Wine to Water: Water for All

Week of Compassion now has a resource page for congregations interested in holding a “Wine to Water” fundraiser for water projects in regions such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Projects for funding, stories from Wine to Water events, and contact information is available here.

“Nine Thousand Nights: Refugees from Burma, A Peoples’ Scrapbook”
 
In remote “bamboo cities” ringed by deep forests and high mountains on the western edge of Thailand, refugees from Burma have lived their lives in refugee camps for more than 25 years – nine thousand nights. In this new book, the refugees and others share personal memories of their inspiring and extraordinary times. The book includes photos and information from Jennifer Riggs, Director of Refugee and Immigration Ministries (RIM), who was part of a Church World Service delegation to the Thai/Burma border in 1992. RIM is a program of Disciples Home Missions funded by your Week of Compassion offerings.
 
Learn more   

Giving in Pakistan

After the Haiti earthquake, about 3.1 million Americans using mobile phones donated $10 each to the Red Cross, raising about $31 million. A similar campaign to raise contributions for Pakistan produced only about $10,000. The amount of funding donated per person affected by the 2004 tsunami was $1249.80, and for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, $1087.33. Even for the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, funding per affected person was $388.33. Thus far, for those affected by the 2010 floods, it is $16.36 per person.

Read More Here

A Nashvillian Reflects on Preparing for Disaster:

Read On

If God is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise

Four years ago Spike Lee took his cameras to New Orleans to document the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as told by the people still dealing with its calamitous effects. The film Mr. Lee returned with was “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.” As the fifth anniversary of Katrina approached, Mr. Lee went back to New Orleans this year, hoping to tell the story of that city’s recovery and rejuvenation. 

Instead, his new documentary, “If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise,” ended up with a tone that is largely and eerily similar to its predecessor. For an interview with Lee, click here.

This Week’s Responses
 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

Arkansas, house fire
Iowa (2), flood relief
DR Congo, wildfires
Zimbabwe, medical needs

“Your way was through the sea,
 your path, through the mighty waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
 You led your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron”
  --Psalm 77:19-20

It has been a weekend of remembrance. Five years ago, Hurricanes Katrina, soon followed by Rita and Ike, swept into the Gulf Coast, altering how we look at that region, our country, and ourselves.

More than that, it changed how we look at ourselves as a Church. Through the Disciples Hurricane Recovery Initiative (DHRI), a partnership among Week of Compassion, Disciples Home Missions/Disciples Volunteering, the Great River Region, the Southwest Region, and so many of you who donated your time, skills, and resources, we were able to respond in a way that was unprecedented in the life of our church.

Since the DHRI began, more than 11,000 volunteers have made their way to the Gulf Coast to help with recovery and rebuilding, contributing more than 437,000 hours of labor and building the equivalent of at least 175 homes. Countless lives have been changed.

In Psalm 77, the writer recounts the escape from Egypt, and imagines the Israelites crossing the Sea of Reeds. In the ancient world, water was often associated with chaos, something that those of us who have seen the destruction brought on by a hurricane, whether personally or via a media report, can surely relate to. But the Psalmist remembers that it is God—the liberator, the protector, the parent of humanity—who brings the freed slaves through the dangerous water, with the help of Moses and Aaron, the prophet and priest (other versions of this story, such as in Exodus, emphasize the prophetic leadership of Miriam, Moses’ sister, too).

It strikes us, on this anniversary of such devastation, that we are perhaps a church full of Miriams, Moseses, and Aarons. It has been God’s sacred work to lead the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Gulf Coast, to “trouble the water,” as is sung in the spiritual, but it has been the people of this church—all those who have given—who have been the prophetic and priestly partners in this work. 

It has been you who have worked to turn tragedy into a miracle . . .and this work continues! 

Disciples volunteers will be putting the finishing touches on the rebuild of Northwood Christian Church, Beaumont, TX, a church that, despite totally losing its sanctuary, has practiced a powerful ministry of hospitality for groups wanting to aid in recovery efforts. Disciples volunteers remain “the only game in town” in Lake Charles, LA, as First Christian Church continues to live out its ministry of relief and recovery.

We also remain committed to those who are facing the chaos of water across the country, and all over the world. So many of you have given to help the people whose lives have been affected by flooding in Pakistan. Likewise, neighborhoods in Nashville and communities around Des Moines, Iowa, are still struggling with serious flood damage. We are also in the middle of hurricane season, and are carefully watching Hurricane Earl to see what sort of threat it might bring. We urge you to continue partnering with us—whether it is through a designated gift to relief in Pakistan, or an undesignated gift that will help us respond nimbly and quickly should a hurricane touch shore.

Through your leadership, we continue to make a difference in communities affected by disasters. It is your hands that lead us, and for that, we are incredibly grateful. 

How much more can the people of Pakistan handle? I can practically hear them crying out, “How long, O Lord, how long?” The flooding in Pakistan has been absolutely devastating; beyond what anyone anticipated. The scope of the flooding, as illustrated by this online tool, is incredible, and the damage done by the rising waters will take years—if not decades—from which to recover. Our hearts ache for our sisters and brothers in Pakistan. 

As always, Week of Compassion is there—thanks to you. Your gifts are already at work in Pakistan, channeled through our ecumenical partner organizations, Church World Service and the member agencies of the ACT Alliance, doing all we can to respond to this overwhelming disaster. And we will continue to work non-stop to provide aid to those in need. Our colleagues in the CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan Office have produced this short video highlighting the needs in Pakistan so you might get a closer look at the situation on the ground:

Click to watch the video below:

We invite you to continue to help us make a difference in the lives of the people of Pakistan. Please partner with us to make a difference. 100% of your designated gift to Pakistan flood relief will be immediately directed to relief efforts there.

Pakistan faces a desperate situation. Your partnership, your faith, your Courageous Compassion go a long way in helping the healing begin. Thank you so much for your support! 

While flooding continues to wreak havoc in Pakistan, the world has been slow to understand how vast the needs emerging from this crisis are, much less respond.

While the international community has so far committed close to US$229.5 million in support and another US$142 million in additional pledges, those pledge amounts alone are insufficient to cover even the initial three-month relief needs outlined by the United Nations, says Donna Derr, Director of Humanitarian Assistance for Church World Service.

“Thankfully the flood’s death toll has remained relatively low, but disasters can’t be measured by just the number of dead,” says Derr. “Effective humanitarian response must be measured against the number of people affected, just struggling to survive.”

The initial UN plan calls for US$460 million. The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum, which Week of Compassion supports through our partnership with CWS, calls on government and private sources to dramatically increase funding in order to save lives.

Pakistan’s already weak social services may crumble without adequate and immediate help now. Millions of Pakistanis risk sinking deeper into chronic poverty for the next generation, compromising human rights and basic needs.

Week of Compassion partners are on the ground in Pakistan, providing food, shelter, and health care to affected areas. There is still much to be done. The severity of the flooding in Pakistan cannot be underscored enough: This is as big a humanitarian crisis as the 2004 Tsunami—if not bigger. If you would like to help, please continue to keep the people of Pakistan in your prayers and consider contributing to the response.

Flash Flooding in Iowa and Tennessee

Closer to home, communities across Iowa and Tennessee have been affected by flash flooding. Through Week of Compassion, you have helped us to respond to the needs of families in Disciples congregations in Des Moines, Ames, and Colfax, Iowa. We are continuing to monitor the situation in Middle Tennessee, and will respond as we hear of needs.

We are grateful, as always, for your willingness to help out people whose names you will likely never know. Your partnership with our churches in the Midwest and villages in remote areas of Pakistan proves what it means to reach out with Courageous Compassion.

Thanks be to God!

This Week's Responses

Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

Iowa (4), flood relief
India, flood relief

Katrina: Five Years Later

Five years after Hurricane Katrina broke the levees and New Orleans was flooded, the city's health is much improved. But like many patients still in recovery, New Orleans has its good days and its bad days.

For more of this story, click here.

Disciples' Efforts in the Gulf

Check out the work being done by Disciples Volunteering and Westside Mission Station.

Bread For the World Sunday

This fall, thousands of churches and faith communities will renew their commitment to end hunger by celebrating Bread for the World Sunday. Encourage your church to take part on October 17 or another Sunday in the fall.

Bread for the World resources are available here.

Ramadan Begins in Flood-Stricken Pakistan

Pakistani flood survivors already short on food and water have begun the fasting month of Ramadan, a normally festive, social time marked this year by misery and an uncertain future.

For more, click here.