Missippi United Methodist Katrina Response Update

Mississippi United Methodist Katrina Response Update
March 17, 2006


We got great news this week for Hancock County. Our prayers were answered when a Georgia company donated to our effort a 5,000-square-foot modular building that will be set up on the Gulfside Assembly grounds in Waveland. This building is in excellent condition and will allow us to provide housing long-term for our volunteers in Hancock County.

We thank regional coordinators Elijah Mitchell for making the contact to acquire this building and Terry Hilliard for working through all of the permitting that will allow us to set up at Gulfside. We should be able to house up to 60 volunteers in this building.

The acquisition of this facility solves our more pressing need at this time.

- Ed Blakeslee

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Spring Break brings record number of volunteers

Around the country students are enjoying Spring Break this March, and many have chosen mission trips to Mississippi instead of the usual beach trips. During the two weeks that make up Spring Break, March 10-26, more than 3,000 volunteers, many of them students from around the country, will pass through Mississippi churches, offering time and labor to help those most impacted by Katrina. We in the Mississippi Conference wish to thank all volunteers who are choosing mission work in Mississippi over vacations elsewhere!!

To schedule a work trip, contact the Mississippi United Methodist Disaster Response Center at 1-866-435-7091 or e-mail disastercenter@meridianumc.org.

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Churches active in Western Region

Terry Hilliard, Western Coastal Region coordinator, reports that several United Methodist churches in her two-county region are active in disaster response, hosting teams and coordinating projects, providing a source of relief for what might be the hardest hit area of Mississippi - the Pearlington-Waveland-Bay St. Louis area. These churches include Main Street UMC in Bay St. Louis, First UMC in Picayune, Byrd-Wesley Charge in Carriere, Mt. Zion UMC, DeLisle, and First UMC in Pass Christian. Together the churches can house nearly 200 volunteers at any given time. Thanks to these churches and others who are continuing to step up and make a difference in these communities.

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Main Street UMC and the Kansas East Conference

Since the early days following Katrina, the congregation of Main Street UMC in Bay St. Louis has reached out to its neighbors, offering the love of Christ to the hurting, despite significant damage to its church facility. By partnering with the Disaster Recovery Team of the Kansas East Conference, Main Street was able to set itself up first as a distribution point for needed supplies and later as a work site for volunteer teams coming into the area.

Main Street volunteers have logged more than 20,000 hours of labor just since December, even while the church’s daycare is being rebuilt and with relatively little space for volunteer housing. It is amazing what can be accomplished even in the midst of chaos. Our sincere gratitude goes out both to the people of Main Street, and the Disaster Recovery Team of Kansas East Conference, without whom this could not have all come together.

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E-mail addresses

Please encourage pastors and team leaders outside the Mississippi Conference who would appreciate receiving these updates to provide their e-mail addresses to us. Communicating what is going on with as many of our friends and supporters as possible is extremely important to our ongoing success. Send addresses to gwen@mississippi-umc.org.