Kansas Mission Station Established

Thursday, May 24, A.D. 2007

Utilizing the model Disciples so successfully developed across the Gulf South in response to the 2005 hurricane season, the Office of Disciples Volunteering (ODV) in Disciples Home Missions and Week of Compassion (WOC) have joined to establish a "mission station" in the aftermath of the Greensburg tornado and other weather-related disasters in Kansas. The station is being established in partnership with the Christian Church in Kansas, First Christian Church of Pratt, KS, and First Christian Church of Kinsley, KS. ODV Director Carl Zerweck is working with Church World Service disaster staff and local responders to facilitate a coordinated Disciples response to current debris removal and long-term recovery following the severe weather system that swept across the Sunflower State two weeks ago. Indeed, First CC, Lyons, KS, has an urgent need for volunteers over the next few weeks to help with repairs at its flood-damaged Camp WaJaTo. Please call Tod Iseminger at 317.713.2649 for more information and scheduling.

Designated gifts are needed to support ongoing tornado recovery work and can be made online or sent to WOC, attn: Elaine Cleveland, PO Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206.

DHRI Halfway Point Surpassed

And speaking of mission stations, more than 420 Disciples groups have either gone, or are scheduled to go, to the Gulf South to participate in recovery and rebuilding efforts in response to the two-year Disciples Hurricane Recovery Initiative (DHRI) that began September 1, 2006 and ends August 31, 2008. With a goal of sending at least 750 groups, we are now well over halfway there. In addition to mission stations in Gulfport, MS; Slidell/Covington/Metairie, LA; Algiers, LA; Lake Charles, LA; and Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX, a station is now opening at Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries in Los Fresnos, TX. SWGSM has developed “Las Casitas Proyecto” (Little Houses project) to build small but durable homes for impoverished families who lost their homes during Hurricane Emily. While most of the weeks at our other stations are filled for the summer of '07, a number of weeks at SWGSM are still open. And there are plenty of open dates throughout the fall of '07 and through the summer of '08. The Office of Disciples Volunteering has details.

With meteorologists calling for an active 2007 hurricane season, Disciples are well placed to respond along the Gulf Coast, but have also begun preliminary plans for a more coordinated response along the Atlantic Coast.

Church Responds to Ongoing Needs in Solomon Islands

In early April, a series of earthquakes and an ensuing tsunami struck the western part of the Pacific Solomon Islands. More than 11,000 people were affected and nearly 1000 homes were destroyed. Working with its local partner, Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA), Action by Churches Together (ACT) provided emergency food and non-food relief items in the days immediately following the disaster. ACT has now issued an appeal to its members to support long-term recovery through SICA and the World Council of Churches Office in the Pacific (WCCOP), as the National Management Disaster Office has asked SICA to take the lead for much needed trauma counseling. SICA has member churches that cover more than 90% of the population and will be able to reach communities in every village on every island. On behalf of the Disciples, Week of Compassion has provided an emergency grant to support the ACT appeal.

WOC Map/Poster

Click here for the latest additions to the WOC interactive map/poster. For a complimentary copy of the WOC map/poster for your congregation, call the office at 317.713.2442 or send an e-mail to ecleveland@woc.disciples.org.