Issue #54 | October 2017
A Note from the Team
Dear friends,
Over the last month, we have seen an incredibly active Atlantic hurricane season and many other disasters in the US and abroad. Episcopal Relief & Development is partnering with the Dioceses of Texas, West Texas, Central Florida, Florida, Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Vanuatu, Cuernavaca, Southeastern Mexico and Kamango to respond to the current disasters.
Our prayers are with those affected and those responding.
We are in close contact with church leadership in the affected areas, and our partners have begun responding to the immediate needs and are planning for longer term responses. Our staff has been on the ground in Texas, Florida, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to help leadership discern these responses, and these churches are doing incredible work to meet immediate needs post-disaster.
Episcopalians have been responding to disasters in other parts of the country, as well. For example, in the Diocese of San Joaquin, leaders have been providing critical food and water to first responders as they battle the Railroad Fire in Oakhurst, CA.
We are so thankful for everyone who has reached out with offers of help and support. Right now, our partners in areas affected by the hurricanes are not ready to accept volunteers from outside their region, though once they are ready to accept outside volunteers they will have access to the Ready to Serve database.
In Peace,
Katie, Lura, Sara & Tamara
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The Rt. Rev. Peter Eaton, Rev. Chris Todd and Katie Mears view donated goods at Lord of the Seas Lutheran Church in Big Pine Key, FL. Volunteers and community members dropped off donations at local churches. Unfortunately, this church didn't have adequate storage and several contributions were ruined by deer.
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A metal cross in Big Pine Key, Florida leans due to high winds from Hurricane Irma.
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The Episcopal Asset Map as a Disaster Response Tool
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When I began my position as the Asset Map Coordinator, I was told that the Episcopal Asset Map is both a ministry tool and a disaster preparedness tool. For the most part, I engage with the ministry side of things – churches can share how they are being Christ in their neighborhoods, showcase their outreach ministries and identify their unique gifts on a digital platform. Over the last month, I've witnessed how the Asset Map fits into the asset recognition model and how it can be used as a disaster response tool.
After Harvey hit, leaders from the Diocese of Texas knew that they would need volunteers with pastoral skills. They could use people already trained through congregational Stephen Ministries and Community of Hope to offer emotional and spiritual care, understand the needs and conditions of their community and provide direct assistance when needed. Within a couple of minutes, I pulled a list of congregations that had indicated on the Asset Map that they had groups of lay pastoral leaders. This meant that the Diocesan Disaster Coordinator didn’t have spend hours calling almost 200 congregations to find potential pastoral care teams. Instead, the diocese could simply mobilize the resources it had and get to work.
Episcopal Relief & Development’s approach to disaster response is very similar to our international development work: identifying the gifts of the church and community that can be leveraged to meet the needs of the broader community. I recently spoke with a priest in the Diocese of Texas who noted that the churches that were already in communication with their neighbors and engaged in outreach ministries were the first churches to respond to Hurricane Harvey. He mentioned that his church property was used as a staging area for evacuees during the hurricane and attributed their response to their existing gifts: they had a large campus on higher ground, an existing feeding ministry and relationships with local first responders, so they were able to leverage those assets into a response when the time came.
The Episcopal Asset Map is a tool that supports the work of God’s people who are doing God’s work before, during and after the storm and is one way that the church can be better prepared to respond after a disaster. If you haven’t already, be sure to fill out your church’s survey to share how you’re engaging!
-Tamara Plummer, Asset Map Coordinator
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