Today, through 10-Fold, we journey with our Missionaries serving in the U.S.  One serves here with us in the North Carolina Conference.    Read more of his story below, but before you do, please register at 10-Fold.  Today’s sponsor will donate $1 on your behalf toward the wondrous ministries of our U.S. based missionaries.

Gary Locklear is a General Board of Global Ministries Church & Community Worker and Home Missioner.  Gary is assigned to the Rockingham District Native American Cooperative Ministry in Robeson County North Carolina. Robeson County is one of the poorest counties in the US. Gary works with the thirteen Native American churches in the North Carolina Conference.

His primary responsibility is in the broad area of mission, living into the life of Jesus through Native American interpretation and communicating the story of the ministry.  Gary host’s numerous work teams during the year providing renovation to homes and churches in the community around Robeson and adjoining counties.   In such ministry, the lives of participants are transformed into a greater likeness of Christ, as they reflect on these acts of love and compassion, as they reach out and touch their neighbor, and as they discover Jesus reaching back to them.  It is disciple-making in the fullest sense.  And of course, Read more »

What is 10-Fold? What’s The Advance? 10-Fold is a movement to raise awareness of projects of the General Board of Global Ministries around the world, supported through The Advance—the designated-giving arm of The United Methodist Church. This message of doing something (advocating, raising awareness, or giving) and watching it expand “10-Fold,” comes with the guarantee that 100 percent of all money raised through The Advance goes directly to the project you support or donate to. Join us daily, October 10-19.

By clicking on the site each day, you register your interest in a program, triggering $1 of support on your behalf, given by one of our sponsors: http://www.10-fold.org/ the project you support or donate to.  If you miss a day, don’t worry, you can go back to that day and still partner with the ministry by learning about and supporting the ministry with your donation.  Remember, you are the key partner in mission.  Only by your participation will these vital ministries occur.  Jesus calls us to journey with him in the transformation of the world.  10 Fold is a facet of that journey.  Please join us in touching the lives of the least, in bringing hope into despair, in proclaiming the saving grace and life of Jesus Christ!   10 Fold – Advancing the realm of God.    

April 16 Tornadoes

Recovery Team Request

The Sanford District has moved into the repair and rebuilding phase of recovery from the April 16 tornadoes and is in great need of skilled recovery teams.

Skilled laborers in the areas of roofing, siding, ceiling tiles, drywall and flooring are asked to contact Heather Locklear at the San-Lee Interfaith Disaster Recovery Center.

Heather M Locklear
Sanford District Disaster Relief Coordinator
SLIDR Disaster Recovery Coordinator
2916 Wicker Street

Sanford NC 27330
(919)775-1724
slidr@windstream.net

Mission Seed Funds are now available.  There is a small amount of funding for 2011.  Funds must be expended within the 2011 calendar year.  Applications are due November 1, 2011.  Funds will be disbursed by November 15.

Seed Fund Applications for the 2012 funding cycle are due November 1, 2011.  Funds will be disbursed by March 31, 2012.

Applications and budget reports can be found at Mission Seed Funds.

Final Reports and Budget Reports are due for recipients of 2011 Mission Seed Funds no later than January 31, 2012.  (Any recipient not submitting a required report will not be eligible for future funding until required reports are received.)

When disaster strikes, the local church usually provides the first response. This basic understanding - that disaster response is local - helps form a foundation for UMCOR's national training and response. First and foremost, UMCOR is a resource for the local response. Photo: Bill KIoplitz/FEMA

Caseworker Training is October 7 and 8.  We need you!

Following any disaster, in order to provide long term recovery, one of the key components that needs to occur is the assessment of damage, the property owners ability to pay for recovery, and the need for charitable assistance.  Part of this process looks at the support received through private insurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other financial resources.  This is an essential action in order for volunteer work teams to then begin the process of repairing/rebuilding damaged homes.

Case Management-the constellation of activity that really is family-by-family problem solving-is the vehicle through which UMCOR (you are UMCOR!) provides long-term recovery.  Local case managers develop relationships with survivors and connect them to organizations that can best help them.  They guide families and individuals through the labyrinth of forms, applications, and organizations they must work with to get the help they need.   Ultimately, case managers help survivors develop their own plan for recovery. UMCOR specifically seeks to help survivors who have the least resources, who are often hiding in the missed spaces of the community and need to be found.

We have a deep need for trained volunteers who can carry the love of Christ through casework.  These folks are a key component of the recovery process and are the face of the NC Conference disaster response family.  Perhaps the small voice of God is nudging you to join in such ministry.  If so, we need you trained and have created a venue for such training.

Casework Training will be held October 7th and 8th at Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, 800 W. Broad Street, Elizabethtown, NC. Course will be taught by Ricky Hill of UMCOR.  Contact Jim Smith of Bladen Crisis Long Term Recovery Team (H)910-588-4217 or (C) 951-415-8486 or jsmith8716@aol.com.

Maybe God is calling you.  It could be the best ministry you have ever done.  Thank you for responding and more, thank you for sharing the love of Christ.

For more information on UMCOR Domestic Disaster Response and case management, please follow this link.  UMCOR Disaster Response

Tom Walden shows the flood level on one of the homes sitting on higher ground in Wanchese, NC. Flood levels in other homes were up to 7 feet. Photo - Bill Norton/NC Conference.

Hurricane Irene devastated the coastal areas of northeastern North Carolina.  Inland waterways such as the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds and many of the rivers and streams running miles inland flooded with waters as high in some areas as 8 feet.  Thousands of families were affected.   The full scope of the need is still unknown.   In the 3 weeks since Hurricane Irene hit, over 15,000 people have filed FEMA claims.   Thousands of homes were flooded or damaged or destroyed by falling trees.  The I-95 corridor and areas east were serious impacted with scores of communities suffering serious tree damage.  Anecdotally, driving through the community of Pine Tops the day after the storm, we encountered trees down in almost every lot leading into and through the small town.  Multiple houses had tree damage.

Another example, in the small fishing town of Wanchese, just south of Manteo, all but 5 or 6 homes suffered severe to catastrophic damage from storm surge flooding.  Because of the track and slow speed of the hurricane, this story is repeated in almost every costal fishing village in the northeastern sound/inland water way areas.

As of September 20, the NC Conference has committed approximately $250,000 toward the response and recovery effort.  We assume more funds are yet to be donated.   In the response phase as we have sought to mitigate the initial effects of home flooding, we have provided over 8000 clean-up kits (5 gallon buckets containing bleach, brushes, 30 gallon bags, other cleaning supplies) across the coastal region.  A call/operations center was established to coordinate and deploy volunteer work teams through the District Disaster Response coordinators of the affected districts.  We have deployed 81 separate teams in the last 3 weeks, have 60 teams hard-scheduled in the next few weeks, and are in coordination with another 337 potential teams to be scheduled.  Teams have come from inside the NC conference, but also from Tennessee, South Carolina, Western North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, and from other areas.

Several teams worked for several days through the I-95 corridor area in the Rocky Mount region and removed trees from dozens of homes.

Damaged items from flooded homes are discarded along the road ... a life-time of work gone in an instance.

In the Oriental area, because of the long-term where electricity was not available, the community had a significant shortage of food.  The Goldsboro District provided over 8000 pounds of food in the last 2 weeks.

Case work training is currently ongoing with the goal to train volunteer case workers to do need assessment work.

For recovery, the North Carolina Conference is proposing a recovery effort working in 4 primary areas.

Oriental, Aurora, Swan Quarter, and Wanchese.

If you have such a team or would like to volunteer, please email disasterresponse@nccumc.org or call 888-440-9167.

For our NC districts and local churches, if you are willing to have your facility be used for work teams for this, or any, disaster, please fill out the Disaster Response Facilities Survey and send it to disasterresponse@nccumc.org .

Please also consider reaching out financially by giving to NC Storms Emergency Response – NC Advance #S-00176. 100% of every gift to this Advance will go to storm response.  You can donate on-line at:  NC Storms Response

You can also send funds to:  NC Conference, P.O. Box 60053, Charlotte, NC 28260.  Please be sure to note Advance #S-00176.

Craig Parker - Elizabeth City District Disaster Response Coordinator unloads cleaning buckets at Bethany UMC in Wanchese. The buckets were delivered by the NC Conference United Methodist Men. Most homes in Wanchese were flooded by Hurricane Irene. Photo by: Bill Norton

Updated:  9-29-2011 at 11:00 AM

Hurricane Irene Response 

Click here for the latest update of activity and information of outreach scope.

We have an immediate need for Casework volunteers, please click here for more information.

The NC Conference has activated a disaster response call center in readiness for Hurricane Irene at the Methodist Building in Garner, NC.    Volunteers are to help with our coordination efforts.

Anyone wanting to volunteer should email disasterresponse@nccumc.org or call 888-440-9167.

We have an immediate need for FULLY assembled flood buckets.  Please see Cleaning Buckets.

The mid/northeastern portion of the NC Conference has been significantly impacted by Irene and we continue to need volunteers.  Due to the critical need and the level of response to date, volunteers, regardless of previous disaster experience or length of availability are needed and will be deployed as soon as possible as per the guidelines found here.

We ask that everyone apprise their local neighborhoods for damage and needed assistance.  Please make that information available to your District Disaster Response Coordinator.  You can find an up-to-date list of District Disaster Coordinators here.   If you have such a team or would like to volunteer, please email disasterresponse@nccumc.org or call 888-440-9167.

For our NC districts and local churches, if you are willing to have your facility be used for work teams for this, or any, disaster, please fill out the Disaster Response Facilities Survey and send it to disasterresponse@nccumc.org .

Please also consider reaching out financially by giving to NC Storms Emergency Response – NC Advance #S-00176. 100% of every gift to this Advance will go to storm response.  You can donate on-line at:  NC Storms Response

You can also send funds to:  NC Conference, P.O. Box 60053, Charlotte, NC 28260.  Please be sure to note Advance #S-00176.

Here are some reminders with regard to Read more »

Tornado Response – Yes we Still Need Your Help!  
Updated: 9-4-11 3:50 PM

Tornado on the ground in Raleigh

Multiple tornadoes slashed across the North Carolina Conference in April 2011, bringing extensive destruction and more than twenty deaths.  Scores of homes are destroyed or severely damaged.  Recovery actions are  in process across the NC Conference.

All twelve districts in the NC Conference suffered some storm damage and in five districts there are areas of extreme damage.  The NC Conference has now moved from early response to recovery.  If you have a recovery UMVIM Team and would like to help, please contact tornadoresponse@nccumc.org or call 888-440-9167.  If you have damage in your area and remain in need for recovery work, please contact your District Disaster Response Coordinator.

The NC Conference has activated a disaster response coordination center.  We continue to need volunteers and mission teams to assist with this effort.  If you would like to volunteer, please email tornadoresponse@nccumc.org or call 888-440-9167.

Please leave your contact information, your skill levels, your equipment capacity, and any other information you wish to tell us.  We will contact you and direct you to the area requesting the team.  We will have a form listed on our website for this information in the next day or two.

If you are willing to have your facility be used for work teams for this, or any, disaster, please fill out the Disaster Response Facilities Survey and send it to tornadoresponse@nccumc.org and cgoehring@nccumc.org.

Please also consider reaching out financially by giving to NC Storms Emergency Response – NC Advance #S-00176. 100% of every gift to this Advance will go to storm response.  You can donate on-line at:  Tornado Response

You can also send funds to:  NC Conference, P.O. Box 60053, Charlotte, NC 28260.  Please be sure to note Advance #S-00176.

NC Conference Congregations are requested to receive a special offering.  Information here.

This post will be updated as Read more »

“The mission of an Early Response Team is to provide a caring
Christian presence in the aftermath of a disaster.”

 It’s Saturday afternoon in Eastern North Carolina.

Since this time last Saturday, as each hour has passed, countless families in the small communities that make up the New Bern, Elizabeth City, Greenville and Rocky Mount Districts of our Annual Conference have been trying to begin the process of putting their lives back together.  But it sometimes appears to be an insurmountable task for the survivors.

Stress levels are high, hearts are broken and the destruction is widespread. For many of these folks, there is no one to help them remove the water-soaked furniture, carpet and personal belongings from their homes.  No neighbors. No family. No one.

Yet, as of this morning, few have responded to help.  The question has already been asked, “Where is the United Methodist Church?”

Due to the critical need and the level of response to date, volunteers, regardless of previous disaster experience or length of availability are needed and will be deployed as soon as possible as per the following guidelines.

GENERAL GUIDELINES Read more »

Wanchese - Bethany UMC volunteers unload cleaning buckets delivered in a joint effort of Conference Disaster Response Committee and United Methodist Men. (photo - Bill Norton)

Updated – 9-2-11 6:17 PM

We have an immediate need for FULLY assembled flood buckets.   Due to the large numbers of flood buckets that we have sent to hurricane victims, we are immediate need of replenishing our stock to continue our response to flood victims.

Please do not send partially completed buckets or supply items.  We need fully assembled buckets ready for immediate shipment.

Please deliver the assembled buckets to the Conference warehouse at 676 Community Dr Goldsboro NC between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Saturday.  Please contact Charlie Gray at (919) 810-2217 or Barry Merrill at  (919) 922-1499 to ensure someone will be available at the warehouse to receive your donation.

Please pack the bucket as noted below:

Cleaning Bucket Kit Items

5-gallon bucket with Read more »