Since September 17th, Local United Methodist Pastors have worked as a team to bring hope and new life to the citizens of Cumberland County.
The UMC Pastors Team, led by Reverend Dr. Jerry A. Jackson, former NC Conference Disaster Response Chair and leader of over 100 work teams, has been doing debris removable and for the last 4 Mondays has been doing mucking out homes from the ceiling to the ground. The pastors have pulled out paneling, drywall, ceiling, hardwood floors and tile bathrooms. The team has completely mucked out already over ½ of the homes that have registered with them and are ready to be cleaned out. Twenty-four Methodist University Students and staff gave up their fall break to help the pastors to muck out three homes in two days.
Dr. Jackson and the team places the needs of the homeowners first to bring hope back into their lives. “Having the UMC pastors see the needs of the people hurting, helps the Pastors go back and accept Dr. Jackson’s challenge for their churches to volunteer at least one day a month to clean up and repair a home in their community. The pastors have worked in homes in Hope Mills, Fayetteville, Spring Lake, Arran Lakes, and Camden section of Cumberland County. They are moving into the Cedar Creek, Cape Fear and College Lake area in next couple of weeks. The team gets their work by checking out the community and researching Crisis Clean-up. The team gather every Monday at a different location tearing out all that needed. Church members are invited to join the team if they have time.
For more information contact Rev. Dr. Jerry A. Jackson (jajackson@nccumc.org)