UMCOR is an Invaluable Partner in Our Annual Conference

“We see our neighbors and we are working together to help!"

 
Sunday, March 10, is UMCOR Sunday across our denomination! Gifts given on UMCOR Sunday underwrite UMCOR’s administrative costs, allowing 100% of gifts to go toward their designated programs like U.S. disaster response, international disaster response, and humanitarian aid.

This year we are especially grateful for our United Methodist Committee on Relief!

Thanks to our partnership with UMCOR, the North Georgia Conference is able to assist neighbors in need who are recovering from the 2023 tornado in the West Point and Griffin areas. 

No community response happens alone, and through relationship with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, local county EMA, and long-term recovery groups, including the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and Catholic Charities, we are aware of many outstanding unmet needs of the elderly, underinsured, or uninsured homeowners who do not have sufficient funds or skills to repair their storm damage.

With funds from a generous UMCOR grant primarily for staffing as well as grants from the ELCA, Catholic Charities, and the Callaway Foundation for project materials, the North Georgia Conference has assembled a team of trained, skilled staff, who, with the assistance of church and community work teams, are able to assist homeowners who fit the criteria of our grant.

Thanks to these partnerships we expect to complete 50 projects by December 2024!

Meet the Disaster Recovery Staff

The disaster recovery staff are our key leaders at the community level with the homeowners.

"Our disaster case managers, construction coordinators, and volunteer coordinator engage this very difficult ministry that offers many challenges, yet they embrace the needs and network to create opportunities for rebuilding homes and lives," explained Rev. Scott Parrish, our Conference Disaster Response Coordinator and long-term recovery coordinator. "The small, called, gifted recovery staff who are giving 18 months of their lives to this grant funded role are what make this community ministry effective."

They are:
Jessika Reed
Disaster Case Manager
West Point

Katie Johnson
Disaster Case Manager
Griffin

Craig O'Hara
Construction Coordinator
Griffin

Stephen Redmond
Volunteer Coordinator
South West District

Scott Parrish
Recovery Coordinator
South West District

The Disaster Recovery Staff in Action

Many know Dr. Stephen Redmond from his work as our Disasater Response Warehouse Coordinator, but he has taken on the additional role Disaster Recovery Volunteer Coordinator for the South West District, which includes West Point area and Griffin area recovery sites.

"In some compacity, I've been serving with UMCOR since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and I continue to enjoy sharing UMCOR's story with current volunteers and potential volunteers alike," shared Stephen. "Disaster relief (Disaster Response Warehouse) and disaster recovery are both areas we seek to provide survivors with hope and healing during periods of suffering."

Offering hope has been a gift of this work for Jessika Reed, our Disaster Case Manager in West Point.

"The most meaningful part of this experience has been working with the families and hearing their stories of tragedy to triumph," shared Jessika. "The tornados have devastated their lives and a year later they're still trying to pick up the pieces. Some have lost nearly everything, have suffered injuries as a result from the tornados, and some are still suffering. They are in need of our help. I feel extremely honored and blessed to be involved in positive change in helping these survivors piece their lives back together."

Rev. Scott Parrish is our Conference Disaster Response Coordinator and his work has disaster response role has shifted beyond relief to include our recovery effort here in North Georgia. 

"As I've experienced these winter 2023 tornadoes from ERT (Early Response Team deployment) through early recovery, and now into long term recovery, I've been supported throughout this experience by our United Methodist connection," said Scott. "I'm always amazed and heartened by the churches and individuals who are part of the coordinated faith in action response. These ERT & Long Term Recovery workers are amazing as they show up time and time again as they put faith into action, and do the most good helping folk rebuild their lives after the worst day of their lives.

“UMCOR and the Conference-Disaster Response Coordinators have been incredible guides, coaches, and cheerleaders as we've created our North Georgia recovery team," he continued. "When we realized no other organization was going to assist in long term recovery in west Georgia across these counties we were able to create our own lean, survivor recovery organization thanks to the support of UMCOR." 

How to Help

First, please give generously this UMCOR Sunday. You can make a gift through any United Methodist church by designating your donation for "UMCOR Sunday" and Fund Number #1010. 

Next, we are in need of your continued support in North Georgia. Please consider volunteering or sending a team! We have a variety of volunteer opportunities for the current South West District recovery efforts. Individuals or churches may register at https://www.ngumc.org/longtermrecovery. We also need every church to have 1 or 2 people trained as ERT so your congregation will be part of the active disaster response network in North Georgia.   

"I often remind that UMCOR is YOU," said Scott. "There is no trained army of hired staff who'll show up at a disaster and fix everything. Instead, this community disaster relief and recovery ministry is all of us giving our prayers, our funding, and our abilities, on behalf of disaster survivors and a devastated community. So, we need every church, and every church member, banding together in this community action. We've seen many times that churches engaged in disaster relief and recovery ministries are better prepared when the terrible storm comes to your own neighborhood, for example, the Newnan tornado March 2021." 

One of the greatest challenges in long term recovery is that a year after a disaster almost everyone has moved on, and the most vulnerable of a community are largely forgotten.

"In our recovery efforts today, we're typically assisting underinsured and uninsured elderly homeowners," Scott continued. "Often they continue to live in their severely tornado damaged home despite the practical challenges and health problems still living with blue tarps, with every rain or storm since the tornado causing more misery, and with hopeless resignation that no one hears your prayers nor sees your need. We see our neighbors, and we are working together to help!"

Find information and volunteer at www.ngumc.org/longtermrecovery.