Disaster Recovery / UMVIM

The new Eastern PA Conference’s Disaster Response Leadership Team:

(From left) The Rev. Nick Camacho, who heads the Helping Puerto Rico Rise Again campaign; Robert Simcox, new Disaster Response Coordinator; the Rev. Russell Atkinson, new Volunteers in Mission Coordinator and Ben Botti, Disaster Response Leadership Team Advisor.

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Not if, but when.

A crisis can happen anytime, anywhere. Planning before, response during and recovery after crises are all critical stages to lessen the severity and longevity of the damage that may occur–that is, structural, physical and emotional damages.

The Eastern PA Conference has key persons and protocols that victims of crises–especially disasters–can call upon for timely, sensitive, experienced assistance. We have a conference Disaster Response Team and District Coordinators ready to help, along with District Superintendents and the Communications Office. All church leaders should learn about disaster response news, information, responders and resources, as well as steps to prepare and response to disasters.

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2 Disaster Response volunteer training events, March 16

Volunteers in Mission and Early Response Teams
(2 simultaneous training events)

Explore the world, near and far, through the ministries of Volunteers in Mission and Early Response Teams. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do . . . through you! You could travel a few miles from home or halfway around the world to share God’s love.

Work alongside close friends or new friends from far-off lands. The Eastern PA Conference’s Disaster Response Ministry Team will sponsor two simultaneous training events for UM Volunteers in Ministry (UMVIM) on Saturday, March 16, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, at St. Paul’s UMC, Elizabethtown (398 N. Locust Street, Elizabethtown, PA. (717) 367-1889).

One training will be for people wanting to explore participation in general UMVIM teams. The other will be for people wanting to serve on Early Response Teams (ERT), whose mission is to provide skilled support to disaster survivors as soon as communities allow response teams into disaster-impacted areas.

Each training costs $45 per person, which provides the book Mission Journey, a light breakfast, and lunch. UMVIM participants will also get the updated VIM Team Leader Resource Toolkit. Learn more.

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ERT (Early Response Team) Training, March 30

ERT-only training event open to all, at Asbury UMC in Allentown, North District

The Eastern PA Conference Disaster Response ministry team will sponsor in partnership with Asbury UMC an ERT training event . The event is scheduled for March 30, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, at Allentown: Asbury UMC 1533 Springhouse Rd. Allentown, PA 18104.

Early Response Team (ERT), whose mission is to provide skilled support to disaster survivors as soon as communities allow response teams into disaster-impacted areas.

• • • Robert Simcox, the conference’s  Disaster Response Coordinator, will lead the ERT training.
  • contact: drc@epaumc.org or 610-427-0470.

The  training costs $45 per person, which also provides the book Mission Journey (UMVIM participants will also get the updated VIM Team Leader Resource Toolkit) a light breakfast, and lunch. Learn more… 

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UMVIM recommends no travel to Haiti for now

Many UM Volunteers in Mission have journeyed to Haiti over the years and especially since the earthquake in 2010. Anyone with current plans to go there now should heed the UMVIM agency’s warning.

Due to ongoing anti-corruption protests in Haiti, UMVIM recommends that teams postpone travel to Haiti. Officials are in contact with Global Ministries, the Methodist Guest House in Petionville, and various local partners around the country.
The Methodist Guest House is still receiving teams and has not yet had any trouble picking them up at the airport or keeping them safe at the Guest House, though they acknowledge that the situation could change abruptly.

The U.S. State Department issued an evacuation order this week for children of U.S. embassy personnel and authorized a voluntary evacuation for non-essential personnel.  Several VIM teams have cancelled trips to Haiti after conversing with their hosts, particularly in the area of Jeremie.  Several other project leaders report that they are in lockdown mode.

Teams who choose to travel should know that travel medical insurance purchased through UMVIM is still effective unless the State Department raises the travel advisory from its current Level 3: Reconsider Travel to a Level 4: Do Not Travel.

Since conditions can change rapidly, updates will be posted weekly on NEJ-UMVIM’s Facebook page.  Any teams planning travel to Haiti should be registered with the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (step.state.gov) so they can receive updates and travel warnings.

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Contact

Robert Simcox
Eastern PA Conference Disaster Ministry Coordinator
drc@epaumc.org
(610) 427-0470

Rev. Russell Atkinson
Volunteers in Mission Coordinator
ratkinson@epaumc.org
(610) 675 – 7187

Rev. Nick Camacho
EPA Conference Project Coordinator for Puerto Rico Recovery
nick@westlawnumc.org
484-769-5173

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Special Appeal: Puerto Rico

Volunteers are urgently needed to help the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico as they recover from the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.  Registrations are now being taken for Early Response Teams (ERT) and Long-Term Recovery (LTR) Teams.  ERTs should be in contact with their Conference Disaster Response Coordinator first.

Interested teams are encouraged to visit this link to express their interest in serving: Intent to Serve in Puerto Rico

Additionally, UMCOR will be updating the following webpage with information as it becomes available: www.umcor.org/UMCOR/puerto-rico-volunteers

• UMCOR Shares Process for Applying to Volunteer in Puerto Rico

Support Disaster Response Ministry

The Advance Special Project Number for people wishing to donate to support the Eastern PA Conference’s general disaster response work is: #0345. But use #0345PR to support the Helping Puerto Rico Rise Again campaign, which aids the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico’s efforts to recover from devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017.  Thank you for supporting this vital ministry work.

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More flood damage prompts appeal for help in North District

Disaster struck again in Tremont and surrounding towns in Schuylkill County this week. Rainstorms produced flooding in communities throughout our region that some say is worse than the deluge caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

Bishop Peggy Johnson is asking for Eastern PA Conference churches to respond with monetary donations and volunteers to assist in disaster recovery efforts. Donations to the conference’s Disaster Recovery Advance Special Fund (Project #0345) can be addressed and sent to the Conference Treasurer’s Office (Eastern PA Conference UMC, P.O. Box 820, Valley Forge, PA 19482.) Learn more.

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Conference, churches rally to recover from recent floods

Donations, volunteers needed for disaster response

“The Eastern PA Conference is operating in full disaster response phase,” said Disaster Response Coordinator Robert Simcox this week. “We are supporting the Schuylkill County area in flood relief.”

The problem is, he added, experienced, volunteer work teams and individuals are direly needed to help clear damaged, molded items out of flooded homes and perform related tasks, as county residents struggle to recover physically and emotionally from a recent double-drenching of relentless rain storms. Read more…

Also, read the Rev. Jenny Freymoyer’s journal account of what she witnessed and felt during her visits to North District disaster sites last week: Churches, communities of hope ‘make room for a new future’.

Eastern PA Conference Disaster Recovery Updates:

• UMCOR released 1,200 cleaning kits (formerly called “flood buckets”) to the conference from UMCOR’s Sager Brown (Baldwin, La.) and Mission Central (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) supply depots. The kits were delivered to a Red Cross depot at Norristown State Hospital and a high school in Susquehanna County.
• Families relocated from Puerto Rico to the Philadelphia and Reading areas “are sleeping better on beds we delivered to them recently,” according to Eastern PA Conference Disaster Recovery Coordinator Robert Simcox. The beds were purchased through a $10,000 emergency grant from UMCOR to support the unmet needs of evacuees from Puerto Rico.

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Crisis Preparation and Response Plan for EPAUMC churches

• What is a crisis? – A crisis can be an event or emergency associated in some way with the Church but beyond its control, wherein there is potential for damage to individuals or to the image of the Church and its ability to be in ministry and which we might expect to become public. Read more.

Church Preparation for Hurricanes

• All trained ERT members are asked to be on standby for activation within our conference.
• Inform congregation members to prepare a disaster kit.
• Set up system to check on homebound members, elderly or those with chronic illnesses in your congregation.
• Read more…

Preparedness Resources for Houses of Worship

• Includes: Emergency Operations planning resources, Active Shooter preparedness resources, free online independent study courses for everyone, and more. Continue

Churches Dealing with Disaster

• Be a part of relief efforts: Donate to UMCOR Disaster Response.
• Follow UMNS disaster coverage or the UMNS page on Facebook.
• Learn from the stories of United Methodists congregations that have faced disasters

Disaster Response News & Information