Faith community examines disaster response

By Matt Hackworth*

The Rev. Mary Gaudreau of the United Methodist Committee on Relief and Bob Arnold of Church World Service compare notes during the 2008 Church World Service Forum on Domestic Disaster Ministry. A UMNS photo by Matt Hackworth, Church World Service.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)--Two years ago, the Rev. L. George Abrams stood for the last time in his parish pulpit in Oregon, and told his United Methodist congregation he was leaving full-time church ministry to follow a new calling.

"I am called to disaster ministry," Abrams said. "I haven't really understood what that means, and then all of the sudden I see this conference advertised on domestic disaster ministry."

Abrams, the disaster response coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Annual (regional) Conference of the United Methodist Church, met in Nashville with peers from other conferences and denominations for the 2008 Church World Service Forum on Domestic Disaster Ministry.

The third biannual gathering, held March 29-April 1 at Scarritt-Bennett Center, brought together people who provide disaster response--from volunteers to professionals and academics.
"It's a chance for us to gather and network, to discuss changes and talk about how we can better practice disaster ministry," said Bob Arnold, associate director for training with Church World Service.

It is also a chance for spiritual renewal for a community that, given the rapid pace of recent U.S. disasters, needs recharging. The forum included several opportunities for worship and reflection.
A committee appointed by Church World Service spent about 18 months planning the four-day event in conjunction with the Rev. David Lowes Watson, a United Methodist theologian.

"He's worked with us over the last several months to make sure we have a deep theological foundation," said the Rev. Mary Gaudreau of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, who also served on the planning committee.

Watson led several worship services that helped participants examine the conflict between a hopeful faith and disaster-caused pain.

"We know we have colleagues in other organizations who do (disaster response) just as well as we do," Watson said as the forum began on March 29. "But we have a particular role to play."

The role of the faith community in disasters is not to proselytize, Watson warned, but to act as signs directing the way to God's love amidst situations where control is lost.

"People sense that in the Christian there is one whose life is no longer under their own control," Watson said. "There's a force in our lives that's taken control, whether we wanted it to or not. We do not choose to be a Christian; we finally surrender to God. What better place to testify to that than when we're on the job in disaster relief?"

Under the theme "Economics and Justice in Disasters," the forum featured dozens of presenters. Academics shared research-based issues on economics and justice while faith-based responders painted a practical picture of how issues of economics and justice take shape on the ground, post-disaster.

Abrams hopes the mix of the practical experience and theoretical context will help him define his new place.

"Disaster ministry is huge," Abrams said. "I'm looking for what does it mean for me on a practical level. This is the place for it."

*Hackworth is a reporter with Church World Service.