| View Online | Add to Address Book | Subscribe | |||||
| |||||
| SPECIAL EDITION: Friday, November 2, 2012 | |||||
"Our initial ministry continues with churches all across the conference by offering radical hospitality to the community for meals, recharging stations, Internet connections and to provide warm places for people to sleep. We also have volunteers that are working across the conference with Red Cross Shelters and other organizations. We have individuals helping neighbors to clean up debris and fallen trees. Children are making cards for families and individuals in shelters and others are preparing flood buckets. You are a gift from God. Thank you."- Bishop John Schol, in a message to Greater New Jersey clergy and lay leaders. Greater N.J. establishes special relief fundOCEAN, N.J. (UMNS) - A special relief fund has been created for Hurricane Sandy response in the Greater New Jersey Annual (regional) Conference. People within the Greater New Jersey Conference are encouraged to send donations directly to this fund. One hundred percent of the donations will go to relief work, including responses to church and church property damages in the conference. Donations can be sent to GNJ Sandy Relief Fund, 1001 Wickapecko Drive, Ocean, N.J. 07712-4733. "We have different types of church damage ranging from minor repairs to major repairs," Bishop John Schol said in a Nov. 2 message to Greater New Jersey clergy and lay leaders. "This is a serious matter because our churches are not covered with flood insurance. We will need to explore together how we will assist with rebuilding parsonages and churches where they may not be covered by insurance." He invited all of the conference churches to take an offering in the next two weeks. People outside the Greater New Jersey Conference should direct donations to the United Methodist Committee on Relief through Advance #3021787. Donations can be made online at www.umcor.org or by calling (800) 554-8583. Checks payable to Advance GCFA, with the Advance number noted on the memo line, can be dropped in church offering plates or mailed to Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068 GPO, New York, N.Y. 10087-9068. UMCOR funds are used for humanitarian relief and are not applied to property damage. Storm leaves several N.J. parsonages floodedOCEAN, N.J. (UMNS) - At least six parsonages in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference are uninhabitable following Hurricane Sandy, and Bishop John Schol expects that number to rise. "The word from one pastor in Atlantic City was that all the furniture in his house was overturned by floodwaters," Schol told UMNS. An early response team will begin work Nov. 5 on three of the parsonages in the Bellmar area, a hard-hit part of Central New Jersey, he said. At least two parsonages in the Cape Atlantic District are unusable. The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, U.S. disaster response coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, also will meet with conference officials early next week. How to help after SandyNEW YORK (UMNS) - The United Methodist Committee on Relief, the denomination's relief agency, answers frequently asked questions about how to help after a hurricane. Up to 500 a day turning to N.J. churchMAPLEWOOD, N.J. (UMNS) - Hurricane Sandy has transformed Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church into a living room, office, play space and kitchen for the entire neighborhood. United Methodists roll up sleeves to help after SandyBLOOMFIELD, N.J. (UMNS) - From providing shelters and soup kitchens to ferrying truckloads of requested items, United Methodists are helping their neighbors as they recover from Hurricane Sandy. Here is a roundup of some United Methodist responses to need. Past disasters worsen post-hurricane traumaNEW YORK (UMNS) - Even as many New Yorkers are telling each other Hurricane Sandy is nothing like the September 11 terrorist attacks, their minds are constantly making the connection, said the Rev. Joseph Ewoodzie, disaster response coordinator for the New York Conference. Parsonage becomes shelter; gas woesMASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (UMNS) - The Community United Methodist Church is without power like much of its neighborhood, but two families in the congregation have found shelter at the parsonage with Pastor Jeff Wells and his family, reports Joanne Utley of the New York Conference. Drew University scheduled to resume classesMADISON, N.J. (UMNS) - United Methodist-related Drew University plans to welcome students back to campus starting at 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 4, and resume classes Nov. 5. The United Methodist Commission on Archives and History also plans to reopen Nov. 5. Bulletin inserts on hurricane reliefNEW YORK (UMNS) - United Methodist Committee on Relief and United Methodist Communications have put together church bulletin inserts that tell worshippers how they can contribute to hurricane relief in the United States and the Caribbean. The inserts are available in black and white as well as color. |
| ||||
| Did someone you know pass along this copy to you? Get your own copy here. | |||||
| |||||
Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.