wfn.org | UMNS# 05047-Upper Room plans long-term spiritual tsunami assistance

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Upper Room plans long-term spiritual tsunami assistance

Jan. 19, 2005	 News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*
Nashville {05047}

NOTE: NOTE: A photograph of the Rev. Stephen Bryant is available at
http://umns.umc.org.

By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The Upper Room, a United Methodist ministry
that provides spiritual resources to people around the world, is
focusing on the emotional needs of the victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami.

The Upper Room, is "seeking the best ways that we here can support our
colleagues there (in the Indian Ocean area) to respond to the emotional
and spiritual needs of their people and support the efforts of their
churches," said the Rev. Stephen Bryant, editor and publisher.

The Upper Room, housed at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, is
a global ministry that meets the spiritual needs of people through
devotional magazines, books and printed resources. Its devotional guide,
The Upper Room, is published worldwide in 73 editions and 44 languages.

When the tsunami hit more than a dozen countries around the Indian
Ocean, Upper Room officials immediately tried to contact their editors
and partners in the affected areas, Bryant said. "It took several days,
but we eventually heard from all of them about their well-being and the
conditions of their countries."

The Upper Room has editions and partners serving people in nearly all of
the Indian Ocean areas affected by the tsunami, including Indonesia,
India (Tamilnadu state and Kerala state in particular, on the eastern
and southern coasts) and Sri Lanka, as well as in Singapore, Malaysia,
Hong Kong and elsewhere. The Upper Room is localized and printed and
distributed in each of these areas in conjunction with the ministries of
the churches.

In each of the affected countries, partners and editors are focusing on
the basic survival needs of the people. "At the same time, we are
talking with them about the next layer of relief - emotional and
spiritual support for those traumatized by their severe losses," Bryant
said. "The spiritual healing, along with the physical reconstruction,
will be the long-term ministry that the Upper Room in those areas must
help support."

Immediately after the tsunami hit and news of the devastation crossed
the globe, the Upper Room hosted a public prayer service in Nashville.
Upper Room staff prayed for colleagues, those killed, survivors and
those providing rescue and relief. The prayer service is posted at
www.gbod.org.

Church leaders in Sri Lanka want a small booklet of Scripture and
prayers to help with pastoral care and trauma efforts, Bryant said.

"We are making such a booklet available and helping them locally print a
large quantity.  Our contacts have also told us they need teams of
people trained in dealing with trauma to train others, an aspect of the
relief effort that they say has been missing thus far."

In other areas, Upper Room editors are considering larger-than-usual
print runs of The Upper Room in their languages for wider distribution
to those in need. Each of these editions will need additional support,
Bryant said. "We want to make sure they are able to equip the churches
to maintain strong ministries in the face of the dire need (of) their
people."

The Upper Room is self-supporting, so its staff is seeking financial
support through donations from individuals and churches that want to
help tsunami survivors.

# # #

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in
Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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

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