HURRICANE KATRINA RESPONSE September 20, 2005 Tommy Deal

D.A.R.T. page

The response from churches and individuals who wish to impact our nation during this difficult time is astonishing. Thousands of lives have been uprooted, torn apart and forever changed. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is not a disaster response agency, but, in this time of national disaster, the Fellowship is attempting to give guidance, leadership and resources. The Fellowship’s focus is to assist the local church in its task, not to dictate what should be done.

What has been attempted in the first three weeks after Katrina’s rampage has been to establish centers of operation and sites where CBF can partner with other churches and faith-based groups to meet needs. This has been slow in coming because the number of CBF churches in these affected areas is few, and the personnel to do so are all volunteers. Also, communication systems were completely shut down through the first two weeks after the storm.

In each location the needs differ. In the next few weeks, perhaps days, more definitive plans will be in place. When they are, the need for volunteers will be communicated to State Coordinators. These Coordinators and/or their designee will work with the CBF Dallas Resource Center which is accepting requests for volunteers and from those who wish to help. They will match the needs and the skill set, if any, and dates with the groups. Volunteers will then be contacted about specific locations, needs, dates and information and assignments. If you wish to volunteer, contact Timothy Wood at 1-800-782-2451, or email him, twood@thefellowship.info. There are forms to be filled out and returned and secondary insurance to secure. (This is a small amount, 75 cents a day, and no one should refrain from going due to the cost.)

In Hattiesburg, Mississippi where I served, most of the needs have been met. Our operation there will close at the end of this week (9/24/05). But the needs for help south of there to the coast are still great. CBF now has teams working at setting up operation centers in Slidell, Louisiana and the Gulfport, Mississippi areas. Many, many volunteers will be needed in the weeks and months to come.

A word of caution: too many times well-meaning folks sense a need; their hearts go out and feel compelled to help. Please, please hear this from one who has spent the better part of eighteen days at the other end, do not attempt to mobilize materials or volunteers that do not match an identified need. Emergency response officials routinely rank unsolicited and uncoordinated donations as one of the major obstacles to conducting emergency response and recovery operations.

Do not dispatch a shipment of goods without knowing first where they will go, how they will be used and distributed and if the center can handle the unloading and distribution. Only collect and send items needed. AND, please DO NOT SEND CLOTHES (unless specifically asked to!) Last year, Governor Jeb Bush responding to the generosity of the nation during Hurricane Season 2005 said, “the last thing Floridians need is your old sweater or coat.” Most agencies are not prepared for the magnanimous task of sorting and distributing clothes.

And then, there is Rita! As if we haven’t had enough, another hurricane is crossing the Keys of Florida and going in to the Gulf of Mexico. Where ever she goes will need helpers to come and be the presence of Christ.

The Moderator for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Rev. Joy Yee, has written a reflection and word of encouragement to the us. It can be found on the Fellowship’s web page at http://www.thefellowship.info/documents/katrinamemo_yee.htm.

If you or you church have not been a part of the response yet, let me encourage you to prayerfully consider how you should. Please, do not feel “out of the loop” because you have not had a reply to your volunteering. That will come in the very near future as mentioned before. EVERY church has an opportunity to impact lives affected by Katrina right in their own community. Those displaced to your community need your love and care; they need you to help them re-establish in a new community; they need jobs, homes, schools, a church family.

God has given us many wonderful and grand opportunities to be His light in this darkened world. May we be found faithful!