OUR CHURCH'S PLAN FOR HURRICANE DISASTER RESPONSE

At the church council meeting on September 13, it was decided to present to our membership a multifaceted plan to respond to the human, ecological, social, and economic disaster of hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Recognizing that the recovery period will take a very long time and be drawn out over many months and years, the first part of our response will be A SPECIAL OFFERING FOR HURRICANE RELIEF on every communion Sunday (the first Sunday of the month) starting October 2. Each communion Sunday will feature a particular way the United Church of Christ is assisting with relief, development, and other caring ministries throughout the region devastated by this disaster, and you will be asked to give to support those efforts. Envelopes for this on-going Communion Sunday Special Offering will be provided. At this point in time responding to this disaster with gifts of money is probably the wisest course of action.

But, additionally, as relief efforts begin to make an impact in the region, there may be more "hands-on" ways of responding as well. One possibility could be a work camp trip to a place like the Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi. Back Bay Mission is a community mission of the United Church of Christ which was founded in the 1920's to put into action the social concerns of our denomination. A small staff provides direct services to poor families in South Mississippi and also creates new programs to serve their needs such as legal aid assistance, outpatient health care, early childhood development assistance, family counseling, housing, and domestic violence prevention programs. BBM is also a major supporter of the South Mississippi AIDS Task Force. Because the facilities of BBM have been almost completely destroyed they will be unable to host work groups for many months. I the interim, however, we would like to begin to educate our congregation about this ministry. Information about BBM is available at http://www.ucc.org/.

Another way of offering our assistance might also involve becoming a partner with the Central Congregational Church of New Orleans as they rebuild their church community and reach out to the people of their neighborhood. In this way we could assist a local church respond to the needs around them in ways that would be most appropriate for their community. The Board of Director of our conference has already initiated this relationship and we will be hearing more about it in the coming months.

The council also strongly recommended that our church become seriously involved in responding to poverty and racism in our own state and community. Hartford, for instance, is the fourth-poorest medium-sized community in the U.S. The natural disaster we know as "Katrina" has also brought the human disasters of racism and poverty to our attention as well. Perhaps partnering with urban churches in our own state would also be an appropriate response.

Finally, we would also like to leave the door open to the possibility of becoming a host church for a "refugee/survivor" family if that response is requested of us. Because we have experience in refugee resettlement we already know how to do that.

On Sunday, October 2, following church, we will discuss all these responses and offer suggestions about how to become involved. If you have questions or comments, please speak to Cecile Gilson (974-1750) or Jamie Harrison (928-7405). Also, continue to check our website for hurricane relief updates.