Gathering of Partners and those interested in partnering with the work of the Nicaraguan Methodist Church
More information soon
For more information contact:
Rev. David Newton
wesleydn@bellsouth.net
228-875-8900
UPCOMING ERT AND UMVIM TEAM LEADER TRAININGS IN WESTERN JURISDICTION
1. PACIFIC NORTHWEST: Team Leader trainings, Sept. 9th in Tri-Cities area and October 15th in the Seattle area. For more information please contact Ronda Cordill at r_cordill@hotmail.com.
2. CAL-NEVADA: 2 ERT (Early Responder) Trainings and 1 UMVIM Team Leader training in fall 2011. For more specific information please contact Phil Bandy at philb@calnevumc.org.
3. YELLOWSTONE: Team Leader Training Sept. 13th. For more info. please contact Debbie Irby at dirby@stpauls-helena.org.
4. DESERT SOUTHWEST: Team Leader training on October 22nd. For more info please contact Kent Heltne at kheltne@cox.net.
HURRICANE IRENE & NEWS FROM UMCOR & MISSION VOLUNTEERS
Below is a letter from Rev. Thomas Hazelwood, Assistant General Secretary for UMCOR Disaster Response, U.S., Caribbean, Latin America:
"Greetings, friends.
As you prepare for Hurricane Irene, a few reminders::
SECURE PERSONAL, CONFERENCE AND CHURCH PROPERTY
RELIEF SUPPLIES: For relief supplies, please contact/coordinate directly with Kathy Kraiza, Director of Sager-Brown. You will want to know type of supplies and estimated number needed; delivery location that has sufficient space for storage; contact person for coordinating delivery; and a distribution plan. If you are designating someone else to coordinate supplies, please make sure this person knows to tell Kathy that they are the designee on behalf of the Conference Disaster Response Coordinator.
Kathy's contact information is: Kathy Kraiza ( director@sagerbrown.org)
EARLY RESPONSE TEAMS: While Early Response Teams are self-sufficient, they do not self-deploy - coordination is still necessary. Please allow the Conference time to make assessments and determine their need. If Early Response Teams are needed outside of the affected Conference, the Conference personnel will notify Paulette West or Greg Forester. Look for information from Paulette or Greg.
Contact information is:
Paulette West (paulette_west@umvim.org))
Greg Forrester (UMVIMNEJ@twcny.rr.com)
CONFERENCE COMMUNICATIONS: Review your Conference plan with key leadership. Get the word out to would-be volunteers about how and when we respond. Consider pre-planning for communications with Conference personnel, clergy and others as to the process for reporting personal safety and damage assessments. Contact clergy in advance of the storm who are located in areas that are most vulnerable to the effects of Irene - be sure they know who to contact after the disaster to check in and report damage. If you have an emergency communications plan, consider if it should be activated, and when. Talk with your Conference communications person to see if you can pre-plan for messaging via the Conference web-site. Communicate in advance of the storm, and post-disaster, with your State VOAD.
READINESS AND RELIEF MINISTRIES: In advance of the storm, and afterwards when safe, check on vulnerable persons associated with your congregations and communities. Consider whether churches on a planned evacuation route can safely serve as hospitality centers for those passing through. Consider what your Conference recommendations are for sheltering. If a church will serve as a shelter, typically it should have an agreement (pre-disaster) with the American Red Cross chapter. When feasible, work in coordination with other voluntary agencies and/or emergency management for relief efforts.
SELF-CARE: Please secure your safety and that of your family first. If evacuation is advised, please comply and relay the same message to congregants. If your family or church is affected, you may need to pass your responsibilities for Conference disaster coordination to someone else so you can meet the needs of those for whom you are directly responsible. Hopefully this is part of your Conference plan. If long term recovery ministries become necessary, you will be needed to provide leadership for an extended period. Pace yourself; ask for help; designate whenever possible.
TRAINING VOLUNTEERS: After a significant disaster, it is not unusual that people want to volunteer and are eager for training. Consider what the response might be and what trainings might best be scheduled. Be ready to train volunteers to serve in a Conference call-center if needed. Think about other "just in time" trainings, such as Care Team and I&R. Interest in Connecting Neighbors for church readiness. UMCOR's training menu and training request form may be found on line.
NEWS FROM MISSION VOLUNTEERS AND UMVIM SITES RE: HURRICANE IRENE FROM THE SOUTHEAST JURISDICTION UMVIM OFFICE
-The Dominican Republic- We have heard from our friends Damon and Kim Bland, Individual Volunteers who have served since June 2009. They are well and only report minimal damage.
-The Bahamas- We have also spoken with our friends at Bahamas Methodist Habitat in Eleuthera-- Below was pulled from their blog:
"Camp Symontte: Everyone is safe.
KP, Vonnia, Ojay, Pauline, Pastor White and roughly 40 others at Camp taking shelter. Minor damage, some shingles from the dorms off.
A quarter of the upstairs BMH office blown off on the west side, even the plywood.
6:00am was really bad. Right now it's kind of calm but the second part is coming pretty soon.
ZNS (National news) stated that Acklins and Crooked Islands have 90% destruction.
Cat Island got a direct hit but no reports from them yet. Eleuthera also received a direct hit but "not too bad". We will know a lot more later this afternoon once we are able to go out into the community."
**To check out their blog with current updates, click here.
WEBSITE FOR YOUTH VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
UMVIM is working with UMYouth Missions to combine our listings of Youth Volunteer Opportunities. If you are interested in seeing what UMVIM sites are open to Youth please visit http://umyouthmissions.org. Please also check out http://twitter.com/umyouthmissions.
