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CONTACT: Linda Bloom					10-21-71B){187}
    New York (212) 870-3803			March 26, 1998

Church members assist
tornado victims in Georgia
	
by Bob Blair*

	GAINESVILLE, Ga. (UMNS) - Narrowly missing destruction by a
March 20 killer tornado, the Hopewell United Methodist Church north of
here has become a center for recovery assistance.
	The tornado rumbled within a hundred yards of the church and
parsonage of the Rev. Ron Wasiluk as it tore a 300-yard-wide path
through 12 miles of woods, fields, farms, houses and schools. Eleven
people died and 80 were injured.
	The pastor described the sound of the storm as "a thousand
voices from hell."
	The strength of the shredding winds was apparent from updated
damage figures: 200 houses destroyed and 78 with major damage.
	Wasiluk and his congregation immediately gathered at the church
to assist neighbors. Two church doors had been smashed and once repairs
were made, the men of the church moved from house to house in search of
the injured.
	"When we found someone unharmed in the rubble, we hugged and
prayed," Wasiluk said.
	It was impossible to reach some houses without first using a
chainsaw to cut through piles of hardwood trees. Live power lines also
were a concern.
	Despite the rain, congregation members attempted to help people
protect or save their few remaining possessions from additional damage,
according to the pastor.
	In some cases, they were able to move furniture to safe havens.
In other places, they nailed plywood over open windows or fastened tarps
over holes in roofs.
	Hopewell church's fellowship hall came to resemble a grocery
store, filled with donated food for neighbors who still had a place to
cook.
	"We are giving checks to some who have nothing left and need to
buy a few things for daily life," Wasiluk said. "Many are too proud or
jaded to seek help from the government."
	Donated lumber and other building materials were unloaded in the
church parking lot for tornado victims who have insufficient insurance
to rebuild.
	The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) dispatched the
Rev. Roger Newell of Louisville, Ky., to help organized long-range
recovery efforts at Hopewell and other nearby churches.
	Donations to UMCOR's work for El Nino-related storms can be made
to Advance No. 982328-6 and contributed through local churches or mailed
to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115.
#  #  #
*Blair is an UMCOR volunteer.

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