Since its establishment in 1960, the Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) of the Church of the Brethren has helped restore hope to countless survivors of disaster. It began in January of that year, when the General Brotherhood Board (now called General Board) recognized the need for a policy on emergency appeals.

Later that year, the Board voted to allow an amount not exceeding $5,000 from its emergency reserve to fund disaster response efforts. Then, in November 1960, the Board voted to segregate the emergency reserve and the disaster funds. That decision marked the genesis of the Emergency Disaster Fund.

At first, the Board presumed that the fund would be "limited by non-promotion," but in 1999 allocations from the EDF reached its peak at $728,785. The EDF supports all disaster-related activity of Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM), based at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.

Since 1960, the scope of that activity has grown from sporadic domestic disaster response to a wide range of disaster relief services that reaches beyond borders. The EDF enables the Church to make an immediate response to needs created anywhere in the world by reason of natural or human-caused disasters.

Domestically, Brethren Disaster Ministries manages the Disaster Response program, a denomination-wide network of volunteers who donate their time, skills and energy to clean up and completely restore the homes of those who have little or no resources to hire paid labor.

The disaster recovery projects are established by Brethren Disaster Ministries staff and trained volunteers and supported by EDF grants for as long as it takes a community to recover from the impact of the disaster – from several weeks to a year or longer.

Another service supported by the EDF is Children's Disaster Services. Certified volunteers set up temporary child care centers immediately following a disaster, and minister to families by giving loving care to children whose lives have been disrupted. This program has been expanded to include CRC, Critical Response Childcare.

In the case of overseas disasters, Brethren Disaster Services receives appeals from partner agencies who have a presence in the stricken country. Allocations from the Emergency Disaster Fund support the provision of emergency relief supplies such as temporary shelters, water purification units and medicines, as well as long-term reconstruction and farm restoration projects.

For decades, the Emergency Disaster Fund has enabled brothers and sisters to "bear one another's burdens, thus fulfilling the law of Christ" (Gal. 6.2). With the steady support of donors and volunteers, Brethren Disaster Ministries will be able to continue bringing hope and healing to broken lives for many years to come.

– Jane Yount, Brethren Disaster Ministries Coordinator
Brethren Disaster Ministries
New Windsor, Md.