Church of the Brethren Newsline
March 12, 2018
Brethren Disaster Ministries is completing a rebuilding project site in Eureka, Mo., by the end of March. A rebuilding project site in Marion County, S.C., continues as the program seeks to extend its work into additional communities in North Carolina.
Marion County, S.C.
Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteers have been at work with Hurricane Matthew Recovery, working with the Town of Nichols Steering Committee and the Marion County Longterm Recovery Group. The North Carolina Baptists, who have had a need for volunteers over the border in North Carolina, have invited the Brethren to help with 100 rebuilding cases in Lumberton, about 50 minutes from Marion, that were also hit by Hurricane Matthew.
Eureka, Mo.
This month, Brethren Disaster Ministries volunteers are winding down their work in Eureka, and the project site is preparing to close during the last week of March. The cases the Brethren have been working on were damaged in floods, and were funded through the Salvation Army Disaster Case Management funding for the 2015 floods. That grant ended on Jan. 31. Brethren Disaster Ministries also has been working with the Eureka Disaster Relief Committee and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.
North Carolina
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff are in conversation with several North Carolina Long Term Recovery Groups and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) representatives in North Carolina to determine a project site to work on Hurricane Matthew Recovery. A second visit to these potential partners and volunteer housing sights will occur the week of March 12. More information will be shared when final decisions are made.
Lorida, Fla.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff are thanking those who worked on this local response organized by Atlantic Southeast District disaster coordinator John Mueller, in Lorida, Fla., in January. Lorida Church of the Brethren and the Palm Estates, a church-related retirement community, both sustained damage during Hurricane Irma. Brethren volunteers, some who traveled to Florida for the response and others who are seasonal residents in Palm Estates, were joined by volunteers from other denominations to repair seven structures. The volunteers installed a total of 17,000 square feet of metal roofing, and repaired or replaced aluminum soffit and fascia, downspouts, and gutters. Volunteer numbers ranged from 21 to 32 per day in the first week and from 8 to 12 per day in the second week. Residents of Palm Estates stepped up to help feed and house the volunteers.
To express interest in volunteering with Brethren Disaster Ministries, contact a district disaster coordinator or contact Terry Goodger in the Brethren Disaster Ministries office at tgoodger@brethren.org or 410-635-8730. Find out more about the work of Brethren Disaster Ministries at www.brethren.org/bdm.
— Jenn Dorsch-Messler, Brethren Disaster Ministries director, and Roy Winter, associate executive director of Brethren Disaster Ministries and Global Mission and Service, contributed to this report.
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