posted December 9, 2005
The opinion piece from Kathie Pascal ("Startling, Heartbreaking Scene in Biloxi," posted Dec. 4, 2005) was one of the most beautifully written reflections I've come across from people working in disasters. She captures completely the sorrow, the disconnect with the rest of the world, the inadequacy of all systems to quickly put things right, and the incredible witness of hope that is represented in churches and people of faith and good will reaching out to help. Kathie has truly captured the dynamics of a catastrophic event.
One of the dynamics in every disaster is that often the length of time it takes to effectively "put things right" conflicts with the desire of people, and in this case also churches, in the disaster zone for direct and rapid action. Kathie illustrates this wonderfully as well. She reports on the disillusionment of the members of First UMC in Biloxi who "haven't seen a penny from UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief)."
But, then, this too is part of the reality. UMCOR does not give aid directly to congregations. As part of what Methodists call the "connectional church," UMCOR gives aid to the Annual Conference (regional organizations) to which they belong. Within days of the disaster UMCOR provided funds to the Mississippi Annual Conference - as much as the conference requested, even before generous United Methodist donors had fully answered the need. This is because UMCOR values area specialists who know where the needs are greatest. If churches need funds for their relief efforts, their Annual Conference, as UMCOR's partner, is their source. Thus at the congregation Kathie cites, the Conference is paying the pastor's salary - usually a responsibility of the local people - and the congregation has received an UMCOR grant from the Conference for its relief efforts.
A second point: Years of experience in disaster response have taught us that more donations for emergency relief work are available than donations for the oft-unsung work of long-term recovery and reconstruction. We at UMCOR are grateful to the people of Mississippi who have so ably demonstrated their generosity in all kinds of immediate relief-feeding centers, emergency supplies, and hosting volunteer teams from there and other areas. This is what we would expect from our churches-that they would step up and serve others during times of great need. We celebrate that they did what needed to be done. The time comes when local efforts in relief work are no longer sufficient. That is when the Annual Conference is able to offer a strategy and plan for long-term recovery with the assistance of UMCOR and the funds of the United Methodist Church.
UMCOR is very much in tune with the massive suffering. Our very mission is to alleviate human suffering. And our US staff currently supports three Annual Conferences in the disaster zone, several in Texas, and others in states with large numbers of evacuees. But UMCOR is not an office far away: It is a committee of the whole United Methodist Church. It must and does involve the grassroots as well as relief and rehabilitation specialists and consultants
I would ask Kathie and all who are engaged in the heart-rending but rewarding work of hurricane disaster response to remember that there are many pieces to the recovery. All are needed. Everyone is important, every stage of the recovery is important, every donation of time and money is important. We pray that together, we may provide the United Methodist response of hope and healing in the Gulf, and around the world.
Paul Dirdak
Deputy General Secretary
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
Riverside Drive
New York, NY
LBeher@gbgm-umc.org
* * *
When I sat down to write an op-ed following a mission trip to hurricane-ravaged Biloxi, Miss., I prayed first, because I wanted all the help I could get in describing precisely the devastation that I personally saw, heard and witnessed there.
I wasn’t speaking on behalf of any group or church, but out of the burden I felt placed on my own heart: to tell people here in Chattanooga how their neighbors in Biloxi felt abandoned and forgotten and to show them a way to help.
It was not my aim to stir up a bee’s nest of controversy regarding a major denominational relief agency. I mentioned briefly UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee of Relief, conveying the frustration I heard in the voices of storm victims and relief workers. But, because of the questions that did arise, because I had a lengthy response from UMCOR in NY, and because God has since worked some things for good at First United Methodist Church in Biloxi, I feel compelled to write a follow-up.
Here is what I have learned:
Where the money goes: In the days since the hurricane, many church mission groups who helped out FUMC and were accompanied by their pastors. Pastors who asked their congregations back in August to give to UMCOR because the dollars would bring relief to the suffering they saw on TV. As these pastors arrived in Biloxi and saw families still living in somewhat desperate circumstances, they asked “Where is that money we gave? Why isn’t being used?”
The answer: Money collected from United Methodist churches in the days following the disaster is ear-marked, according to the agency’s policies and procedures, not for immediate relief needs, but for the long-term rebuilding phase that comes later on. Most people who gave to UMCOR, including many I’ve heard from here in Chattanooga, did not know that.
Paul Dirdak, Deputy General Secretary, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Committee On Relief, explains:
“Years of experience in disaster response have taught us that more donations for emergency relief work are available than donations for the oft-unsung work of long-term recovery and reconstruction. We at UMCOR are grateful to the people of Mississippi who have so ably demonstrated their generosity in all kinds of immediate relief-feeding centers, emergency supplies, and hosting volunteer teams from there and other areas,” he writes. “The time comes when local efforts in relief work are no longer sufficient. That is when the Annual Conference is able to offer a strategy and plan for long-term recovery with the assistance of UMCOR and the funds of the United Methodist Church.”
(For more information on this long-term strategy go to http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/news/20051206.cfm.)
Who holds the money: Ray Marshall, a volunteer leading the church’s emergency relief efforts, told of contacting UMCOR for help on several occasions, and being frustrated by a lack of response. What Ray, and many others did not know, is that relief money is not given from UMCOR to churches, but funneled down through each state’s General Conference. The Mississippi Conference was paying pastor’s salaries, but by Thanksgiving, FUMC had not heard anything about other relief aid.
The Latest Development: Ray notes that the publicity FUMC received has “worked wonders for us down here at ground zero.”
A few days ago, officials from the state Conference visited the church’s devastated area for the first time. They joined the day’s effort to muck out a storm-damaged home and were able to see first-hand how the church has been helping neighbors.
“They all agreed to our proposed rebuilding program here,” Ray notes.
"That is the total reconstruction of ten homes and repair of as many damaged homes as we can with volunteer labor. I should have funding as soon as next Tuesday.”
What the money does not cover: There is very little skilled labor force left in the city. The repair to damaged homes that are left bare to winter cold and plagued by mold will rely on volunteer labor – carpenters, electricians, plumbers and others who heed the call to serve. The money also does not cover the expenses FUMC incurs from turning its church into a relief workers’ center – providing water for showers, electricity for heat and light, and gas for its well-used kitchen. That comes from mission teams and people who feel called to give. It also doesn’t help FUMC recover its own $56,000 deductible for storm damage to the church.
Meanwhile, there are people waiting for uncontaminated water, those still living in tents with no heat, and as one high school football coach explains, students who have nowhere to do homework and must now bathe in the sinks of public restrooms.
It doesn’t pay the people who are spending countless selfless hours leading the relief effort. People who found themselves stepping up in amazing ways to answer a call God placed on their hearts.
Ray Marshall notes humbly, “They were looking for an outstanding man. I think our pastor said ‘Hey, there’s Ray out standing in the parking lot.’”
If you feel called to help in any way, here is a link to the church’s relief effort: http://www.biloxifirstaid.org/index.html.
To give to the long term rebuilding effort, go to: http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/hurricanes/2005/katrina/index.cfm.
Kathie Pascal
Chattanooga
Wrytter@aol.com
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