This is the weekly bulletin insert from Sermons That Work. This bulletin insert was provided by our friends at Episcopal Relief & Development.
Episcopal Relief & Development: Working together for lasting change
Hurricane Helene Relief: Put your faith into action
Please support hurricane relief efforts.
On Thursday, September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a category 4 hurricane. The deadly storm moved north through these states:
Florida
Georgia
Tennessee
South Carolina
North Carolina
Helene spawned numerous tornadoes and catastrophic flooding. At the time of this writing (Monday, October 7), well over 100 people have died as a result of the mudslides, tornadoes, flooding and power outages caused by the storm. The storm has displaced thousands and many have left the area to find support and lodging.
Hurricane Relief Fund
Episcopal Relief & Development is in close contact with the affected dioceses as they assess their communities’ needs. Please pray for the people in the wake of Helene. If you can, rush a donation to our Hurricane Relief Fund today. Your contribution will meet urgent needs by providing critical supplies such as food, water and other basics, and will help provide long-term assistance as needed.
We provide emergency and long-term support for those who are impacted, wherever they are, so they can make full and sustained recoveries – as well as resources and training to help people prepare for the next disaster.
Episcopal Relief & Development partners with faith and community organizations to advance lasting change in communities affected by injustice, poverty, disaster and climate change. Inspired by our faith, we focus on four interconnected priorities:
Nurturing the potential of caregivers and young children
Reducing violence against women and girls
Strengthening communities’ resilience to climate change
Facilitating humanitarian response to disasters
Weekly bulletin inserts
This weekly bulletin insert provides information about the history, music, liturgy, mission, and ministry of The Episcopal Church. For more information, please contact us at stw@episcopalchurch.org.
Sermons That Work
For more than 20 years, Sermons That Work, a ministry of The Episcopal Church’s Office of Communication, has provided free sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and other resources that speak to congregations across the Church. Our writers and readers come from numerous and varied backgrounds, and the resources we provide are used in small house churches, sprawling cathedrals, and everything between.
Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
[Episcopal News Service – Louisville, Kentucky] The Episcopal Church Executive Council is meeting in the host city for the upcoming 81st General Convention. It expects to focus much of its four days here on discussion and approval of a 2025-27 churchwide budget plan. This setts up final adoption of the $143 million plan in June at General Convention.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
With Presiding Bishop Michael Curry recovering at home in Raleigh, North Carolina. He had a medical procedure to address a recurring subdural hematoma, or brain bleed, House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris is chairing the January 26-29, 2024, meeting of Executive Council.
“His spirit and leadership remain ever present with us and in our church,” Ayala Harris said in her opening remarks January 26. She shared words of gratitude from Curry himself for all the prayers for his health.
“Fervid prayer and competent medicine are a powerful partnership,” Curry said in his message to Executive Council, as relayed by Ayala Harris. “Thank you to all of you who have been praying for my family, the medical teams and for me.”
Pilgrimage to Tanzania
Ayala Harris devoted part of her opening speech to describing a “profoundly moving” pilgrimage to Tanzania. She joined this month with two other members of Executive Council, the Rev. Charles Graves and Alice Freeman. They were guests of Episcopal Relief & Development.
“We were there to witness firsthand the partnership between Episcopal Relief & Development and the Anglican dioceses in Tanzania,” she said. “Together they are working to further our collective witness of the love of Jesus Christ.”
The Episcopal pilgrims visited sites in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika. They learned about some of the ministries supported by the relief agency. This included a savings and lending program devoted to financial empowerment of local residents, especially women.
“The women who run these groups demonstrate for us incredible leadership traits: clarity of role, accountably to one another, desire to give and share one’s gifts together, the building of deep bonds of trust and relationship,” Ayala Harris said.
Graves and Freeman are expected to share more details about the pilgrimage during committee discussions at this meeting of Executive Council. These discussions are taking place at the Galt House, a historic hotel and conference center overlooking the Ohio River in downtown Louisville.
The Executive Council
Executive Council is meeting January 26-29, 2024, at the Galt House, a hotel and conference center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It is about a block north of the convention center where the 81st General Convention will be held. Photo: David Paulsen/Episcopal News Service.
Galt House is about a block north of the Kentucky International Convention Center, where the 81st General Convention is scheduled to convene June 23-29. One of the Executive Council’s central actions will be adoption of a triennial churchwide budget plan. This plan is based on recommendations of Executive Council, which is the church’s governing body between meetings of General Convention.
The presiding bishop and House of Deputies president serve as chair and vice chair of Executive Council, respectively. Its other 38 voting members are a mix of bishops, other clergy and lay leaders. General Convention elects 20 to staggered six-year terms – or 10 new members every three years. The Episcopal Church’s nine provinces elect the other 18 to six-year terms, also staggered. Executive Council typically holds meetings three times a year. The next is scheduled for April 2024 in Raleigh.
Executive Council considers draft budget for 2025-2027
In the afternoon January 26, Executive Council’s Joint Budget Committee presented its $143 million draft plan for 2025-27. The Budget Committee finalized the plan earlier this month at an in-person meeting. The committee chair is the Rev. Patty Downing, an Executive Council member from the Diocese of Delaware. The rest of the committee includes both Executive Council members and other clergy and lay leaders who are familiar with church finances.
Executive Council is to vote on the draft budget plan Jan. 28, after which it will advance for presentation and floor debate at the 81st General Convention in June.
The Joint Budget Committee is recommending that the church maintain its current 15% assessment rate on diocesan income. The assessments are the largest revenue source, 64%, of the churchwide budget. Some dioceses are expected to ask General Convention to cut the rate to as low as 10%. The committee estimates a 10% assessment would create a $30 million shortfall in the three-year budget.
After table discussions, members of Executive Council rose to offer feedback on the draft plan.
Some said they agreed that the church should not change its assessment rate.
They spoke in favor of a separate decision not to ask Episcopal Relief & Development to begin contributing to the churchwide budget in exchange for the services it receives from church departments.
Others suggested the draft budget plan doesn’t fully fund some of the church’s priorities. This includes creation care, youth, and young adult ministries.
Are we a church that is more focused on the size of our endowment, or are we a church focused on doing actual mission work?”
Joe McDaniel, from the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast
Investment portfolio draw proposal
One sharp point of contention was the Joint Budget Committee’s decision not to increase the amount of money the church draws annually from the returns on its $167 million unrestricted investment portfolio. Joe McDaniel, an Executive Council member from the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast who is not a member of the Joint Budget Committee, has proposed raising the investment draw to provide more money in the budget to support the church’s mission and ministry priorities.
McDaniel’s resolution is due for an evening discussion on January 26 by Executive Council’s Finance Committee. During a break earlier in the day, he specified to Episcopal News Service that he proposes increasing the draw to 5.42%. He said this would add $3 million over three years to the budget. This would be “a prudent course of action” to do the following:
Increase funding to The Office of African Descent Ministries.
Set aside money for General Convention resolutions.
Support ministries favored by the next presiding bishop, who will be elected in June and installed in November.
McDaniel read a statement further detailing his proposal during Executive Council’s afternoon budget discussion. “Are we a church that is more focused on the size of our endowment,” he said, “or are we a church focused on doing actual mission work?”
It isn’t clear whether McDaniel’s proposal can garner the support of a majority of Executive Council. Some members have expressed skepticism. Diane Pollard, a member from the Diocese of New York, spoke during the morning plenary of “the wisdom of being careful” by maintaining the church’s more conservative approach to its investments. “I think that what we do today affects people many, many years after.”
Historic investment portfolio draw
The church in recent budgetary cycles has settled on a 5% draw from its investments. This is applied to a rolling five-year average of investment returns. Chief Financial Officer Kurt Barnes, who also serves as the church’s treasurer, said January 26 in his report to Executive Council that the church is likely to end 2023 with a strong 16% return on its investments, though he cautioned members to look beyond single-year figures.
“Past performance is not indicative of future returns. That’s always the warning,” Barnes said, citing the common truism in financial planning. The church’s five-year average of annual net returns is closer to 8.5%, he said. With inflation and other costs, this typically leaves about 5% to support the churchwide budget through the investment draw.
Church Pension Group
Executive Council’s first day also featured a presentation by leaders of the Church Pension Group. They have been meeting with members of Executive Council and other church leaders to discuss renewal of a memorandum of understanding. Church Pension Group’s incorporation is separate from the church. It manages a wide range of clergy and lay benefits for its employees.
General Convention elects 24 trustees of Church Pension Group’s board. Twelve of those seats are up for election this June in Louisville. The other 24 trustees elect the 25th trustee, the president. Kathryn McCormick, the board’s chair, asked for Executive Council to help encourage a diverse slate of candidates who have the financial expertise the board needs to be effective.
Mary Kate Wold, Church Pension Group’s chief executive officer and president, provided a brief history of the agency. Founded in 1917, she underscored its continued commitment to ensuring support for church employees, both now and in retirement.
“We are very intent that we can honor the promises made over decades,” Wold said. In some cases, that means planning for pension payments more than 70 years in the future. “That’s a long, long span of responsibility, and we take that very seriously.”
—David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service. You can reach Paulsen at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
Here are ways to support the people on Maui gathered from Episcopal Church sources.
The cover photo is a picture of the painting of the Madonna and Child at Holy Innocents Church in Lahaina, Maui Island. It was painted by Delos Blackmar in 1940. It was probably destroyed in the fire.
Episcopal Relief & Development: Working together for lasting change
Episcopal Relief & Development (updated information, August 18, 2023)
Episcopal Relief & Development is in contact with the Diocese of Hawaii in the wake of wildfires that have killed at least 55 people and displaced hundreds of families on Maui.
High winds from Hurricane Dora and drought conditions combined to accelerate the growth of brush fires earlier this week. Thousands of buildings have been destroyed and power and cell service is out in much of the area. The town of Lahaina, which was once the royal capital of Hawaii, was hit hard and it is presumed that Holy Innocents Episcopal Church was destroyed.
“The Diocese of Hawaii is assessing the needs of their community as the damage and long-term effects of this disaster become clearer,” said Tamara Plummer, Program Officer, US Disaster Program, Episcopal Relief & Development. “We stand by ready to support the Diocese as they mobilize local assets and ministries to respond to the immense need.”
Please pray for the people impacted by the fires. Donations to the Hawaiʻi Support Fund will support Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners as they respond.
About Episcopal Relief & Development
For more than 80 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has been working together with supporters and partners for lasting change around the world. Each year the organization facilitates healthier, more fulfilling lives for close to 3 million people struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. Inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, Episcopal Relief & Development leverages the expertise and resources of Anglican and other partners to deliver measurable and sustainable change in three signature program areas: Women, Children and Climate.
Diocese of Olympia window at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Honolulu honoring the donations from the diocese to build the cathedral of the Diocese of Hawaiʻi .
Episcopal Diocese of Hawaiʻi (updated information, August 18, 2023)
From the Right Rev. Robert L. Fitzpatrick, Bishop of Hawaiʻi, excerpted from a pastoral letter from August 17, 2023
One thing that I was told repeatedly on Maui was that financial donations are most needed right now. The system has been inundated with “stuff.” Storage is at a premium, and the facilities and people for sorting are at a premium. So, right now, I urge churches to discontinue collecting items to send to Maui. Please make monetary collections. That may change as the recovery continues, but right now, send money.
As a Diocese, you can help in three ways using the Diocesan Donation Link. This is a current corrected link! Do not use the link in communication dated before to August 15.
“A Cup of Cold Water” is the Diocesan ministry to the houseless that is coordinating with the Maui clergy and other agencies and groups to care for the immediate needs of the displaced.
Through the “Bishop’s Pastoral Fund,” money will be collected to address recovery needs in the community and to help the congregation help others
The “Ministry of Holy Innocents, Lahaina,” will help those from the impacted congregation and to help keep God’s people together. These funds will not be used for rebuilding (this is a consideration for the future), but only for ministry to people at this time.
Alternatively, checks can be made out to “The Episcopal Church in Hawaiʻi” with the designated fund noted in the memo, and mailed to The Episcopal Church in Hawaiʻi, 229 Queen Emma Square, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Any money collected will go to the direct support of people impacted or those agencies serving them, and not for administration of the Diocese or congregations.
World Central Kitchen: Providing meals to people in need by partnering with local organizations.
Beware of Fraud: It’s crucial to stay vigilant against potential exploitation. Unfortunately, some may take advantage of the situation. Be cautious of fraudulent activities. Refer to FEMA’s Disaster Fraud information.
Information and Updates
Maui County Civic Alerts website: For the latest updates and info directly from Maui County. Stay informed about the ongoing situation and recovery efforts.
Reunification Assistance: The Red Cross offers a helpline for individuals seeking reunification assistance. If you’re looking for information about loved ones, please call +1 (800) 733-2767.
Stay Informed: For updates on individuals accounted for and unaccounted for, visit the Maui Fires People Locator that is updated throughout the day.
Fires on Maui Island
A prayer for those facing wildfires
O God, our refuge and strength, our help in times of trouble. Have mercy on the lands damaged by fires. Have mercy on the lands where the weather has destroyed livelihoods. Protect those who evacuate houses, and strengthen those who rebuild hope so that entire communities may face the future without fear. Amen.
Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
[Episcopal News Service] Faith-based and humanitarian groups across the world were setting in motion appeals for aid and prayers as response expands in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on February 6, 2023, according to the World Council of Churches.
Episcopal Relief & Development mobilizing with partners
Churches in Syria are cooperating with the Middle East Council of Churches. They continue to call on the international community and the international ecumenical family to provide urgent emergency aid to the region.
The Middle East Council of Churches is also urging the immediate lifting of sanctions on Syria to allow access to all materials. This is according to Episcopal Relief & Development, the organization that coordinates The Episcopal Church’s response to human suffering in the world. Episcopal Relief & Development is mobilizing with its long-term partners in the region to respond. For more information or to support the effort, visit Urgent: Please Help Earthquake Relief Efforts.
“The reports from Turkey and Syria are heart-wrenching,” said Abagail Nelson, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Episcopal Relief & Development. “We have worked closely with ACT Alliance in our response to the crisis in Ukraine and we will continue to partner to meet the immediate needs of the affected communities in Turkey and Syria.”
Working through Action by Churches Together Alliance (ACT Alliance), Episcopal Relief & Development will rapidly respond to the disaster through existing networks by providing supplies. This includes the following items:
Winterization kits
Hot meals and other food
Medicine
Emergency support
ACT Alliance is also in contact with other local partners as they assess the needs of their communities.
Churches in Syria have started to provide direct relief to the affected people. Following the instructions of the Head of the Holy Land John X, patriarch of Antioch and the rest of Al-Mashriq, the Department of Housing Relations and Development continues its relief and emergency response work in the areas affected by the earthquake, the WCC reported.
Harma
In Hama, the department’s team visited both the National Hospital and the affected area in the Arbaeen district. They provided meals to civil defense personnel and rubble removal workers, as well as to the injured, their families, and the medical staff at the hospital.
The team conducted a needs survey of displaced people from Aleppo and Latakia arriving in Kafarbo region in Hama. There they are providing food, drink, blankets, and clothes, as well as distributing food baskets to affected families in Al-Sqilbia and its countryside.
Lattakia
In Lattakia, the patriarchate team provided the following:
A large collection of medicines to the Tishrin University Hospital to treat the injured
Food rations to the injured families arriving at the National Hospital
Sets of winter clothing to the injured arriving at Assad University Hospital
Food rations at Al-Basil Shelter Center
The team in Latakia also provided food rations to these people:
The arrivals to the halls of churches that opened their doors to receive those who lost their homes
Children’s rations in the hall of Yassin Mosque
They also provided a large number of blankets and meals to civil defense workers.
The team also provided Jabla Hospital The Patriotic with blankets, sheets, sprayers, and emergency medicines.
Aleppo
In Aleppo, the team secured basic daily necessities to receive the affected families—an estimated 1,000 people—in the halls of Mar Elias Orthodox Church. This is in addition to securing relief supplies for the displaced people.
An engineering team in Aleppo began field visits to dozens of homes of affected families to provide assistance by repairing the cracks caused by the earthquake.
ACT Alliance calling for donations
The ACT Alliance has issued an alert, calling for donations to support people in need.
As the scale of the disaster continues to be discovered, ACT members are checking in with their own staff teams, conducting rapid needs assessments, and already working to provide life-saving supplies to impacted people.
Plans are underway from other ACT members—in addition to those mentioned above—to supply the following:
Winterization materials
Ambulances
Other needed supplies as the extent of the need is known
Lutheran World Federation earthquake relief efforts
The number of victims continues to rise as work is undertaken to rescue survivors trapped under rubble. Many buildings collapsed completely, including hospitals and other public facilities.
“What is being reported at this point may only be the tip of the iceberg,” said Allan Calma, Lutheran World Federation global humanitarian coordinator.
Search and rescue operations have started in the affected areas. It is a race against time as the temperatures in the region are below zero. There is a need for medical supplies, food, water, shelter and sanitation.
“Temperatures are dropping and it is snowing in much of the region, with freezing temperatures expected in the coming days,” Calma added. “Urgent access to shelter is a priority with many people fearing to shelter inside due to aftershocks. Reportedly, a lot of people are sleeping in cars and car parks.”
The situation is especially challenging in Northern Syria, a war-torn area that is not controlled by the government. It is cut off from the usual aid mechanisms. The region has called for international help. Many aid organizations are affected as well, with staff and their families killed or missing.
Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
Bishop Brian Seage wrote in a message on August 31, 2022, “…the Diocese of Mississippi is providing funds to New Horizons Church in South Jackson for distribution of water. They’re perfectly positioned to [distribute] water and their location is on Ellis Avenue off Interstate 20. We’ll be sending an 18-wheeler. Funding for the truck load has come from Presiding Bishop [Michael] Curry and my discretionary fund.”
Seage said anyone wishing to contribute for another load, which costs $8,000 per truck, can make further donations to the bishop’s discretionary fund. On the diocesan website, dioms.org, look for “Giving Opportunities.”
Current status of the water system
According to a report from Mississippi Today on September 1, 2022, “The goal is for the pressure at O.B. Curtis [water treatment plant] to reach 87 pounds per square inch (PSI),” according to Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. “The pressure had climbed back up to 80 PSI on Tuesday night [August 30], but fell back to 40 PSI after setbacks on Wednesday.”
At the Allin House in Jackson, Seage wrote, “we have brownish water and some pressure. Our water pressure [at home] is lower than normal. At this point it’s enough to bathe, wash dishes and laundry.”
Like many Jackson residents, the Seages are buying water at Costco and Sam’s Club, but they haven’t tried using the bottled water distribution points set up by the city and state.
“We feel blessed we can afford to buy water. We also sent jugs of water home with friends who live in other water districts. Some people have no water service at all due to the low pressure,” Seage said.
Planning with Episcopal Relief and Development
On September 1, Seage and the Rev. Cathy Halford, coordinator for the diocese’s Disaster Preparation and Response Team, had a Zoom meeting with Episcopal Relief & Development to discuss “forgotten issues” around this type of crisis.
“We are trying to imagine the long game, not just the immediate need during national media coverage,” Seage wrote.
Halford said, “If there are people unable to get to the distribution locations, please get in touch with me. DPRT may be of assistance to you. Episcopal Relief & Development has helped other cities who have experienced this same type of disaster. It is willing and ready to help fund solutions to problems which have been caused by the water outage.”
If you or your congregation has questions, please email Halford at chalford48@yahoo.com.
The Rev. Scott Lenoir is a retired priest in Gautier, Mississippi, and former editor of The Mississippi Episcopalian.
Episcopal Relief & Development
Donations to the US Disaster Response Fund supports Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners as they respond.
For over 80 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has been working together with supporters and partners for lasting change around the world. Each year the organization facilitates healthier, more fulfilling lives for close to 3 million people struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. Inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, Episcopal Relief & Development leverages the expertise and resources of Anglican and other partners to deliver measurable and sustainable change in three signature program areas: Women, Children and Climate.
Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
Heading the latest relief efforts is the Ven. Bryant Kibler, archdeacon for the Mountain region, who oversees 10 churches in the southeast corner of the diocese. It is an area of Appalachia that is marked by a poverty rate of more than 25%. Kibler said the area is made up of communities built in valleys and hollows of the Appalachian Mountains, and many were hit hard when torrential rains ran down the steep mountain slopes.
“It was like a tsunami washed houses away,” he told Episcopal News Service. “Vehicles were stacked up like cookies on a cookie sheet.” Multiple bridges were swept away by raging waters, leaving communities cut off and requiring some people to be rescued by National Guard helicopters, he said.
There are Episcopal churches in the towns that were hit hard, Kibler said, but none of them sustained any flood damage, since they were built on higher ground. He said he knew of only three families associated with those churches whose homes were damaged.
Many others weren’t so lucky. According to an August 7, 2022, tweet by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, 37 people have been confirmed dead with two others still missing. He added, “The devastation is enormous.” The good news is that for all but 300 locations, power has been restored.
But, Kibler said, the flooding left homes filled with mud. Many water systems in the area were knocked offline, leaving people without water for drinking or flushing toilets, let alone for cleaning out their homes.
“Some expect it may be a month or more before people will have water again,” he said. He noted that a local pharmacy has donated a large quantity of the antihistamine Benadryl, because mold has started to form in saturated homes, causing allergy symptoms to skyrocket.
Request for flooding aid
A request from the diocese for cleaning supplies and paper goods filled a trailer that Kibler took from the diocesan office in Lexington to affected areas on August 4 and he expects to make more deliveries in coming weeks. But while he said some local people are providing hands-on help, now is not a good time for those outside the area to come, unless they receive prior approval and are part of a group that is prepared to be completely self-sufficient, as there is no way to house or feed anyone at this point.
But what people can do is give money, Kibler said, so he can give gift cards to people to spend on the supplies they need. The diocese already has received donations of more than $23,000, but Kibler said more is needed. A $10,000 grant also has been awarded by Episcopal Relief & Development and is designated for gift card purchases.
The best way to help is to donate money
The Ven. Laurie Brock, archdeacon of the Bluegrass region, told ENS that she is urging her parishioners to give money to help fellow Kentuckians. It may seem simple, she said, but giving money “is the best way to help.” She added that it not only gets aid to people faster, it also is empowering. “It’s presumptuous to think you know what somebody needs,” she said.
The Diocese of Kentucky, which covers the western part of the state, has provided some financial support for flood relief efforts, Amy Real Coultas, canon to the ordinary, told ENS. The diocese also continues to help people in its communities who were hit hard by tornadoes in December 2021.
Kibler said the area of flooding will have massive needs for “several years,” long after the floods are out of the news or the next disaster has hit. Noting that just two weeks ago he had delivered supplies to a home damaged by last year’s flood, “there’s long-term work that will need to be done,” he said.
—Melodie Woerman is a freelance writer and former director of communications for the Diocese of Kansas.
Episcopal Relief & Development
Donations to the US Disaster Response Fund supports Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners as they respond.
For over 80 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has been working together with supporters and partners for lasting change around the world. Each year the organization facilitates healthier, more fulfilling lives for close to 3 million people struggling with hunger, poverty, disaster and disease. Inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, Episcopal Relief & Development leverages the expertise and resources of Anglican and other partners to deliver measurable and sustainable change in three signature program areas: Women, Children and Climate.
Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
