Bishop Ward and Al Miller, director of Disaster Ministries, announce the opening of four new disaster centers, bringing the total to eight, as the conference presses forward in helping North Carolinians recover from Hurricane Florence.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
In this New Year, we press forward in the long recovery following Hurricane Florence in the fall. Al Miller is our new director of Disaster Ministries and we welcome you to lead us.
MILLER: Thank you. It is a blessing that’s truly God-given that I was asked to come here. I’m very, very proud to be a part of the church and a part of the conference and to be part of your team and what we’re setting up to do.
BISHOP: Disaster centers are being set up. We have four and you’re adding…
MILLER: We have four and we’re adding four more. We’re going into Swansboro, Newport, Whiteville, and down to Wilmington.
BISHOP: That’s great. So all across the Annual Conference, there’ll be places where people can come in teams and work with families to get them back home.
MILLER: Our goal is to have our centers up and running by the end of the month. The first part of February, we are looking forward to hiring staff and getting staff in place, then bringing teams down from across the country. We have teams coming from New York, from California, from Washington. They’re excited to come and we are excited to have them because our community is in need and it’s through their response but also through the response of the local churches, the local congregations that neighbor-to-neighbor the VIMS (Volunteers in Mission) and the VOADS (Voluntary Organizations Active In Disaster) and everything else we have.BISHOP: All of the “Vs”.
MILLER: All of the “Vs”. All those people together are going to be needed. Hurricane Florence was a devastation upon the state that we’ve never seen before and so it’s through everybody’s effort. we’ll finally get our people back home again.
BISHOP: Thank you. Thank you for your generosity and engagement in the long recovery. We need volunteers out in the field working with families. We need volunteers who are helping to receive and assign teams. Thank you for all that you are doing.