Photo courtesy of the Rev. Andrew Wolfe
Floodwaters from Harvey engulf the home of the Rev. Andrew Wolfe, associate pastor at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Houston.
1. Pray
Please pray for those whose lives have been impacted by Harvey. Please also pray for Early Response Teams, disaster coordinators, and the many volunteers who are working tirelessly to provide relief.
2. Make relief kits and volunteer at MERCI
The NC Conference Disaster & Response Committee is sending 2,000 flood buckets immediately. Countless more flood buckets and hygiene kits will be needed. We will collect kits at MERCI in Goldsboro for shipment to UMCOR. Working through United Methodist Conference Disaster Response Teams in affected areas, UMCOR will distribute the kits that we send. UMCOR’s website includes assembly instructions for flood buckets and hygiene kits. Volunteers at MERCI are also needed. For more information, contact Bill Haddock at 910-262-3831 or revbillh@nccumc.org.
3. Give to UMCOR’s relief and recovery efforts
Offline: Make out a check to your church, write US Disaster Response Advance #901670 on the memo line, and place it in your church offering plate. Online: UMCOR’s website offers a secure path to online donation.
4. Donate ONLY those items requested
At this time, only relief kits are needed – no clothing.
5. Please wait for an invitation to volunteer
Thousands are in shelters and rescue activities are continuing. It may be weeks before civil authorities have everyone out of harm’s way. If you are interested in going to the area when the situation stabilizes, contact Rob Pavone or Ed Rutenkroger through our NC Conference Disaster Response Center at 888-440-9167 or disasterresponse@nccumc.org.
Bulletin Insert
Download this church bulletin insert (PDF) to share 5 Things You Can Do in response to Harvey.