STORIES
Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh // photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
Special Offering 2026 : A NEW WAY Hello Disciples! Week of Compassion is in our Special Offering season and we want to say THANK YOU. Your gifts continue to serve the most vulnerable people across the world. Every day, we witness the growing impacts of climate-driven disasters across the United States and Canada. We see our neighbors navigating escalations in immigration enforcement and increased restrictions to refugee protections. We watch international conflicts disrupt national and community life. The needs are deep, the impacts are lasting, and in many places recovery will take years – often unfolding in ways we cannot yet imagine. And still, you show up.  We are grateful for each one of you – for choosing to walk A NEW WAY with us and with our partners. A way grounded in God’s goodness and mercy. A way that understands compassion is not a quick response, but a long commitment. A way that recognizes we are not called to walk alone, but together. Week of Compassion looks first to local leaders and communities, knowing that resilience and strength cannot be delivered from the outside. They rise from deep wells of courage, wisdom, and hope already present within communities themselves. As we pursue A NEW WAY, we are continually inspired by our ecumenical partners, our Disciples colleagues, and the whole Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In the face of disaster, illness, war, violence, poverty and devastation of every kind, it is compassion – shared in community – that restores us and transforms suffering into hope. Week of Compassion serves on behalf of the whole Disciples church, responding to the challenges of each day with the confident hope that the Body of Christ remains steadfast, serving the world together. A gift to Week of Compassion means life-saving disaster response and long-term recovery. It means equipping churches and leaders to accompany immigrant neighbors and nurture hope and opportunity for refugees. It means supporting global development efforts that empower individuals and families and sustain dignity and possibility for the long journey ahead. Thank you, Disciples, for continually seeking A NEW WAY. Thank you for your faithfulness, your generosity, and your witness to the love of Jesus Christ. We are deeply grateful for you – and for the compassion and hope you make possible in the world. As we serve together, may the peace of Christ surround you, now and always. With gratitude,
 How Lahaina is Rewriting the Rules of Recovery Even before the ashes cooled from the 2023 wildfires on the island of Maui, the people ofLahaina began charting a path to keep their people home – and fight the displacementthat has become almost inevitable after disasters around the globe. We have all heard thestories from post-disaster communities across the continent – where despite billionsof dollars that often pour into communities through federal assistance programs,numerous studies from across the continental U.S. have shown that natural disasters widen wealth inequality and drive displacement years into their aftermath. Take New Orleans, for example, where research found that neighborhoods damaged by Hurricane Katrina were more likely to gentrify, an estimated 100,000 Black community members were displaced and never returned, and vacation rentals exploded in newly rebuilt neighborhoods – in part subsidized by billions in government and philanthropic dollars. For too long, there have been little to no long-term protections tied with the funding meant to make communities whole. But in Lahaina, something different is taking root. In partnership with local and national disaster recovery organizations, the Lahaina Community Land Trust is creating a new model for disaster recovery – where the investments made in communities today will continue to benefit generations of ‘ohana into the future. In the spring of 2025, LCLT partnered with Ho'ōla iā Mauiakama Long Term Recovery Group (Maui’s long term recovery group), local nonprofit mortgage lender Hawai‘i Community Lending, and Habitat for Humanity to create a powerful partnership to rebuild Lahaina ‘ohana’s homes by filling the financial gaps left between insurance payouts and actual rising construction costs.  Homes built through this partnership with disaster recovery dollars will be permanently shielded from investor purchase, ensuring that today's relief becomes tomorrow's security. In practice, this means that any homeowner receiving over $100,000 in assistance will agree that the home must only ever be resold to local families, at prices within financial reach – a promise that will be stewarded by LCLT in perpetuity. Week of Compassion grant funds supported essential program operations to manage this complex, multi-partner collaboration. The operational support enabled LCLT’s small but dedicated team to maintain consistent program delivery during a critical period when families were making time-sensitive decisions about their futures, and to develop ongoing land stewardship systems.  Through LCLT’s innovative use of the Community Land Trust model, participating homeowners maintain full ownership while committing to affordable resale terms – creating a permanent legacy of housing security in Lahaina. This collaboration represents more than rebuilding homes – it's rewriting the rules of disaster recovery itself. By embedding permanent affordability protections into disaster recovery programs, Lahaina is creating a replicable model for communities across the world, proving that disaster relief and long-term housing security aren't separate goals but must be intertwined to ensure community healing. Your generosity to Week of Compassion makes A NEW WAY possible. "This partnership is truly a testament to the strength of the Lahaina community and to our collective dedication to keep families home," said Autumn Ness, Executive Director of LCLT. "There are far too many cautionary tales of displacement that have unfolded in so many other communities after disasters, but by embracing creative solutions and working together, we can keep our people home in Lahaina today and build housing security for generations to come." Our thanks to the Lahaina Community Land Trust for contributing to this story
and sharing photos as part of their Week of Compassion long-term recovery grant report. Comments are closed.
|
