Key Points:
- United Methodists in Kentucky and Missouri, among other states, are trying to bring relief after deadly tornadoes wreaked havoc this weekend.
- The United Methodist Committee on Relief is already processing grants for multiple conferences.
- Prayers and financial donations are welcome. United Methodists in Kentucky are asking for volunteers to help with cleanup, but otherwise people are asked not to self-deploy.
United Methodists have spent recent days picking up the pieces and lending a hand after deadly tornadoes across the Midwest and Southern U.S.
As of May 19, people still were fully assessing damage in the aftermath of weekend storms that barreled through multiple states. The dangerous weather toppled trees, downed power lines, ripped apart buildings, left people homeless and claimed at least 28 lives in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief, the denomination’s relief arm, has distributed $10,000 solidarity grants to the Kentucky and Great Plains conferences to help with immediate needs such as debris removal and relief supplies. UMCOR is also coordinating with other affected conferences, including Missouri and Wisconsin, as they prepare to respond.
“UMCOR is in close communication with conference disaster ministries across the impacted areas to assess preliminary needs and provide solidarity grants, as needed,” Jim Cox, UMCOR’s executive director, said.
“We ask for continued prayers for all those affected by this severe weather. After first responders have ensured the safety of everyone involved, we stand ready to support conference relief and recovery efforts.”
Kentucky, where tornadoes battered the London and Somerset areas, was the hardest hit. The nighttime London twister killed at least 19 people.
At this point, the Kentucky Conference has received no reports of damage to United Methodist buildings or injuries to church members.
However, the Rev. Jim Savage — the conference’s disaster-response coordinator — said the weekend’s calamity was just the most recent natural disaster to ravage the state. Just this year, Kentuckians also have dealt with floods in February and April as well as smaller tornadoes in recent weeks.
“It seems like we’re being stretched way too thin, trying to meet all the needs of all the people in all the places,” Savage said. “And it does stretch us thin. We ask for prayers for strength and for guidance from God on how best we can serve.”
Bishop David Graves also calls for prayer. He leads the Kentucky, Tennessee-Western Kentucky and Central Appalachian Missionary conferences.
“The loss of life and destruction of homes and communities is heartbreaking,” he said in a statement. “We grieve with those who are mourning loved ones, and we stand in prayerful solidarity with those facing the long road of recovery.”
How to help
In addition to their prayers, United Methodists can help disaster recovery in various ways.
He added that United Methodists give thanks for first responders, neighbors and volunteers “who are already offering help and hope.”
The Kentucky Conference is asking for volunteers to help with cleanup. But most areas are not asking for United Methodist volunteers yet.
Mainly what is being sought at this point are prayers and financial donations.
That is how best to help the Missouri Conference, which is grappling with the aftermath of two tornadoes that struck St. Louis on May 16. The twisters caused at least seven deaths.
Union Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Louis sustained significant damage, including broken stained-glass windows and downed trees on the property.
The Rev. Antonio Settles, the church’s senior pastor, was at his home in Florissant when the church secretary called and told him she heard breaking glass but thought it was coming from outside. She went into the sanctuary while still on the phone and saw stained-glass windows shattering.
“I told her to get to the lowest part of the building,” Settles told the Missouri Conference.
As soon as the storm passed, he drove to the church. “It looked like a war zone,” he said. “Streets were impassable because trees were across the roads.”
He stayed at the church from around 4:30 to 11 p.m., cleaning up and talking to contractors.
“All I heard were sirens constantly and the buzzing of saws,” he said.
New Horizons United Methodist Church, also in St. Louis, sustained minor damage to a window and some fencing. The parsonage for Grace United Methodist in St. Louis also had damage from trees and is still without power.
However, Grace United Methodist Church never lost power and has been serving as a Red Cross shelter. Seventy-seven people stayed there May 17, and the shelter reached its capacity of 85 on the night of May 18.
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The Rev. Katie Nix, the church’s lead pastor, spent the weekend and May 19 responding to various local needs. But she also had help from other area pastors eager to help.
Among them was the Rev. Dan Shanks. The congregation he leads, Arlington United Methodist Church in Bridgeton, came through the storm unscathed. So on the morning of May 19, he was at Grace at Nix’s invitation, offering to provide pastoral counseling to anyone in need.
He sat between two Lutheran pastors he had just met that morning. He told United Methodist News that the three pastors visited with a constant stream of people eager to chat and pray with them. Other United Methodist pastors as well as Shanks’ wife also have been volunteering at the church.
“There are deacons and elders running amok, helping in times of crisis,” Shanks said. “It’s quite beautiful. That’s what we do. That is the connection a work. It’s good to be a part of it.”
Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. Koenig is publications editor for the Missouri Conference. Contact them at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
