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Churches Dealing with Disaster

Sep 02, 2016
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Volunteers assemble cleaning buckets in this file photo on the website of the North Carolina Conference. A file photo by Bill Norton.By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*
Volunteers assemble cleaning buckets in this file photo on the website of the North Carolina Conference. A file photo by Bill Norton.By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*

When disaster strikes, United Methodists respond with prayers and support.

Find out how you can be a part of relief efforts. Follow news coverage or the United Methodist News Service page on Facebook.

Check for information about local churches or conferences.

Learn from the stories of United Methodists congregations that have faced hardship, healing and hope after disasters.

Useful Links

Resources

Disaster preparedness and response

Storms and flood

Part I of this series shares how the United Methodist Committee on Relief responds to disasters. The next four segments tell the stories of three churches — in Alabama, Indiana and North Dakota — that are recovering from tornadoes and floods.

Fires

During 2012 and early 2013, fire destroyed or damaged more than a dozen United Methodist church properties across the United States. This special news series reported on the damage from those fires, the response to the affected congregations and what churches can do to protect themselves.

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UMNEWS-SUBSCRIPTION
Disaster Relief
The Rev. Mary Stewart of Rolling Fork United Methodist Church leads a prayer as people worship on the steps of the church on March 26 in Rolling Fork, Miss. At least 25 people were killed by tornadoes that tore through the state on March 24, destroying buildings and knocking out power as severe weather moved through several southern states. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Church reaches out after deadly tornadoes
After a powerful storm brought death and destruction to one of the poorest regions of the U.S. South, United Methodists are helping people in the Mississippi Delta mourn and pick up the pieces.
Disaster Relief
A mother and her four children stand by the remains of their home, which was destroyed by Cyclone Freddy in the Zambezia Province of Milange, Mozambique. The record-breaking cyclone wreaked havoc on southeastern Africa in February and March. Photo by Zenaido Castigo.

Church responds after cyclone batters Africa
The record-breaking storm’s duration was at least 36 days, killing more than 600 people in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar. United Methodists are reaching out to survivors as recovery continues.
Immigration
The Revs. Joel Hortiales (center, in blue blazer) and David Farley (to Hortiales' right) join parishioners of the Border Church in Tijuana, Mexico, as they lift their arms skyward beneath the fence that marks the border with the U.S. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Methodists participate in movement to preserve border park
Friends of Friendship Park, led by a United Methodist pastor, continues to defend the preservation of the oceanfront park, located on the border between Mexico and the U.S.