Episcopal Press and News

Search the Episcopal Press and News

Year

All 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962

Enter search query

Compassionate Response from Episcopalians Pours into Flood-ravaged Midwest

Episcopal News Service. July 28, 1993 [93133]

As estimates of damage from the devastating floods in the Midwest pass the $12 billion mark and thousands are displaced from their homes and businesses, the Episcopal Church has joined efforts to soften the blow from what is already being called the worst natural disaster in American history.

The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief in mid-July rushed five emergency grants of $25,000 each to the dioceses of Springfield, Quincy, Iowa, Missouri and Milwaukee and prepared worship bulletin inserts for use on Sunday, July 25, seeking contributions.

Several dioceses moved quickly to coordinate their own response on the local level. Bishop Christopher Epting of Iowa, for example, not only pitched in to fill sand bags in Des Moines but he also joined efforts to identify those who might fall through the cracks during relief efforts.

Bishop Edward MacBurney and Canon James Emerson toured areas in the Diocese of Quincy to learn first-hand what "a swampy hell the floods have wrought," according to Emerson's report. "We are better able to provide information as to what is needed, where it's needed and when," he wrote. "It could be rubber boots and protective footwear today, mops and pumps next week, paint, plywood and muscle power later on."

Emerson said the tour also equipped the diocese to "deal with increasing instances of well-intentioned people delivering the wrong stuff to the wrong place at the wrong time." He said the PB's Fund grant "has truly been a blessing" and the diocese used the money to provide emergency medical prescriptions, gasoline for pumping operations, food and shelter, as well as resettlement expenses. "We have been most fortunate to also receive a gift of $10,000 from the Diocese of Texas and other donations are coming in from parishes and individuals all over the country," he said.

Real horrors yet to come

"The real horrors of the flood will surface only after the waters are down, the sandbags emptied, the National Guard gone and the television cameras shipped back to New York," Emerson added. Then people will encounter the true depth of the damage and find that "their very memories are coated with slime and smells that won't go away."

The Rev. Art Hadley, who worked in the Diocese of Missouri for nine years before joining the diocesan staff in Michigan, is coordinating "Project Ark" for Province 5, which includes some of the dioceses affected by the floods. A survey of area clergy revealed that many communities were now islands, cut off from the rest of the state. Whole neighborhoods have disappeared and people are living in churches. In Hannibal, Missouri, a fleet of school buses that were being used for emergency relief were destroyed July 13 when the dike broke and the school building collapsed on top of the buses.

Hadley hopes to recruit people from each diocese in the province who can be ready to travel to the flood-ravaged area in the coming weeks and months to assist in the recovery and reconstruction. "We are asking for carpenters, masons, plumbers, people for the cleaning crews and kitchen crews to feed the volunteers," he explained.

The church's Jubilee program is sending an intern, Sarah Moore, to work in the area to "help coordinate all those who are eager to volunteer in relief efforts," according to the program's director, Ntsiki Kabane-Langford. "She will help get the right people to the right place at the right time."

Although no church buildings are affected by the flood in the Diocese of Missouri, members of congregations throughout the diocese are working with disaster teams from the Salvation Army and the Red Cross, "the real pros at immediate response," according to the Rev. William Roeger of Hannibal.

"It is a slow disaster. It will take months to recover," said the Rev. Patricia Williams, deputy for pastoral care in the Diocese of Missouri. Besides physical clean-up and other practical assistance, counseling and spiritual support will be needed as the emergency stage of the flood recedes and the long-range consequences become clearer.

"We are on the receiving end of an enormous amount of prayer and concern," added Roeger. "We have an overwhelming sense of the efforts and presence of the larger church. But this is a funeral. This family is going to need our support for a long time afterwards."

Browning praises response of church family

In a statement released on July 27, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning said, "It is at times like these I realize what a wonderful family the church is, responding to Christ's commandment that we love our neighbor. It is at times like these that we know the family is well and we are in love and charity with our neighbors." While acknowledging that the rebuilding efforts will be "monumental," Browning said that there are "signs of hope and new life that can and will emerge from this deep despair. I reach out for our most generous and compassionate response."