer."
	Monetary donations to assist that work are being collected through the United
Methodist Bishops' Appeal for Spring Storms and Floods, UMCOR Advance No.
901680-3. Donations can be made through local churches or directly to UMCOR at
475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, N.Y. 10115. As of early December,
more than $1.5 million had been received.
	More information about United Methodist work in the Dakotas and Minnesota is
available by calling Nina Martin, Upper Midwest Recovery Project coordinator,
at 888-800-6200 (toll free) or 701-232-1457.
	For a list of supplies needed in the flood-recovery warehouse in Fargo, N.D.,
contact Jim Dustin at the same telephone numbers.
	To volunteer or schedule a work team, call Harlyn or Cleone Hagmann at
888-700-6007 (toll free) or 612-546-3112.
	Donations also can be sent directly to Upper Midwest Recovery, Box 11458,
Fargo, N.D., 58106-1458.
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