[amc] FW: Update on Katrina response
- From: "garland robertson" <pastor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Austin Mennonite Church" <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 09:35:38 -0500
Members and Friends of Austin Mennonite Church
I am sending this information for your awareness.
May it go well with you. Sincerely,
Garland Robertson
...always hold firmly to the thought that each one of us can do something to
bring some portion of misery to an end
South Central Conference, PO Box 448, North Newton, KS 67117; 316-283-7080;
scc@xxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: Dorothy <mailto:dorothynf@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Nickel Friesen
To: Nancy Funk <mailto:wdc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 3:42 PM
Subject: Fw: Update on Katrina response
Please send to all WDC and SCC congregations and WDC/SCC staff.
Dorothy Nickel Friesen
Conference Minister
Western District Conference
dorothynf@xxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: Shelley <mailto:ShelleyB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Buller
Cc: Everett <mailto:Everett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Thomas
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 10:31 AM
Subject: Update on Katrina response
To the CLC, All Staff, and Executive Board:
I am including a letter of response from Rolando Santiago, Executive
Director of MCC US, in response to some questions I posed to him. I also
spoke with Rolando this morning by phone. I wish to emphasize the following
points regarding response to Katrina:
1. MCC is preparing to assist and advise congregations and others
wanting to help. Please contact your regional MCC office. A list of these
is found at www.mcc.org.
2. As Executive Director of Mennonite Church USA, our role will be to
direct conferences and congregations to MCC and MDS for assistance and
guidance.
3. MCC and MDS are working in close collaboration. They emphasize that
their program of response is at its early stages, is evolving, and trying to
be responsive to needs in the Gulf States region, and the willingness of
others to help as expressed by conferences and congregations.
4. I encourage persons to give donations to MCC and MDS. Please send
these directly to MCC and MDS.
5. Many wonder about providing temporary or long-term homes to
evacuees. Please be sure that you consult the MCC web site that is to be up
by Thursday, Sept 8 (mentioned below) for important perspective and
instruction as you consider housing, re-settlement and other evacuee issues.
6. Pray for these needs in congregations next Sunday, Sept 11.
We are fully supportive of MCC and MDS as the right vehicles of our
compassion. Pray for their leaders in this undertaking.
Conferences receiving this have the discretion to forward either or both my
statement above and Rolando's letter below to congregations.
After Rolando's letter, see another letter at the end reporting of the Amor
Viviente congregation in New Orleans, of the Gulf States Mennonite
Conference.
Jim Schrag
Executive Director
Mennonite Church USA
The letter from Rolando follows (bold was added by me)
Dear Jim:
Thanks for your message. The biblical call to welcome the stranger (Matthew
25:35) is indeed upon our Anabaptist community as we seek to respond to the
needs of evacuees from areas affected by hurricane Katrina.
First, I want to confirm that the role that MCC U.S. and the regional MCCs
are playing right now are to support MDS in its disaster response.
Second, I want to clarify that Dave Gerber's role on behalf of the MCCs in
the U.S. is to do the national coordination of requests for material aid
such as food (e.g., canned meat), relief kits, health kits, school kits,
clothing and so on. Lynn Roth is organizing the Katrina program response.
This will include the domestic response to helping churches respond to the
evacuee situation.
Third, concerning an MCC call for support from its Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ constituency, I will refer you to messages that were released by our
Communications Department yesterday (see www.mcc.org). I want to clarify
that on Friday when I called you I indicated that MCC was not ready for an
appeal for additional material resources since we are trying to use our
current supplies. However, MCC will accept kits to replace those that are
currently being used.
Fourth, I indeed concur with you that the response for meeting the needs of
evacuees is being driven right now by local congregations and conferences,
especially those in the most affected areas. You listed some examples and
there are more that we have become aware of at this point in MCC U.S. The
immediate response of MCC U.S. and the MCC regional offices, in coordination
with MDS, is to support congregations who are in the front lines of response
to evacuees. For example, at this time MCC U.S. is responding to requests
for support with evacuees from Jubilee Mennonite Church congregation in
Meridian, MI, Poarch Community Church in Atmore, AL, Houston Mennonite
Church and a congregation in San Antonio, TX. I expect that responding to
requests from congregations will be the immediate priority in the next few
weeks. Tentatively, MCC U.S. in coordination with MDS is developing a
program response for evacuees. We are describing the "MCC Partnership with
MDS for Katrina Hospitality Program" as follows:
Program Goal: Helping Mennonite and Brethren in Christ congregations
respond to evacuees in the hurricane affected area and beyond.
Steps that are currently being taken:
1. MDS will identify community workers to work with constituent churches in
the affected areas by walking with churches during this crisis with tasks
such as coordinating calls, possibly do screening and provide material
resources/food as needed.
2. MCC will support churches in periphery areas of the disaster that are
providing hospitality services. The support will be through training,
consultation, material resources, some support services and small grants, if
needed.
3. MCC will identify people, programs and resources that have worked with
these issues and provide them as resources for congregations.
4. On an MCC web site, there will be an identification of agencies/web sites
where churches that are considering hosting evacuees can visit.
5. Offer training for people working with evacuees.
6. Develop a forum/church wide task group to listen to issues, develop
support and response systems to the issues identified. (Possibly through
weekly telephone conference calls.)
7. Explore the development of a system to work with churches from the
affected areas that are working with evacuees, and especially evacuees who
want to be referred to other Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches
inside or outside the affected areas that are interested in sponsoring
evacuees.
By Thursday, September 9/8/05
1. MCC will provide a web page with some or all of the items like the
following:
* Theology of hospitality.
* Worship resources.
* Questions to ask first, before offering to help.
* Check list for churches as they offer assistance.
* What to include in a "memo of understanding" between an evacuee and
a congregation as the congregation hosts the evacuee.
* How to work with social services.
* Suggestions for working with dignity and "doing no harm" as churches
respond.
* Other items?
In MCC we expect to use knowledge and practices developed through the
refugee resettlement program of the late 1970's and early 1980's to guide
the response to evacuees.
On your second point, you asked about any "commentary or instruction for
anyone who wants to get involved with" the evacuees, especially to explain
"the cultural, racial and economic issues" that the evacuees may bring with
them. My response is that at MCC and MDS we expect that training on these
matters will be of essence for those who will provide services to evacuees.
As you point out in your third point, there indeed will be many lessons of
racism, poverty and cultural competence for Anabaptists and Mennonites as
they seek to care for the populations who are being evacuated from areas
affected by hurricane Katrina. This event could be life-transforming of the
Anabaptist community and hopefully of American society as a whole.
Finally, thank you for your expressions of support for MCC as it seeks to
respond, through constituent churches, to the crisis that this country is
going through at this time.
In the name of Christ,
Rolando
Rolando L. Santiago
Executive Director
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
21 South 12th Street
Akron, PA 17501-0500
717-859-1151 (receptionist)
888-563-4676 (toll free receptionist)
717-859-1152 Ext. 373 (administrative assistant)
717-859-1152 Ext. 372 (direct line and voice box)
717-859-3875 (fax)
rls@xxxxxxx
_______
Dear Friends,
I just got an email from our dear friends at Amor Viviente, Pastor Karl and
Marlene Bernhard. Amor Viviente is a Honduran American congregation, a
member of Gulf States Mennonite Conference. Their faith inspires me.
Please share this around the Mennonite Church to let folks how faithful and
strong they are. They report that most of their people are accounted for
and most are in either Houston or Tampa. Thank God.
"We also know the because of the consequences nothing is going to be easy,
we will all come back to the city one day but they won't be jobs and the
homes probably will be found destroyed or very much damaged... In the
meantime, we know He's also gonna open doors wherever we are to make our way
and we will survive with His strength and His help and as the primitive
church in the book of Acts, when the disciple were dispersed to different
places they preached the Word and that's how new churches came to be, we
want the Lord to use us wherever we are to witness, to preach and probably
new churches will come to be. As is already happening this last Saturday
they met in Houston, this may be the first seed to plant a new church in
that city! Praise God!!!" (Karl and Marlene Bernhard, Amor Viviente,
Metairie, LA)
Are these people amazing or what? They have lost so much, but their biggest
concern continues to be spreading the Good News. Now that is a Missional
Church.
Inspired,
Elaine Maust
co-pastor, Jubilee Mennonite Church
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