https://my.episcopalrelief.org/fundraise/team?ftid=95514
ER-D World Series Challenge: Diocese of Ohio vs. Diocese of Chicago
https://my.episcopalrelief.org/fundraise/team?ftid=95514
Help for people affected by Hurricane Matthew
Episcopal Relief and Development is ready to help people affected by Hurricane Matthew. Are you?
Please make a donation today with this link:
http://www.episcopalrelief.org/hurricane-matthew-response
And also photocopy and distribute this to help raise additional help from your parish and community. It is the perfect size to use as a bulletin insert!
hurricane-matthew-insert-hp-2016
In case my link, above doesn’t work downloading from this website, I found that bulletin insert from this place on the Episcopal Relief and Development website:
Respectfully (and hopefully)
Deacon Bryan Gillooly
Louisiana Flooding: bulletin insert & update
“In mid-August, parts of the US Gulf Coast experienced historic levels of flooding, with at least seven dead, and tens of thousands unable to return to their homes. As of Monday, August 15, more than 40,000 homes and businesses remained without power, and over 10,000 homes were flooded. The National Weather Service has predicted more flooding to come and an expansion to surrounding regions along the Gulf Coast.
Episcopal Relief & Development’s US Disaster Team has been in close contact with dioceses in the region and is providing support for their local efforts. The immediate response will help provide basic necessities to those most impacted. Affected dioceses will then coordinate with Episcopal Relief & Development to meet needs in the coming months and years. Currently, the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, its churches and their ministries are reaching out to those in need of assistance, assessing what needs to be done and serving as best they can.”
The full story can be read here: The Lamplight: Louisiana Flooding
At the bottom of that page (The Lamplight: Louisiana Flooding) is a link to a pdf or jpg of a bulletin insert you can print to help your parish collect donations.
To give immediately, click here: your contribution to disaster relief
Many thanks!
Deacon Bryan
Flooding in Louisiana
FLOODING IN LOUISIANA – ASSISTING AT THE RIGHT TIME
I am hearing from church leaders around the country that they are eager and ready to volunteer in Louisiana. I am so moved and grateful to see how willing The Episcopal Church is to serve in this way, and I want to be sure that our folks are helping in the most effective ways that support, rather than overwhelm, local efforts.
The bishops in the dioceses of Louisiana and Western Louisiana assure me that while there may be volunteer needs in the coming months, they are able to respond for the moment with their local members and friends: who can return to their own homes and don’t need to be housed or fed! It’s amazing to see neighbors helping neighbors, and when they tell us that out-of-state volunteers are not needed right now, we need to be sure to heed and respect that guidance.
We know that disaster recovery takes many weeks, months and years, and help will likely be needed down the road. Are you eager to volunteer in the response to the flooding in Louisiana and elsewhere? Would you like to receive information about upcoming mission trip opportunities? Please sign up at Ready to Serve; we will share lists of volunteers with impacted dioceses, who will then reach out as opportunities to serve become available.
– See more at: the Louisiana flooding blog of the Episcopal Relief and Development website
These fathers could use your help with pigs, goats, water and reforestation.
Flood Response with Texas Dioceses
Episcopal Relief & Development Partners with Texas Dioceses on Flood Response
NEW YORK – Episcopal Relief & Development is partnering with the Episcopal dioceses of Texas and West Texas in response to severe flooding caused by weeks of heavy rain across the region. Church teams in both dioceses are providing pastoral care and conducting needs assessments in areas where people lost homes and belongings to the floods, and church facilities are acting as ministry bases for outreach efforts. Episcopal Relief & Development support will assist affected households with gas, groceries and repair supplies, as well as storage for salvaged belongings and temporary housing for evacuees.
“The dioceses of Texas and West Texas were able to convene teams quickly to identify community needs and see how churches can be of unique help,” said Abagail Nelson, Episcopal Relief & Development’s Senior Vice President for Programs. “Right now, response planning is focused on low-income households that are uninsured or underinsured, as well as people with disabilities who might need extra assistance as they recover from the storm. Church networks help ensure that vulnerable neighbors are included and cared for.”
The extensive flooding began and worsened over May 24-26, with some areas receiving up to 20 inches of rain. In Texas, 27 people died as a result of the storm, and 10 people were still reported to be missing as of May 31. Thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged, and roads and bridges have been washed out.
One of the most heavily impacted areas was along the Blanco river, which runs through the towns of Wimberley and San Marcos, about halfway between San Antonio and Austin in the Diocese of West Texas. St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wimberley and St. Mark’s in San Marcos have mobilized Flood Response Committees to conduct needs assessments and distribute gift cards for gas, food and emergency supplies.
Wimberley is the town where eight people went missing after the river-front vacation home they were staying in was swept away. Five were members of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Corpus Christi.
In Houston, The Ven. Russ Oechsel, archdeacon for the Diocese of Texas, led the diocese’s Spiritual and Emotional Care team through the streets of the Meyerland neighborhood, where there was significant damage to homes. The group of trained lay and ordained volunteers distributed cold water and gift cards for repair supplies, and listened to residents’ storm experiences. They also offered information about how to connect to local and national disaster recovery resources and services.
Oechsel is also Texas’ Diocesan Disaster Coordinator and a member of Episcopal Relief & Development’s Partners in Response team, which accompanies churches in disaster-impacted communities as they discern their role in the recovery process. Oechsel and fellow Partners in Response member Deacon Elaine Clements, from the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, are assisting the dioceses of Texas and West Texas at this time.
“We are still very early in the disaster cycle, where folks are ripping out carpet and drywall or just trying to figure out what to do – depending if they own or rent their home, whether they had insurance or not, if they have somewhere close-by where they can stay while they sort things out,” Oechsel said. “Getting out into the neighborhood to provide pastoral care and gift cards for food and supplies also helps churches connect with people who may need help toward long-term recovery. We will start to know in the coming weeks where those longer-term needs are and how we can help.”
Elsewhere in the region, the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma is responding to two waves of severe storms on May 6 and May 10 that brought tornadoes and flooding to the area. In Texas, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Lindale (Diocese of Texas) is assisting in Van, 10 miles west, where a tornado and subsequent flood on May 10 destroyed a significant number of homes; Episcopal Relief & Development is working with the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas to develop a response plan. The organization has also been in contact with the Episcopal dioceses of Arkansas and Louisiana following the storms.
For more information about Episcopal Relief & Development’s US Disaster Program, visit the organization’s website.
To enable Episcopal Relief & Development to respond to disasters in the United States, pleasedonate to the US Disaster Response Fund.
Episcopal Relief & Development works with more than 3 million people in nearly 40 countries worldwide to overcome poverty, hunger and disease through multi-sector programs that utilize local resources and expertise. An independent 501(c)(3) organization, Episcopal Relief & Development works closely with Anglican Communion and ecumenical partners to help communities rebuild after disasters and develop long-term strategies to create a thriving future. In 2014-15, the organization joins Episcopalians and friends in celebrating 75 Years of Healing a Hurting World.
Released for distribution by Episcopal Relief and Development episcopalrelief.org
For Immediate Release
DATE: 6/4/2015
Web link: click here
FAIR TRADE PROJECT BEGINS
Announcing a new partnership with Equal Exchange for the sale of coffee and chocolate to benefit Episcopal Relief and Development. Inherent in choosing to work with Equal Exchange is the benefit of fair trade farming, co-operatives and sales.
We can afford to help farmers afford to sustain their farm and family. (It is surprising how the free market does not fairly consider the sustenance of farmers). Fair Trade is the way to go.
Follow this link to learn more about the Episcopal Relief and Development Fair Trade Project
Here is a farmer talking about the benefits of fair trade and organic farming from her perspective.
I love this organization. I mean seriously. It has integrity through and through – Deacon Bryan Gillooly.
Catchy Names, Serious Effort
Here are a couple of catchy names that describe elements of the Episcopal Relief & Development Disaster Risk Reduction, such as “Preparation + Planning + Protection” and “Pastors and Disasters”.
In the American culture of “immediacy” the failure to plan ahead can be funny (see Figure 1.), but planning for potential disaster does not have to be a joke. It is a good way for your parish and diocese to make use of God’s resources for which you are a stewards.
Here’s a quick video that explains it a little. Disaster Risk Reduction planning can be done in your community and communities abroad.
Strategy for short and long-term relief from earthquake damage (in Nepal)
“Initial relief operations are focused on meeting urgent basic needs of people who were displaced or otherwise impacted by the earthquake. Assessments currently underway will help inform medium- and long-term efforts to help those most vulnerable to make a full and sustained recovery. With the planting season reportedly six weeks away and monsoon rains beginning in eight weeks, timely action is needed in order to avoid prolonging emergency needs.
Episcopal Relief & Development and its peers in the Anglican Alliance, the group of Anglican Communion relief and development agencies, urge prayers for all those impacted by the earthquake in Nepal.”
excerpt from Episcopal Relief and Development Earthquake in Nepal webpage
Still interested in related facts? Here is a fact sheet from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal.
Update on Recovery from Earthquake in Nepal (5-5-15)
Episcopal Relief & Development is responding to immediate needs for food, shelter and clean water in earthquake-impacted Nepal through the ecumenical ACT Alliance, and is exploring further opportunities for action through other partners in the region. The organization is in contact with the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia regarding its appeal for the work of the Deanery of Nepal (part of the Diocese of Singapore), and may also support partners in northern India and southwest China.
“Responding through the ACT Alliance as an initial step allows Episcopal Relief & Development to relay the care and support of our community to those in Nepal who are hurting from the earthquake and its aftermath,” said Abagail Nelson, the organization’s Senior Vice President of Programs. “Our support is essential as the Alliance leverages strong local partnerships to assess and meet the needs of thousands of people for food, shelter and clean water. Our prayers are with all those in Nepal and the surrounding area who are working to heal lives shattered by this event.”
The ACT Alliance issued an official appeal on May 1 detailing proposed activities to reach approximately 125,000 people in the most severely affected districts of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Dhading, Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Lamjung and Kabre. Although some of the estimated 2.8 million people displaced by the earthquake are returning to their homes, shelter is a top priority for the 70,000 families whose homes were destroyed and the additional 900,000 people who are sleeping outside their undamaged homes for fear of aftershocks. The ACT Alliance aims to reach 12,000 families with supplies and training to construct temporary shelters, and provide support for 2,500 vulnerable households to rebuild their permanent homes. Additional priorities include the provision of food and household items, as well as supplying clean water and installing or rehabilitating sanitation systems in camps and established neighborhoods. ACT Alliance members in Nepal have already distributed ready-to-eat food, blankets and tarps for emergency shelter to over 2,100 families in informal displacement camps around Kathmandu.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25 was centered between the capital, Kathmandu, and the city of Pokhara, 130 miles west.* The original quake and powerful subsequent aftershocks leveled neighborhoods, businesses and iconic religious sites, particularly those in older or poorer areas where structures were made of mud brick. The death toll as of May 5 exceeds 7,300, with search and rescue operations still in progress.
Initial relief operations are focused on meeting urgent basic needs of people who were displaced or otherwise impacted by the earthquake. Assessments currently underway will help inform medium- and long-term efforts to help those most vulnerable to make a full and sustained recovery. With the planting season reportedly six weeks away and monsoon rains beginning in eight weeks, timely action is needed in order to avoid prolonging emergency needs.
Episcopal Relief & Development and its peers in the Anglican Alliance, the group of Anglican Communion relief and development agencies, urge prayers for all those impacted by the earthquake in Nepal.
An adaptation of Psalm 23 from ecumenical group Christian Aid:Lord, who is our shepherd, We pray for the people of Nepal in this time of want. Guide those who grieve to still waters; restore their soul. Lead those who are searching to the right places. Comfort those who are trapped in the darkest valley of fear. May generosity and compassion overflow in response so that goodness and mercy may follow all who will live in the shadow of this earthquake. May they dwell in secure houses and know healing and protection all their life long. Amen. |
this update reprinted from this web link to Episcopal Relief and Development’s Nepal Earthquake web page