wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 513-Churches band together for storm response

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Churches band together for storm response in Meridian, Miss.

Sep. 16, 2005

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Woody Woodrick*

MERIDIAN, Miss. (UMNS) - An old adage says you can't be all things to
all people. When it comes to helping hurricane victims, churches in
Meridian are trying.

Four United Methodist churches have worked together and with city
officials to provide aid and support to those stranded by Hurricane
Katrina.

Central United Methodist opened its Red Cross shelter on Aug. 28, the
day before Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Later, Poplar Springs Drive United Methodist Church also opened as a
shelter. St. Paul and Haven United Methodist churches have provided
support for both shelters.

In addition to operating as a shelter for as many as 400 guests, Central
has served as a distribution center for supplies, and it has brought in
state and federal aid agencies to process evacuees' claims. The church
also has helped people who want to relocate to the east Mississippi city
find homes and jobs.

"This is quite possibly the most eternally significant thing people
could be a part of," said the Rev. Roger Shock, an associate pastor at
Central United Methodist Church. "It is transforming our new facility.
It looks like it is being used. People's lives are being touched by the
Body of Christ like never before."

The impact has been felt across the community. Central and Poplar
Springs Drive churches are predominantly white. St. Paul and Haven are
African-American churches. They have built a strong spirit of
cooperation.

"We don't have the capacity to do what Central can do," said the Rev.
Tim Thompson, pastor of St. Paul and Haven churches, "but we love God
and were interested in what Central was doing.

"A large percentage of the evacuees are African American, and they want
to see folks who look like them."

Bill McBride, who manages the shelter for Central, agreed. "You see the
customers we have," McBride said. "I am smart enough to see they are not
going to relate to me the way (Thompson) can. A lot of African Americans
in the Meridian community are visiting with the guests. That community
has come forward every time we've asked and furnished pastors and role
models for our guests."

The Sweet Spirit choir from St. Paul was scheduled to sing a couple of
songs for the shelter guests Sept. 4, and the group was so well received
that it sang for two hours, Thompson said. Four days later, choir
director Jonas Crenshaw and other members of the group fed about 220
people still at the shelter.

All this in a city that got its share of damage. High winds knocked over
trees, blowing many of them onto houses, across roads and through power
lines.

Katrina is the second disaster Central has addressed as a Red Cross
shelter. "I'm proud of what we're doing," McBride said. "We get a bigger
blessing than they do."

Civic leaders, taking notice of the shelter, have included Central in
discussions of long-term issues relating to Katrina. During the days
after the storm, government agencies came to the church and set up
offices so the guests would not have to drive all over town to find out
about Social Security checks, food stamps, Medicare and other services.

Perhaps most impressive has been the church's work helping guests become
permanent residents.

Shock said his wife, Jan Shock, and Deneane Nix suggested asking if any
of the evacuees wanted to make Meridian their home. After about 40
families said yes, the women contacted government officials, who will
screen applicants and do interviews. The church found an apartment
complex where the owners agreed to waive a deposit and allow guests to
move in without a lease.

Like other Mississippi churches, the Meridian congregations have found
churches across the nation eager to help. Shock said Central has
received thousands of dollars in donations to help with shelter
expenses, and some churches have offered to sponsor families for up to
six months.

While Central has been a leader, Shock said the response would not have
happened without all the churches in the community. "The relationship
among the churches will be improved," he said. "We couldn't do it
without the Baptists, the Episcopalians and others in the community."

Thompson said Central's role doesn't surprise him. "Central has been
spiritually preparing for this for several years," he said. "They're
learning how to better serve the community."

*Woodrick is editor of the Mississippi Advocate, the newspaper of the
United Methodist Church's Mississippi Annual Conference.

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

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