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Disaster Response - Current Responses Flooding Posted 09.22.2009 As flood waters cover parts of the Southeast, the United Methodist Church is in action responding to this natural disaster. The North Alabama Conference is part of this response effort. On Tuesday, September 21, the Northwest District Disaster Warehouse received a request from the North Georgia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator requesting 400 Flood Buckets. Northwest District Disaster Response Coordinator Rev. Ray Crump says, “On Wednesday, September 23, we shipped 211 Flood /cleaning buckets to the North Georgia Annual Conference. We partnered with the TN Annual Conference, who added another 100 buckets and both conferences sent all that were really to ship. Trussville First UMC is to meet the truck on Interstate 20 as they go from Birmingham to Atlanta and add more buckets.” “This is every Flood bucket we had. Please urge all churches to immediately start collecting items for flood buckets, Crump adds” Your congregation can contribute to this response by collecting items for additional Flood Buckets and Health Kits. You can then deliver the kits to one of two North Alabama Conference area locations. The North Alabama Disaster Response team is working with UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) to make sure the supplies are delivered where they should go. Delivering them to a local warehouse or drop-off spot will save your congregation the expense of shipping them to the Sagar Brown Warehouse in Louisiana. Plus, it will also keep the needed supplies closer to the effected areas. Location 1 is the Northwest District Warehouse near Decatur. Click here for information about both the Northwest District area warehouse. This warehouse is staffed by volunteers. So make sure you call before you plan your trip to the warehouse. Call (256) 341-9961 to set up your drop off time. Location 2 is the United Methodist Center in Birmingham. Click here for directions to the Center. Conference Director of Mission and Advocacy Rev. Matt Lacey will accept these donations, so please contact Matt to coordinate your drop off time. You may call him at (205) 226-7962 or 800-239-7950. Below are the Flood Bucket (also called a Cleaning Bucket) and Health Kit supply lists. Cleaning Bucket Kit Items
Click here to download a PDF file of the Flood Bucket contents you can print and copy to share with your congregation this weekend.
Health Kit Items
Click here to download a PDF file of the Health Kit contents you can print and copy to share with your congregation this weekend.
H1N1 Flu / Swine Flu Posted May 4, 2009 North Alabama Conference Director of Mission and Advocacy Paulette West reports "According to the CDC website, Alabama has 4 confirmed cases of H1N1 Swine Flu as of May 4, 11:00 a.m." Remember both UMCOR Emergency Services and UMCOR Health are working to provide you with the most up-to-date information. Please check www.umcor.org UMCOR Health Suggests ways to Prevent Spread of Swine Flu April 30, 2009—With the recent cases of North American influenza, also known as swine flu, reported by the media, The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is taking steps to put the illness in perspective and asked parish nurses in its network to encourage common sense measures. UMCOR is continuing to monitor the situation and is prepared to take appropriate action should the flu reach pandemic levels. With the Swine Flu affecting those in Mexico more than other countries, UMCOR is in conversation with the Methodist Church in Mexico about how their needs can best be met. What is Swine Flu? The symptoms of swine flu in people include fever, head and body aches, cough, sore throat, chills and vomiting and/or diarrhea. UMCOR Health consultant, Sharon Hinton suggests, "Seek medical attention if a fever is higher than 100° and one or more of the other symptoms presents itself." There are prescription medicines that can treat swine flu. These are only offered if you are diagnosed with swine flu. There is no vaccine to prevent swine flu available. How do United Methodist Congregations Respond? Visit www.cdc.gov for handouts and updates. Additional resources for faith based and community organizations are available online here: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/faithcomchecklist.html Information provided from CDC website and information sent to parish nurses by Sharon Hinton, UMCOR Health consultant. Weather Damage 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 God's Grace
An informational meeting was help Tuesday night to help families move from relief efforts to long term recovery. The pace is slowing, but the needs are becoming more clearly defined. If you are interested in volunteering in rebuilding and repairing efforts in the Sylvania/ Powell area or Section/ Macedonia area, please contact Tayna Rains at Upper Sand Mountain Parish, (256) 638-2126. Donations can also be made to USMP, P.O. Box 267, Sylvania, AL 35988 with it marked to go for 2009 Storm Relief. Posted April 13, 2009 Help Needed on Sand Moutain Help is needed for recovery from the recent Storm Damage on Sand Mountain. More than 190 homes have been damaged. Immediate need is tomorrow and later support is needed for damage assessment to support the DeKalb EMA in gaining FEMA aid and supporting residents in this hard hit area. Damage assessment work is going into the damaged area finding the home / property owner, getting necessary information such as insurance info, cell phone numbers, help desired, your assessment on what teams could do and assessment of damage. Information you will need, forms and directions will be provided. General help is needed to repair fences, clear debris etc. All work can be done by full ERT teams or individuals. You will be teamed up with others if large team effort is required. Make sure to wear your Green Shirts. Meet at the Upper Sand Mountain Parrish in Sylvania, Al (about 4 miles north on 75 out of Rainsville, Al) about 8 AM for registration and assignment. The contact is Tonya Rains 256 – 638-2126 If you will need overnight housing contact Tonya, Below is information I have: ERT people are needed for 1-5 days periods Cell phones are spotty, and ATT's tower is down and not working in two counties. If you have a CB radio this will be helpful for ERT assessment teams We will stay at a church that has been converted to a home and has showers and bedrooms. You will need air mattress, linens including towels, etc. Take snacks, but meals will be provided at Trinity UMC about 1 mile from where we will be staying. GPS's will be a great help. Five RV spots are available. The Decatur Disaster Warehouse is making a shipment today of cleaning supplies, health kits etc. so keep them in your church mission plans for replenishment.
From Tanya Raines, Executive Dirctor of Upper Sand Mountain Parish... On Good Friday more than 100 people gathered in our storm safe room at the
Early estimates indicate that as many as 190 homes have been affected by the tornado. There is also an additional 25 homes in the Section and
To this point USMP has provided short term shelter for those families who have no place to stay, food and clothing assistance, and clean up and rebuilding supplies. If you are interested in volunteering with the recovery efforts please contact Tayna Rains, USMP Director at (256)638-2126 or at usmp@farmerstel.com Donations to assist with recovery efforts can also be made to USMP at
As flood waters cover parts of the Southeast, the United Methodist Church is in action responding to this natural disaster. The North Alabama Conference is part of this response effort. On Tuesday, September 21, the Northwest District Disaster Warehouse received a request from the North Georgia Conference Disaster Response Coordinator requesting 400 Flood Buckets. Northwest District Disaster Response Coordinator Rev. Ray Crump says, “On Wednesday, September 23, we shipped 211 Flood /cleaning buckets to the North Georgia Annual Conference. We partnered with the TN Annual Conference, who added another 100 buckets and both conferences sent all that were really to ship. Trussville First UMC is to meet the truck on Interstate 20 as they go from Birmingham to Atlanta and add more buckets.” “This is every Flood bucket we had. Please urge all churches to immediately start collecting items for flood buckets, Crump adds” Your congregation can contribute to this response by collecting items for additional Flood Buckets and Health Kits. You can then deliver the kits to one of two North Alabama Conference area locations. The North Alabama Disaster Response team is working with UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) to make sure the supplies are delivered where they should go. Delivering them to a local warehouse or drop-off spot will save your congregation the expense of shipping them to the Sagar Brown Warehouse in Louisiana. Plus, it will also keep the needed supplies closer to the effected areas. Location 1 is the Northwest District Warehouse near Decatur. Click here for information about both the Northwest District area warehouse. This warehouse is staffed by volunteers. So make sure you call before you plan your trip to the warehouse. Call (256) 341-9961 to set up your drop off time. Location 2 is the United Methodist Center in Birmingham. Click here for directions to the Center. Conference Director of Mission and Advocacy Rev. Matt Lacey will accept these donations, so please contact Matt to coordinate your drop off time. You may call him at (205) 226-7962 or 800-239-7950. Below are the Flood Bucket (also called a Cleaning Bucket) and Health Kit supply lists. Cleaning Bucket Kit Items
Click here to download a PDF file of the Flood Bucket contents you can print and copy to share with your congregation this weekend.
Health Kit Items
Click here to download a PDF file of the Health Kit contents you can print and copy to share with your congregation this weekend. |
There is so much to be thankful for on Sand Mountain. In the face of our second tornado in less than 14 months, spirits are still high and people are committed to recovery. God's Grace is easy to find as well. The picture to the right shows the home of Ms. Ramirez and her 4 children. Yes, it is upside down! It was turned over and caught on the trailer next door. If it had not done this it could have been smashed to pieces, like the photo below of a neighbor’s home. That trailer holding Ms. Ramirez's home was to me God's hand. You see she was at home with her 4 children on Friday when the storm hit, and they were all able to walk away from the upside down trailer with only one small cut to the little girls arm. This is not a picture of damage, but a picture of God's Grace on Sand Mountain.