The Latest From Week of Compassion on Hurricane Ike

Response to Ike's Devastation Begins

Millions of people from the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast all the way up to Ohio and Indiana remain without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Communities in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana are facing the kind of devastation that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left behind just 3 years ago. More than 50 deaths have been blamed on the storm, tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and property damages have already exceeded $10 billion.

Week of Compassion continues to gather resources to respond to needs within impacted Disciples congregations and to support wider community relief and recovery efforts. WOC is working closely with the Coastal Plains Area office of the Christian Church in the Southwest to contact local pastors and congregations, but communications and travel in the Area remain a challenge. Here is a very preliminary report to date:

Beaumont, First: Downed trees, damage to Meditation Walk, members' homes damaged

Freeport: Damage to the roof, minister's home, members' homes; extent currently unknown

Galveston, Central: Some water damage, but still standing! Members are scattered and information is still being gathered; some are still in Galveston.

El Redentor and Renovada Sion: Playground destroyed, some roof damage and water entry. Members' homes mild to moderate damage

Houston, First: Flooding in education Wing and sanctuary

FCC, Katy: Relatively minor damage to the church; roof & water entry. Members' homes similarly affected

Iglesia Cristiana Shekinah (housed in FCC Katy): Members' homes minor damage

Houston, Memorial Drive: Trees and debris, some water. At least one member's home seriously damaged by multiple trees falling into the house

FCC, Pasadena: Church and members have mild to moderate water and roof damage

Port Arthur, First: Moderate damage to the church. Associate Pastor Scott Miller reports that those who got new roofs after Rita kept theirs and those who had not will now need new roofs.

FCC, Orange: Several feet of water in the church; at least four members with significant damage

Taylor Lake CC: By some miracle, they have no water in their buildings, but some of their members have serious damage.

FCC, Texas City: Education wing roof peeled off, additional damage caused by water entry. Members with similar damage.

The Woodlands: Trees down all over The Woodlands, so some members' homes will have sustained damage

Lake Charles, LA, First: Church facilities ok, but perhaps as many as 50% of the members have water damage to their homes.

Week of Compassion is also supporting a major Church World Service appeal that is covering not only Ike but also Hurricanes Dolly, Fay and Gustav. CWS has dispatched Emergency Response Specialists to Louisiana and Texas to work with local partners to distribute kits, blankets and other material aid and to assist the coordination of local faith-based, community relief and recovery efforts. CWS has a second and similar appeal to support relief and recovery efforts in the hurricane-stricken Caribbean. Texas Disciple and CWS staffer, Don Tatlock, is coordinating the delivery of relief aid to partners in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

Urgent Need for Donations

Your help is needed. Prayers of solidarity and concern for hurricane survivors are important, especially as so much of the news is dominated by news from Wall Street and the election trail. Designated gifts to WOC are needed and can be made online by clicking on the link below or sent to WOC, attn: Elaine Cleveland, P.O. Box 1986, Indpls, IN 46206. Church World Service has issued an urgent appeal for kits, especially hygiene and baby kits, clean-up buckets and blankets. Volunteer work groups are needed. The Disciples Mission Station at First CC, Lake Charles, LA, is ready to receive groups. Office of Disciples Volunteering Director Carl Zerweck will be in the area next week to assess our mission station at Pt. Arthur/Beaumont and to look at possibilities for a new station(s) in the Houston area. ODV has information and is scheduling groups for trips now for another November Habitat Build in Beaumont and for Phase II of the Disciples Hurricane Recovery Initiative through December 31, 2009.

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