STORIES
Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
More Ways to Respond6/4/2024 response to severe storms continuesWeek of Compassion continues to respond to recent severe weather and assess needs for immediate and long-term recovery. First Christian Church, Rogers, took on extensive damage from the tornadoes that battered northwest Arkansas. Throughout the last week, church members and neighbors have worked together to clear trees, board windows, and clean up debris - including many who are dealing with similar concerns in their own homes. On Sunday June 2, one week after the storms, with power restored only the night before, the congregation gathered for worship, to pray, sing, hear the Word proclaimed, and share in communion. Severe Storms Update5/29/2024 connecting needs, responses, and prayers after the storms Over the last two weeks, communities from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Great Plains, across the Ozarks and the midwestern United States have seen significant severe weather, intense hail and thunderstorms, multiple deadly tornadoes, and broad paths of wind damage and destruction. Memorial Day Weekend weather made a particularly widespread impact. Week of Compassion has been in touch with local church leaders and partners as they assess immediate needs across these various regions. Storm Season Update5/22/2024 With repeated severe weather and tornadoes across the plains, midwest, and south; flooding and windstorms in Texas; and other weather-related impacts across much of the U.S., the needs of our neighbors are great. Week of Compassion is connecting with Regional and local church leaders in affected areas and working with ecumenical partners to assess damage and coordinate response. YOU can respond and help in a number of ways: notes from the field2/29/2024 checking in on Tennessee and western KentuckyWe’ve come to see February as ‘Special Offering season’ for Week of Compassion, where many Disciples congregations receive annual offerings dedicated to this shared work of disaster relief, refugee response, and sustainable development. But offerings come as more than coins and checks in offering plates and gifts online. Enduring connections - introductions to new people and ideas - tool trailers and storage closets - strategic planning and thoughtful visioning - creative solutions to seemingly insurmountable concerns … these are sacred offerings, too. a Special Offering 2024 Mission MomentFor the past couple of years, when you would drive into Mayfield, KY from Paducah, KY and crest the hill to the north of town, the sight would take your breath away – a town flattened. Businesses, churches, homes, all destroyed when, on December 10, 2021, a mile-wide EF4 long-track tornado hit multiple counties in western Kentucky, leaving a massive path of destruction and thousands of Kentuckians homeless. Disciples swiftly responded through Week of Compassion and Kentucky West Area congregations, and the generosity of Disciples lives on as homes are rebuilt and communities are restored. In the two years since that event, Week of Compassion has partnered with Long-Term Recovery Groups to stabilize communities and support them through their recovery. Volunteer referrals and grant funding are helping move rebuilding forward in multiple counties - all with unique approaches to meeting the needs in their own neighborhoods. Caring for Children4/19/2022 After Trauma: Children's Disaster Services & the local churchAny tragic event - war, famine, natural disaster, community violence - seems to tear at us a little bit more when it affects a child. Our church nursery and Bible school walls are adorned with drawings and scripted verses: Let the little children come to me … for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. (Matthew 19:14) We are tender-hearted for society’s youngest members.
Since 1980 Children’s Disaster Services (CDS), a program of Brethren Disaster Ministries, has been meeting the needs of children by setting up child care spaces in shelters and disaster assistance centers across the nation. Specially trained to respond to traumatized children, volunteers provide a calm, safe and reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos created by tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural or human-caused disasters. Cascading Compassion2/22/2022 When Hurricane Harvey parked itself over Texas and the Gulf Coast in 2017, the wind and water damage left in its wake were widespread and significant. Damage left unrepaired, or poorly done, only got worse as time and further storms - including the week long ice storm and freeze last February - carried on. With funds from a Week of Compassion grant, partners at Mosaic in Action have been hard at work helping families find solutions - and the results are a ripple effect of recovery. |
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