Arkansas Conference -

A Message from the Bishop: Hurricane Sandy

10/30/2012

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The news was bad yesterday. It’s even worse today. Superstorm Sandy is leaving a path of unbelievable destruction as this natural disaster has morphed into a human disaster whose toll continues to rise in almost every conceivable way by the hour.

Some of us are deeply concerned about family members we haven’t heard from. Most of us know someone being impacted by this storm. All of us are joining in prayer that the loss will be minimal, the healing deep and the recovery quick.

Disasters of this scale have a unique way of uniting people who often are divided by ideology, religion, ethnicity, region or political views. I already have seen evidence of this cooperative spirit, and pray that it will continue after the cleanup has been completed.

Please join me in praying for all those whose lives have been impacted, the first responders who are serving so selflessly and those you are holding in a special way in your heart.

I also want to ask you to consider responding in one of the three additional ways that Byron and Janice Mann, the Arkansas Conference Disaster Response Coordinators, already have suggested:

There will be a need for cleaning buckets and health kits in the weeks to come. Please consider preparing cleaning buckets and health kits and bringing them to the conference Ingathering, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 17, 9 -11 am at the Arkansas Rice Depot, 3801 West 65th St., Little Rock. The list of items and how to assemble kits may be found at arumc.org/ingathering.
Disaster response donations may be made to the Arkansas Conference, P. O. Box 3611, Little Rock, AR 72203, (memo: UMCOR Advance #901670, Hurricanes 2012), by giving online at umcor.org or by textingRESPONSE to 80888 to make an immediate $10 donation. When you give to UMCOR, 100 percent of your donation goes directly to the need you specify.
Please consider volunteering to help with cleanup in the wake of the storm. You may contact Byron and Janice at disaster@arumc.org for information or to volunteer.