 |
OPPORTUNITY
FOR MINISTRY Rev. Melinda V. McLain, NCNC Disaster Response Coordinator,
First, many thanks to all of you for your generous and ongoing response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As of the end of September, over $100,000 from 52 NCNC congregations was donated through the conference office to our UCC "Hope Shall Bloom" fund. Monies from "Hope Shall Bloom" have directly assisted those still in the region and evacuees spread about the country. Check out <http://www.ucc.org/disaster/u101005.htm> for a status report. As the United Church of Christ, we are committed to the long-haul and to longterm recovery. For these two disasters alone that will mean a 5-10 year commitment. The UCC has set the goal of raising $3 million dollars to address this catastrophic disaster - so please keep giving to this important ministry! Our Sequoia Association churches took on the task of reaching out to UCC churches affected by Katrina in the New Orleans area. Now, through the efforts of the South Central Conference, each of these churches is being adopted at the Conference level, mostly by some of the large and wealthy conferences in the Northeast. As a relatively small conference, we really do not have the $100,000 + to effectively adopt one of these churches on our own, but our conference minister will work to see if our western region could participate in this way. Many of our churches have also responded generously to the evacuees now in California. As of last week, over 15,300 survivors of Katrina/Rita are now in California. Over 1,100 are in Alameda Co. and disaster agencies and social service agencies have come together to meet their needs. Many NCNC churches have donated clothing, food, volunteer hours, housing and given love and support. As your disaster response coordinator, I continue to attend meetings and conference calls on your behalf to find opportunities for involvement. Many of you have called and we have found good matches for your desire to give wisely. Do feel free to contact me if you have questions about disaster response and recovery or if you would like to do some disaster planning in your own congregation. Rev. Melinda V. McLain Go to the most recent Disaster Relief news page on ucc.org HURRICANE
KATRINA: CONTRIBUTE ONLINE |
|
Your
comments are welcome [Home]
[Who We Are] [Churches]
[Worship and Prayer]
[Calendar]
this page last updated on Thursday, October 20, 2005 |
Dear
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,