Lamplight: Matching Gifts and Needs After a Disaster

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Issue #56 | January 2018

A Note from the Team

Hello all,

Greetings from the snowy aftermath of the bomb cyclone! Now that we've dug out, I'm grateful for the shelter, warmth, food and company over the past few days, and reminded to hold in prayer those who have been impacted by recent disasters.

2017 was an eventful year. Episcopal Relief & Development continues to work with and walk alongside those in impacted areas as they move into the next phases of the disasters. Read on below for updates from these recovery programs across the US and the Caribbean. You'll also find a tool we've developed for you to use with your diocese or congregation to help identify gifts and match them with needs following a disaster.

Epiphany blessings and peace to all.

Katie, Lura, Sara & Tamara

Hurricane Recovery Continues

The recovery process continues in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Our partners are beginning to move in to the Long Term Recovery phase of the disasters, and several Episcopal dioceses have posted updates:

Episcopal Relief & Development Major Gifts Officer Mike Smith traveled to Houston to survey the devastating damage left by Hurricane Harvey and to document the work of our church partners. He returned with hopeful stories of people and communities profoundly changed as they recover from the storm. Read Mike's stories on Episcopal Relief & Development's blog.
The Rev. Stacy Stringer has been hired as the Director of Hurricane Recovery for the Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Jennifer Wickham has been hired as the Bishop's Deputy for Disaster Recovery in the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas
The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida is supporting displaced Puerto Ricans in the Orlando area in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida is providing temporary shelter in the Marathon Key area for local residents affected by Hurricane Irma.
An Episcopal Relief & Development representative is accompanying the Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Rico as it continues to assist in the distribution of supplies and to strategize the next phases of the response. The Diocese and Episcopal Relief & Development are working collaboratively with other relief networks in Puerto Rico, including Food for the Poor, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Home Depot, to supply emergency items and shipments to affected residents.
The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is visiting several hurricane-affected areas during January, accompanied by staff from Episcopal Relief & Development.

For more hurricane-related updates, see Episcopal Relief & Development's 2017 Hurricanes: Response and Recovery page.

Matching Gifts and Needs
After a Disaster

When Episcopal Relief & Development partners with a diocese after a disaster, we begin by working with local leadership to identify what gifts the local diocese and local churches bring to the affected areas. Every diocese and congregation has a diverse pool of talent and gifts that they can bring to disaster response work. We then partner with the local leadership to help identify what unmet needs exist after a disaster and who could be falling through the cracks of the disaster response. Where these gifts of the church and needs of the community overlap is where we want to be — meeting the needs of the most vulnerable after a disaster.

This approach to disaster response is grounded in Asset-Based Community Development methodology, which is an approach that catalyzes change and development based on utilizing the existing gifts and capacities of people and their communities.

Our newest Resource Library training module, Matching Gifts and Needs After a Disaster, is a course designed to model ABCD methodology, to aid churches in recognizing their gifts and to identify ways those gifts can be leveraged to meet the needs after a disaster. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

Around The Church:

Join "Ready to Serve": Sign up here to offer your services to your vulnerable neighbors after a disaster.

Put your church on the Episcopal Asset Map!

Projects supported by Episcopal Relief & Development in the US:

Disaster Response:

Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles
The Diocese of Los Angeles is responding to needs arising from several recent wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area, including Ojai and Ventura, with particular focus on the local homeless population, contract farm workers and the Laundry Love ministry.

Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida
The Diocese of Central Florida and La Iglesia Episcopal Jesus de Nazaret are responding to needs of evacuees from Puerto Rico in the aftermath hurricanes Irma and Maria. Tens of thousands have relocated to Florida after the devastation on the island, and local Hispanic churches are responding to increased food pantry needs and other outreach ministries.

Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
The Diocese of Northern California is responding to emergency housing, food and other critical needs arising from several major wildfires in the Napa and Sonoma Valley regions.

Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands
The Diocese of the Virgin Islands is responding to food, water and pastoral needs in areas impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Episcopal Diocese of Puerto Rico
The Diocese of Puerto Rico is responding to food, water and pastoral needs in areas impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida
The Diocese of Central Florida is responding to food and basic needs arising from Hurricane Irma though several community centers, including the East Learning Community Center, Central Care Mission and Good News Breakfast organization.

Episcopal Diocese of Georgia
The Diocese of Georgia is responding to cleanup, feeding, housing and pastoral needs in coastal southern Georgia after Hurricane Irma struck in September 2017.

Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida
The Diocese of Southwest Florida is responding to immediate sheltering, feeding and fuel needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Episcopal Diocese of Texas
The Diocese of Texas is responding to immediate needs through spiritual and emotional care, housing and cleanup programs in the relief phase of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated large portions of Texas including the greater Houston and Galveston areas.

Disaster Recovery:

Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
The Diocese of Southeast Florida is providing temporary shelter in the Marathon Key area for local residents affected by Hurricane Irma.

Episcopal Diocese of West Texas
The Diocese of West Texas is responding in the coastal bend region to Hurricane Harvey through housing programs, childcare needs assistance, advocacy and other unmet needs assistance.

Resources for Disaster Preparedness and Response:

Visit Episcopal Relief & Development's online Resource Library for numerous case studies and best practices in disaster response at the diocesan and congregational level.

Contact Us:

Katie Mears,
Senior Director, US Disaster Program
kmears@episcopalrelief.org

Lura Steele,
Training Coordinator
lsteele@episcopalrelief.org

Sara Lowery,
Program Associate
slowery@episcopalrelief.org

Tamara Plummer,
Asset Map Coordinator
tplummer@episcopalrelief.org

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