Congregation Responds to Hurricane Helene
In a special edition on Monday, the Church of the Brethren Newsline provided information on the church’s response to Hurricane Helene, including a call for prayer from General Secretary David Steele, updates on how Brethren in the southeast have been impacted, initial responses from Brethren Disaster Ministries, and current needs.
This week our congregation’s Outreach & Service (O & S) Team released a donation of $3,000 from its budget to Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) designated for Hurricane Helene Relief. O & S Chair John Byers invites individuals to give additional gifts to BDM. Such donations can be given through the church in regular offering envelopes with “BDM/Hurricane Helene Relief” indicated on the envelope. Or give directly to BDM’s Hurricane Relief through the Church of the Brethren website.
Newsline reported that Church World Service had shipped nearly 3,300 emergency cleanup buckets valued at $247,000 to impacted areas and is receiving more requests daily. CWS Director of Emergency Preparedness Zach Wolgemuth reported that cleanup bucket inventory had dropped to fewer than 1,000 buckets and put out a plea for more.
Our congregation already plans to assemble 100 cleanup buckets after worship (around 11:40 a.m.) on Sunday, October 20. Plan now to participate in this hands-on response.
