It was bright and sunny on Holly Road, which leads into Paradise Village, a trailer park in Albany, Georgia. But the damage caused by tornadoes has left the trailer park dark and filled with grief. Families and friends came to search through the debris, hoping to find those who were missing or their personal belongings. The community was once filled with life, but then people were displaced throughout South Georgia
South and Central Georgia have been affected by three storms in four months: Hurricane Matthew in October and the January 2 and 22 tornados.
"This community has been affected twice in less than a month," Morales said. "They have not had a chance to finish cleaning up and recovering from the first tornado. And this one [January 22 tornado] was three times worse."
The night of January 22, when the most recent tornado struck, some residents of Paradise Village found temporary refuge at El Faro United Methodist Church in Albany. However, the next morning, El Faro lost its power, and Pastor Haroldo Vicente, lay leader pastoring El Faro, sought assistance from the Rev. Thad Haygood of Albany First United Methodist Church. Albany First UMC became a temporary shelter during the power outage. Once a generator was found and connected, the families were able to shelter back at El Faro UMC more comfortably.
Cathy Earl, director of disaster response and U.S. partner relations of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) along with others gathered to assess the disaster and planned the response.
Noting this is her first experience dealing with a large-scale disaster, Allison Lindsey, disaster relief representative from the South Georgia conference, sees the strength in the church's community outreach. "The strength is in the local church," she said. "It is in the United Methodist members, the laity and the clergy in our local churches, who come together to be the hands and the feet of Christ."
There are groups of churches coming together in neighboring Georgia districts and from other conferences, reaching out in different ways, she added.
"The South Georgia Conference invited UMCOR to partner with it in disaster response and recovery ministries… and the local churches and communities have already begun to help many take their next steps toward recovery," Earl said.
Bishop R. Lawson Bryan of the South Georgia Conference is grateful for the help UMCOR provides in assessing the disaster in Albany and sees hope in the human resources – "getting people together" – responding in this time of need.
Joy K. Kitanga Program Area Liaison-Communications
One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, UMCOR Sunday calls United Methodists to share the goodness of life with those who hurt. Your gifts to UMCOR Sunday lay the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God's love with communities everywhere. The special offering underwrites UMCOR's "costs of doing business." This helps UMCOR to keep the promise that 100 percent of any gift to a specific UMCOR project will go toward that project, not administrative costs.
When you give generously on UMCOR Sunday, you make a difference in the lives of people who hurt. Give now.
