Gulfside on 'deliberate' track to recovery, official says

Gulfside Assembly lies in ruins in September 2005, a month after being struck by Hurricane Katrina. A UMNS file photo by the Rev. Larry Hollon.

A UMNS Feature By Linda Green*

Gulfside Assembly, the historic United Methodist center in Waveland, Miss., is on a deliberate but not fast track as it continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina, according to the president of the board of directors.

"Gulfside Assembly is on the move - not on the fast train, but on a deliberate track," said Mollie Stewart, who is helping guide Gulfside's reconstruction.

The nearly 85-year-old retreat center, built on 60 acres facing the Gulf of Mexico, was swept away when Hurricane Katrina cut a swath across the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Volunteers are urgently needed to help with the cleanup, officials said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will pick up the trash and debris collected at the site through June, and other arrangements for debris disposal are being considered. Gulfside's board of trustees wants as much of the grounds cleared of debris as possible.

Gulfside also needs groups of volunteers to pick up bottles, cans, pieces of wood, asphalt, small stones and the kinds of things that would get in the way of the lawn mowers and other equipment, said Abraham Carey, chairman of the building and grounds committee.

"We are building on our history and heritage but looking to the future to serve the generations to come," Carey said.

"It really boils down to just kind of getting your hands in the dirt and doing what you can do," he said. No special skills are needed from volunteers. "Just come," he said. "... It is labor, but you can have a lot of fun when you come here, too."

A future with hope
After being relocated temporarily to Atlanta, the Gulfside office has returned to the assembly grounds. The staff is using a building owned by the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which set up shop there after the flood waters receded. The relief agency and the disaster response/relief team of the Mississippi Annual Conference stores equipment there, and work teams use it as a base for doing work in the surrounding areas.

The grounds also host the Mississippi Coast CARE (Community Aid Relief Effort) and Amish Relief, which do volunteer work in Waveland and other parts of the area.

"Both groups have been a tremendous help to us, but their focus is in the community and not on our institution," Carey said.

The board, through a long-rang planning team, is considering Gulfside's needs and ministry for the future. A consultant is helping the members in a discernment process on what Gulfside will look like, what its ministries will be and what the timeline will be.

"We feel as a board that we are doing the right things that will make Gulfside stronger in the future," Stewart said. "We are on target with God and seeking his guidance as we move into the future with greater hope than ever before. … (We) will not be restricted by what was."

While no formal fundraising is under way, people are donating to a fund called "The Gulfside Recovery Fund," and a full campaign is being planned, Stewart said.

"I think that there are a number of people who love this place, and they just need to know that there are other people who love this place and that it has been significant to so many people - that Gulfside restoration is a must. And we hope that people will come and help us make this a dream again," Carey said.

Historically significant
Gulfside was a much-revered facility, and many of today's prominent African-American United Methodist church leaders trace their spiritual roots back to the assembly. It provided a boarding school for boys from rural areas, a day care facility for community children and a theological training center for African Americans from Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and other parts of the once-segregated South.

Founded in 1923 by Bishop Robert E. Jones, the first African-American Methodist bishop, it was the only place where blacks and their friends could meet for spiritual, educational and recreational activities of that era.

Gulfside also served the Central Jurisdiction, an entity created in 1939 as a racial compromise when the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church merged. The non-geographical, segregated jurisdiction for African-American Methodists existed until 1968, when it was dismantled with the merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

"I think one of the reasons we haven't gotten the help that we need is that when people see the devastation, they're overwhelmed," Carey said. "But you look at some of the photos with the bricks piled up from the buildings that people once knew as thriving residences, they're just overwhelmed ... and wondering, 'What can I do in the midst of all that devastation?'"

The devastation includes boats that washed up from other places, car seats for babies, destroyed vehicles and donations from across the church reduced to rubble. "Whatever, you can almost find it here," Carey said. "We even found a sign that came from New Orleans on the property (as well as) iron pipes, plastic, and just about any kind of debris that you would find on a dump."

Funds needed
Gulfside leaders applaud the church for its support in the past and encourage continued support for the future. Stewart affirms "the connectional system and all that means to us as a church" because annual conferences such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and the Southeastern Jurisdiction included Gulfside in their 2007 budgets.

"As a fellow United Methodist, this means a lot to me personally as I travel across this jurisdiction and beyond, encouraging and informing (the) church on the importance of paying conference apportionments," Stewart said.

Those interested in volunteering at Gulfside can contact Wilma Dunbar, the assembly's business manager, at gulfsideassembly@earthlink.net.

Gulfside receives funding as an Advance Special of The United Methodist Church. Checks should be made payable to "Advance GCFA," designated for Advance #760235, and placed in local church offering plates or sent to GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9608. Call (888) 252-6174 to make credit-card donations.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Bed Start ministry helps kids get much-needed sleep

Tom Hutson and his daughter, Amy, load a donated headboard into a pickup truck for delivery to a Head Start family. UMNS photos by John Gordon.

By John Gordon*

PLANO, Texas (UMNS) - If getting a good night's sleep helps children learn better, Tom Hutson is helping hundreds of students take home better report cards.

Hutson is a volunteer for Custer Road United Methodist Church's Head Start Bed Start ministry. The program gives new and gently used beds to families of children in the local Head Start program.

"There's a big need," Hutson explains. "A lot of these families, the kids are sleeping with the parents or they don't have beds."

Hutson spends about 15 hours a week picking up and delivering beds donated by church members or purchased at cost from a furniture store. On a typical day, his garage is filled with mattresses, box springs and headboards.

Tom Hutson's garage in Plano, Texas, is full of mattresses that will be deliveredto 3- and 4-year-olds whose families are living in poverty.

"My poor wife parks outside," he jokes.

The program started five years ago. Since then, about 500 beds have been given to area families.

No furniture at home
Plano is known as an affluent community, but there are pockets of poverty not far from the upscale homes and shopping centers in the Dallas suburb.

"We may think of the world and problems there may be a world away," says the Rev. Kenny Dickson, associate pastor at Custer Road. "But also we have the same problems just blocks away. And that's our job … to help people open their eyes so when they're driving to church, they can see things that maybe in the past they've not noticed before."

Teachers from the Plano Independent School District visit the homes of Head Start children twice each year and let Hutson know which families need beds.

"Most of our families happen to be single-parent families, and there are some families where we go and there's no furniture in the home," says Tina Hardison, the school district's Head Start director.

Head Start serves 3- and 4-year-olds whose families are living in poverty. "It's been proven through research that you cannot learn, you cannot function appropriately, without a good night's sleep," Hardison says. "And not only can the children not function appropriately, but a parent who's not getting a good night's sleep is living in a high-stress situation, and so they're not functioning as well as they could."

Hardison calls the partnership with the church "very effective," since federal Head Start funds cannot be used to buy furniture or other personal needs for families. Custer Road also sponsors a Christmas meal and gifts for the Head Start children.

'Church is good'
Hutson recently delivered a bed to Dalia Aguilar, whose 4-year-old daughter, Ashley, has been sleeping in a baby bed.

"Thank you, thank you," Aguilar says through an interpreter. "The church is good for our families."

Hutson, who works for a company that develops software for financial institutions, enjoys seeing the reaction of families when he arrives.

"One of the very first beds we delivered, the little boy came up and gave me a big hug - and I decided this is pretty neat thing to do," he says. "And the parents are always real appreciative."

Dickson is hoping Head Start Bed Start will encourage students, in later years, to finish high school or college.

"If we've helped one or two families have kids that graduate that may not have, and then even qualify for enrollment in college, then it's certainly been all worthwhile," he says. "And I'm guessing that we've had more than just one or two."

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas.

Volunteers in mission provide medical help in Panama

United Methodist Volunteers in Mission members begin the day in prayer. The medical mission team, based out of First United Methodist Church in Glen Ellyn,Ill., is staffing a weeklong clinic near the rural town of Chiriqui, Panama.UMNS photos by Larry Nelson.


A UMNS Feature By Lilla Marigza*

In rural Panama, hundreds of men, women and children have come to see a doctor. It is an opportunity that only comes around at certain times of the year when medical mission teams visit Chiriqui.

This is a remote mountain area, 10 hours from the nearest hospital. Many of the patients belong to the indigenous Ngöbe population.

"In our country, it is hard to imagine the need that these people have," says Dr. Calvin Morris, a volunteer in mission and retired physician from Ohio. "We just don't experience it. The poorest of our poor have better access to care than these folks will ever have."

During a weeklong stay in Panama, doctors will treat a range of health concerns, including vitamin deficiencies, skin infections and more serious chronic health conditions. "We see a lot of untreated high blood pressure, undiagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Things that would have gotten screened out and sent to specialists years ago just walk in here daily untreated," Morris says.

Dr. Calvin Morris examines a young patient as her mother and siblings watch.

Most of what the doctors see are the common side effects of poverty.

"A lot of respiratory problems, diarrhea, dysentery, worms, lice, malnutrition, iron deficiency," says Dr. Barry Kramm, a United Methodist physician from Michigan, describing what he is treating. "One of the first things I found yesterday - they call it dirt eating. It's significant for nutritional and iron deficiencies."

A range of expertise
Medical mission teams consist of doctors, dentists, nurses, lab technicians and medical support staff. Everyone has a job to do. Anne Kushner, whose husband is one of the two dentists on this trip, spends her days sterilizing instruments between office visits. "My job is to make sure that the dentists and doctors can keep working and not feel they're spreading germs."

Anne's husband, Dr. Alan Kushner, runs a successful dental practice in Chicago but says he has taken time off to come to Panama where there is a genuine need. "Too often at home, people in America are more concerned with things like, my teeth aren't white enough, and these people have no dental treatment, no access to care, no alternatives to care. If I can't do it today nobody else can. So I try. That's why I'm here."

The doctors evaluate patients, while Kay Potenza, a medical microbiologist, runs a lab on site. Here she can screen for infections, anemia and diabetes while the patients wait. "By bringing laboratory testing services, we have diagnostic tools so that we can get specific answers for the doctors and help them in prescribing the things that they need to prescribe."

Mission teams bring their own medical equipment and medicines. Over-the-counter drugs, vitamins and even a few pairs of reading glasses for this annual visit were collected from members of First United Methodist Church of Glen Ellyn, Ill., where this mission group is based.
Volunteers in Mission coordinator Jane Dunn explains it is a way for those who cannot make the trip to contribute to the effort. "I usually set a suitcase out in our church, put a sign on it with some pictures that show where we're going and have a list of what we need, and it's overwhelming. We just get more than you can imagine in terms of medication supplies that way."

These medicines will help hundreds of people in a single clinic mission trip. The Rev. Marcos Morales, pastor of the Methodist Church in David, Panama, volunteers when the mission teams are in town. On this day, he is registering patients and recording their medical histories. "This is a very easy day," he says. "Other times we have seen over 200 persons in a day, sometimes 300."

Follow-up challenges
Since teams can't serve that many patients in a day, families toward the end of the line are given vouchers and told to return the following day.


Villagers wait for the clinic to open.

Some who come seeking help, especially the young children, have never before been treated by a doctor. "Several years ago they had medical attention from the government, but not now," Morales adds.

The care that this team can offer is limited. Doctors, like Calvin Morris, admit it is not an ideal treatment arrangement. "It creates a real problem of follow-up. There will be nobody here for months and months and the next access they have for care might be us next year so we have to do the best we can for them and hope for a good outcome."

One way these missionaries are contributing to better long-term health is through training. While patients wait hours to see the doctors, members of the medical team hand out toothbrushes and toothpaste and show children how to brush their teeth.

Just outside the small clinic, nurses are teaching a simple form of water purification. Residents of this rural community have no running water in their homes. The people bathe, water livestock, and wash their clothes in the same stream. Waterborne parasites and diseases are a leading cause of illness here.

'Knowledge is power'
In the hot, tropical sun, the team is handing out one-liter water bottles, two per person in every family. Nurse Linda Elsik and other volunteers show mothers how to filter water through a cloth and pour it into the individual bottles. Several hours in full sun will heat the water sufficiently to kill most waterborne contaminants. It is a simple process, but it must be done every day to be effective.

"I believe knowledge is power. If we can teach these people how to take care of themselves and how to do some basic health practices that will keep their children living longer and keeping them living longer … if we can do that, we've made a really good mark on humanity," Elsik says.

Children make the trek from their village to the clinic.

These medical missionaries say their work here goes beyond curing physical discomfort. It is a way to spread the love of Christ. "If you really look at what brought the crowds to Christ, you know some came for enlightenment, some came to see what all the excitement was about, but overwhelmingly what brought them was healing and they came to be healed, and that's one thing that we can give these people," Morris says.

Panamanian teenager Javier Montanero volunteers when medical clinics are in town. He is proud to be a missionary to his own people. "When I was a child in school, I heard about these kinds of trips, and I'm so glad to be here because I'm part of the 'God team.'"

The Rev. Tom Patensa, pastor of First United Methodist of Glen Ellyn, says the team's presence is an example of Christian love to the people of Panama. "Just like the sign says outside of this building, 'Go into all the world and make disciples.' We're doing that here medically but we're also doing it spiritually and personally, and we're just grateful to God that we can continue to do this.

*Marigza is a freelance producer in Nashville, Tenn.

Dillard University seeks reconstruction assistance

Dillard University in New Orleans, damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, reopened its campus 13 months later. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.

UMNS Feature by Linda Green*

Dillard University needs carpenters, landscapers, painters and "people to do whatever one does when the ceilings and walls are in disrepair," according to its president.

The United Methodist-related university in New Orleans sustained massive damage when Hurricane Katrina roared across the Gulf Coast almost two years ago. The school is calling on people who know about construction, building codes and compliance to assist it in making its facilities better than before.

"One of our goals has been not just to return the facilities to the pre-Katrina status, but to make all the facilities better than they have been," said Marvalene Hughes, Dillard president. The campus grounds also need upgrading to "make them more appealing and a place where students sit and just spend their leisure time simply enjoying the beauty of the campus," she said.

In particular, the school is focusing on remodeling its chapel, which Hughes described as the "heart of this campus."

Campus became a lake
Immediately following the 2005 hurricane, the entire campus was under water for an extensive period. The 136-year-old university is about a quarter of a mile from the levees that broke, and ensuing flooding turned the campus into a lake eight to 10 feet deep.

Three buildings burned down and three others had to be demolished because of water damage, Hughes said. The university rebuilt each remaining building and was able to salvage other structures and declare them usable after "demucking" and certifying them free of mold or other environmental dangers.

In the two years since the hurricane, the university has addressed student housing, classroom space and dining areas and has modified recreational space.

Dillard has been fortunate to "have good insurance through EIIA and has recovered more than $100 million" from its damages, according to Wanda Bingham, the staff member at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry who directly relates to schools, colleges and universities.

EIIA, the Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators Inc., is the risk insurance company available to all of the church's colleges and universities. The company was formed during the 1960s, when a number of historically black colleges and universities related to The United Methodist Church were unable to obtain property coverage from the commercial insurance market. The denomination assisted the colleges by combining their resources and buying insurance as a group.

"My estimation now is that we are about 55 percent back to our normal status, meaning that our construction is back at about that amount and that our student population is about at that number and so are faculty and staff," Hughes said. Dillard reopened on its own campus last September after using a downtown hotel for classrooms and housing.

Prior to Katrina, 1,900 students were enrolled at Dillard, and the enrollment during the spring term that just ended was 1,100 students. "I want to go beyond that. I have a five-year target for that," she said.

While Dillard has reached its anticipated goal since Katrina, it is preparing to aggressively recruit in order to attract former and new students. "We are continuing our construction, so that the space will be there and the campus will be more attractive than it ever was," Hughes said. A May 18 story in the Chronicle of Higher Education indicates that the enrollment outlook this fall for the colleges and universities in New Orleans is brighter and the institutions expect larger enrollments.

Master plan for rebuilding
The university, its friends and supporters want to build a 21st century campus, Hughes said. Dillard has taken a master plan perspective and invested and raised $15 million to enhance its science labs, nursing labs and public health labs. "It took a lot of money, but we raised it. All of the labs are new," she said.

The university is ready to enter the second phase of its recovery process, and it is focusing its attention on the chapel, "where the spirit exists" on campus, Hughes said.

Other areas of reconstruction include the administration building and the library. The administrative offices are currently in a rented space in downtown New Orleans.

The chapel is the only building that did not stand in water. Wind and rain damage to the roof allowed water into the building.

"The chapel needs a lot of internal remodeling and painting and doing whatever one does when the ceilings and walls are in disrepair," Hughes said. In addition to being a worship facility, the chapel is also used for classroom and meeting activities.

"Even to get it back as it was will cost a lot of money for the interior, and then to move it to the stage where we really want it to be will cost about $2.6 million," she said. It also needs gardeners and painters, she added.

Insurance covered the cost of the chapel's roof but not the building's interior, according to Hughes. After engaging in an architectural bidding process, "we discovered that we are about $2 million off, so it (remodeling) is on hold," she said.

Prayers and funds needed
The denomination's support is needed in restoring the chapel to its role as the hub of the university, officials said.

"The chapel needs extensive renovation and I believe the love and labor of United Methodist VIM teams could really bless the school and students," said Cynthia Hopson, director of the Black College Fund and Ethnic Concerns, the local church apportionment fund that supports the African-American academic institutions related to The United Methodist Church.

She encourages United Methodists to "pray, send money and students so the school can return to its previous glory" and she expressed "confidence that rebuilding Dillard will be a critical part of a renaissance in New Orleans."

Bingham agrees. "I think a great deal of the growth in enrollment in future years will be linked to the recovery of New Orleans."

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

A Personal Letter from Courtney Allen, Rebuilding Coordinator , Trinity United Methodist Church, Gulfport, MS

(Many of you will remember that Courtney Allen has ties to Nashville. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and participated in the Wesley Foundation)

Dear volunteers and friends,

We are approaching the 21 month mark of the day Katrina made landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There are still too many FEMA trailers and consequently families without permanent housing with 25,871 temporary housing units in service in Mississippi alone. But, a tremendous amount of progress has been made along the coast, and particularly in Gulfport. At this point, the majority of the debris has been removed, sections of the beach are reopened, and rebuilding has begun. Today the Bay St. Louis-Pass Christian Highway 90 Bridge will be reopened! Although there is progress, a coast resident recently described the process as follows: The scars of the land are healing, but the scars on people’s hearts are even more complex and difficult to heal.

The rebuilding process remains slow for many people. Acquiring building materials, grant money, and labor remain a challenge. But, Trinity United Methodist’s Katrina Rebuilding Program has made positive rebuilding steps on almost 600 homes! We have hosted over 4,940 volunteers in our Christian Life Center! These incredible volunteers have logged over 650,000 volunteer hours! The big impact of this small ministry continues to grow and exceed anything we could have ever imagined! Our motto, “Building Hope, Rebuilding Lives,” continues to be actualized each day through the generous gifts of so many people. To all who have shared their hearts, muscles, time, finances, and spirit with our community, we are forever grateful.

Although rumored that I would be leaving Trinity this summer, I am thrilled to say I will remain at Trinity until the end of the year. I will begin Divinity School at Wake Forest in January.

Regina was married to her new beau on Easter weekend and is still hard at work in the kitchen and scheduling volunteer teams. And, Mr. John is still busy keeping things locked and unlocked, flipping those pancakes, and making all of us smile! The last two weeks of May will be a short break for Regina, John Kelley, and me to rest, get organized, and gear up for a busy summer!

Trinity has committed to host teams through December 2007. We currently have openings beginning in August and throughout the fall. We are in need of skilled labor to hang and finish sheetrock, install cabinets and other finish carpentry work, install flooring, and many other skills. If you are interested in bringing another team our way, we would love to host you at the ‘Hilton’ of volunteer accommodations. There is still plenty of work to be done in our community, and we need all the help we can get. There are many people in the community who would never be able to recover from the storm without organizations like Trinity and the many incredible volunteers who have responded and continue to respond to the call for help. Thank you for the many ways you have supported this ministry and for the ways you have helped ‘build hope and rebuild lives’ on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

In hope,


Courtney
www.trinityumc.com

Mission event June 27-29, 2007 at Lake Junaluska, NC to empower people to Connect with God’s call.

UMVIM, SEJ would like to announcing the upcoming event of Connect that will take place on June 27-29,2007 at Lake Junaluska, NC. The theme of Connect is “learn . go . serve”

Connect will feature keynote speakers, Rev. Jorge Acevedo of the Florida Conference, Rev. Omar Alvarado of El Ayudante, Rev. Clint Rabb of Mission Volunteers, Rev. Denise Honeycutt of the Virginia Conference, and the Zambian Vocal Group.

Workshops will be offered on a wide variety of Mission topics, including but not limited to, Families in Mission, Cultural Sensitivity, Hurricane disaster response, and Global Water Crisis. Visit with international and domestic project leaders, sharing first-hand information about work in their countries and states.

YUMVIM (Young United Methodist Volunteers In Mission)
Families can bring children/grandchildren along. An excellent program for kids will be offered. Hands-on projects to music, worship and plays, kids will have a lot of great mission oriented activities throughout the Connect event.

Projects with a Purpose provides time to network with international and disaster-related projects. This is a Great opportunity to find information on your next mission trip or sign up to participate in an exploratory trip to that country or area.

For more information please visit www.umvim.org. or call 404-377-7424

Native American team provides early disaster response

A UMNS Report
By Fran Coode Walsh*

Members of the disaster early response team from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference remove debris left by an April 24 tornado in Eagle Pass, Texas. UMNS photos by Julio Corral and Mark Garza.

The Rev. Julienne Judd is used to rushing into areas most people have evacuated.

As part of the disaster early response team from The United Methodist Church's Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, Judd helps coordinate volunteers who can travel to the site of a disaster within 42 to 84 hours, assess the damage and immediately start cleaning up debris and helping as needed.

Fast response is key to helping survivors, according to Judd. "They're so traumatized and ... (they) look around and see the devastation and don't know where to begin," she said.

Judd and a team of eight volunteers arrived in Eagle Pass, Texas, after an April 24 tornado killed seven residents and destroyed much of the town.

"Every tribe has its own culture and ways of dealing with grief," says the Rev. Julienne Judd.

"We were feeding chickens because there was no water here," Judd said.
"... We who come from other places that don't have the disaster ... have the opportunity of looking around, saying, 'OK, what can we do and how can we start?' And generally that helps the person who's in the disaster to maybe just have a little peace and know where to start."

Disaster responses

The team also offers the comfort of a familiar face. The group was formed in response to the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, where federal recovery workers noticed "that there were a lot of people who were responding ... but they didn't have people of color who were specifically needed at that time," according to Judd.

The Rev. David Wilson, superintendent of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, said the conference formed its own response teams and asked the United Methodist Committee on Relief to train them. Now there are 10 team leaders who organize volunteers and try to respond whenever the disasters involve Native American communities.

"Every tribe has its own culture and ways of dealing with grief," Judd said. "We've worked at Katrina with the victims there on the Houma reservation. We have gone to California when they had the fires. We've been to New York to (work with) the Native people ... during 9/11." The teams also responded to the 2005 shootings on the Red Lake reservation in Minnesota, she said.

Wilson said people are sometimes skeptical about a Native American team being "capable" of offering assistance, but he pointed out that "Native people have lived with disasters all our lives. That helps us be more prepared."

Helping Eagle Pass

The tornado in Eagle Pass affected a Kickapoo reservation. Two members of Judd's team, Anthony and Lawana Sacquat-Castro, are from the Kickapoo reservation near Horton, Kan. The husband-and-wife team wanted to help their Native brothers and sisters and make sure none of their family members were hurt. As it turned out, the reservation was not significantly damaged, and no Castro family members were injured.

Judd is from the Kiowa and Choctaw Tribes of Oklahoma. She is the pastor at the Lawrence (Kan.) Indian United Methodist Church and at Sullivan Chapel in Topeka. She also is campus minister at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence and leads the Kahbeah Fellowship on the Kickapoo reservation near Horton. The trip to Eagle Pass was her fifth as a recovery team leader.

Native American people always respond positively when they see the disaster teams, according to Judd, noting that team members receive a lot of hugs and messages of thanks. "Responses like that definitely mean we're making a difference," she said.

On this trip, the team cleaned up a mostly Hispanic neighborhood in Eagle Pass. Few of the homeowners spoke English, but they were able to communicate their gratitude in other ways. "They went to get us water the first day," Judd said. "That was very inspirational for us because as Native people we know that sometimes the best that you can do is offer water, and so that ... was something that touched us in our hearts."

It was the Castros' first experience with the response team - but not their last. "This is one of the things that I've always wanted to do,"
said Lawana Sacquat-Castro. "That's what we believe: help one another, Christ's children. We're all His children."

Plans are under way to train more disaster response team leaders this fall in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. For more information, contact Wilson at (405) 632-2006 or dwilson@oimc.org.

*Walsh is the supervising producer of UMTV, a unit of United Methodist Communications based in Nashville, Tenn.

United Methodists offer prayers, assistance in Kansas

A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom*

As President Bush surveyed tornado damage in Greensburg, Kan., on May 9, United Methodists responded to the storms across Kansas with prayers and humanitarian aid.

Bishop Scott J. Jones, who visited the town the day before Bush, expressed sadness and offered prayers for those affected by the weekend tornados or flooding associated with the storms.

United Methodist pastors were helping plan a community-wide ecumenical service set for May 13 in Greensburg, which lies about 108 miles west of Wichita.

The town of 1,400 people was basically destroyed by a May 4 twister. All residents now have been accounted for, according to local fire officials. The overall death toll across Kansas stands at 12.

Alexander Giles, a member of Byers (Kan.) United Methodist Church, was among the dead and was remembered during a funeral service May 9. Giles, 84, and his wife, Bunny, 82, had taken refuge in the basement of their rural Hopewell home, which was destroyed. Mrs. Giles, who was hospitalized, told The Wichita Eagle she heard him call her name three times and then fall silent as two fallen trees trapped them in the basement. They would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary on May 16.

"A Christian's response to natural disaster is to focus on the love of God from which nothing can separate us. We live by hope and faith in God," Jones said in a statement. "It's our calling in times like these to bear witness to that hope in word and deed. Toward that end, we are already at work in these communities to be bearers of God's love in times of trouble.

"We are grateful for the outpouring of prayers and financial support from our United Methodist sisters and brothers around the country," he added. "Our connectional church allows for God to work quickly and effectively to accomplish God's mission through us."

The Texas Annual Conference responded with a $50,000 check for disaster relief to be used at the bishop's discretion.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief, working in cooperation with the denomination's Kansas East and Kansas West annual conferences, will provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the storms.

A storm recovery center will be established at the United Methodist Church in Haviland. Many storm victims are staying with relatives or at shelters in Haviland and Mullinsville.

Greenburg itself has been closed to outsiders, but the denomination plans to provide volunteer teams for cleanup in the town and to serve meals through a "hot foods" trailer.

The United Methodist Church in Greensburg, which was insured, was destroyed May 4, and the United Methodist Church in Truesdale was heavily damaged by a tornado on May 5. The conference has since received word that the Truesdale building is structurally unsound.

Other communities affected by the weekend tornados include Maxwell, St. John, Ellinwood, Stafford, Bennington, Longford, Mizpah and Osborne.

When a tornado struck the Liberal, Kan., area four years ago, Greensburg was one of two United Methodist churches that sent volunteer teams to the area, according to the Rev. Ken Hathaway, pastor of the Liberal First United Methodist Church.

"They sent two teams that came and re-roofed a home, repainted houses, repaired houses and helped in many ways," he explained. "They not only supplied labor but brought equipment and supplies as well. They were a god-send to us, and we were so thankful.

"I want to let others know of the generous spirit that the people of Greensburg have," Hathway said. "This is our opportunity to give back to them."

Volunteers will be needed for the recovery effort. A temporary volunteer coordination office has been set up in Wichita. Contact Bev Weber at (800) 745-2350 or bweber@kswestumc.org.

To contribute financially, drop checks in local United Methodist church offering plates with "UMCOR Advance #901680, Midwest Tornado Emergencies, Greensburg" written in the memo line or made payable to UMCOR and sent to UMCOR at P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. Contributions also may be made online at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/emergencies/ or by calling (800) 554-8583.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. Lisa Elliott Diehl, director of communications for the Kansas Area, contributed to this report.

United Methodists begin Kansas tornado response

A UMNS Report By the Rev. Kathy Noble*

"It is just painful," the Rev. Gene McIntosh said.

The pastor of Greensburg (Kan.) United Methodist Church choked back tears and shook his head in disbelief as he saw, for the first time, the church's tornado-shattered building with its cross-topped steeple gone, its sanctuary exposed and pews filled with debris.

McIntosh, his wife, Judy, and their children had seen similar scenes elsewhere in town on May 5 while accompanying an NBC News reporter on their first tour of the ravaged community.

At least 10 people died when an F-5 tornado - with winds of more than 200 miles per hour - struck Greensburg late in the evening of May 4, destroying 90 to 95 percent of the residences and commercial buildings in the town of 1400 people. The community has been declared a disaster by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Greensburg parsonage, where the McIntosh family rode out the storm in the basement, was "still standing, sort of," said McIntosh who is completing his fourth year as pastor there. The family spent the rest of the night in a shelter in nearby Haviland and is now staying with relatives in Hutchinson.

The rural homes of several members of the Trousdale United Methodist Church, which is in nearby Trousdale, also were destroyed as the same 1.3-1.7-mile-wide tornado that hit Greensburg cut a 22-mile swath across southwest Kansas.

On the following night, May 5, another tornado struck, killing two more people and damaging buildings, including the Trousdale church. Church members gathered at the building on Sunday morning, May 6, to salvage the altar, piano and some furniture. They plan to worship May 13 at the home of a member. The Rev. Elaine Lord, Trousdale pastor, said the congregation has a strong and positive spirit and is determined to go on.

The United Methodist response to the disaster began by mid-morning on the day after the first tornado hit. McIntosh and Lord were making calls to their parishioners, while the United Methodist Committee on Relief released an emergency grant of $10,000 to the denomination's Kansas West Annual (regional) Conference.

Kansas Area Bishop Scott J. Jones issued a special appeal for the Kansas Area Disaster Fund, asking area churches for special Sunday offerings as the severe weather season continues. Much of Kansas is also experiencing flooding as a super cell weather system continued to generate severe thunderstorms.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Greensburg and the surrounding areas, and our assistance is on the way," said the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, which includes UMCOR. "The strong, resilient people of Kansas will weather this storm, and we are glad we can be a part of the recovery."

UMCOR is providing on-site support through UMCOR disaster consultant Cherri Baer, who is working with Nancy Proffitt, Kansas West disaster response coordinator, to mobilize the response when volunteers are allowed into the community. As of May 7, access to Greensburg was limited to residents and a small number of disaster responders.

Plans are under way for United Methodist volunteers to staff a liquids trailer provided by the conference's Salina District, a hot foods trailer from the Hutchinson District and a tools trailer from the Wichita East District.

Volunteers were welcome to clean up debris and downed trees in other communities that were in the path of the storms. Organizers say people also will be needed to walk fields to remove debris that can severely damage farm machinery.

To contribute financially, drop checks in local United Methodist church offering plates with "UMCOR Domestic Disaster Advance #901670" written in the memo line or made payable to UMCOR and sent to UMCOR at P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. Contributions also may be made online at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/emergencies/ or by calling (800) 554-8583.

To volunteer, visit the Kansas West Conference Web site at www.kswestumc.org or Kansas West Village at www.7villages.com/kansaswestconference.

*Noble is editor of Interpreter, a publication of United Methodist Communications and the official ministry magazine of The United Methodist Church. This report was compiled with the assistance of Lisa Elliott Diehl, director of communications for the Kansas Area.