Respond to the Drought and Famine in East Africa – Donate Here

Responding to Disasters

Expectations and Guidelines for Regions and Week of Compassion

What Regions Might Expect of Week of Compassion:

  • Prompt response from WoC with funds to meet immediate emergency needs of Disciples congregations and of households and communities where Disciples congregations are located.
  • Alert whole church’s attention to the disaster, especially when human need is widespread and/or the Disciples community is significantly affected.
  • Make frequent and regular contact with regional/area offices to stay abreast of disaster situation and developments.
  • Provide resources that ensure Disciples will be a major partner in regional and local ecumenical efforts.
  • Offer concrete expressions of concern and solidarity to congregations and pastors through letters, calls and personal visits.
  • Provide resources for long-term recovery needs in congregations, for the ecumenical effort and for care of pastors.
  • Through Disciples Volunteering of DHM, help facilitate Disciples volunteers in congregational and ecumenical clean-up, relief and recovery projects and work with DV/regions in establishing Disciples “mission stations” when and where needed. 

What Week of Compassion Might Expect of Regions:

  • Assist WoC in channeling emergency funds quickly and responsibly to local congregations and partner organizations to meet basic emergency needs.
  • If disaster is widespread and several Disciples congregations impacted, call together small task force to assess long-term needs and ecumenical commitments, request WoC funds, allocate resources, and coordinate Disciples relief and recovery efforts.
  • Provide WoC with periodic updates of overall situation, needs, concerns, recovery progress, etc.
  • Request from WoC the funds to ensure strong Disciples participation in regional and local ecumenical relief and rehabilitation programs.
  • Provide a periodic accounting of all funds received from WoC and spent by the region (monetary and/or narrative form). When disaster relief, recovery and rehabilitation effort is over, make complete and final accounting and return any unappropriated WoC funds being held by the region to Week of Compassion.
  • Encourage financial response to go through WoC by directing and forwarding all WoC (undesignated and designated) contributions to OGMP Treasury Services on a timely basis.