Blog Archives
Message from Joplin
The last three weeks in Joplin have been a combination of overwhelming and amazing, a combination of horrible and wonderful. These have been weeks filled with high levels of anxiety but also great amounts of love and compassion.
As a lifelong Disciple I have always been proud of our little denomination, but in these last three weeks that has simply multiplied. Your prayers, your donations, your calls and emails, your trips to Joplin to lend a helping hand have reminded us of the significant family ties among those of us who call ourselves Disciples.
Over the coming months we will continue to work with the Area Office to keep you updated on the progress here in Joplin and the ways you can help. As we continue on this journey together and as you seek to find ways to reach out, let me share a few thoughts:
- We will always say yes to your love and kindness, but sometimes we will need to say no to the ways you are offering to show it. Please remember the difference.
- Things change nearly every day. What that means is that we ask your patience. For instance, if you are wanting to come volunteer next month we won’t be able to tell you what sorts of jobs are available until much closer to the time.
- Your prayers really do matter. When you pray for Joplin, you are doing something important. Never feel like prayer isn’t enough.
- Week of Compassion does wonderful work. Please remember this not only in crisis, but each year as we take routine offerings.
- We are overwhelmed, sometimes even by the kindness of the broader Church. What this means is that sometimes it takes a while to return calls or emails. Sometimes we simply forget. Again, remember your care is appreciated even when we forget to acknowledge it.
- The Area Office is a great resource and can answer many of your questions. Jeni has been wonderful and stays in close contact with us. Although we don’t want to inadvertently overwhelm her, do remember that she is available, too.
More information will be coming next week about the progress that’s being made here in Joplin as well as more ways you can reach out in care to those who were affected.
Meanwhile, Mary Lin (director of the Distribution Center at First Christian) let Jeni know today that we could use the following items: Bath towels, mops, cleaning supplies, glass cleaner, laundry detergent, laundry baskets, and Depends pads (not pull ups). We are overwhelmed with water and clothing, so please do not bring more of those items.
Thank you for being the body of Christ with us!
Rev. Jill Cameron Michel
South Joplin Christian Church
The Long Road of Disaster Recovery (part 3)
Recovering from a disaster does not happen overnight. It is not completed in a few days, weeks, or even months. Recovery takes time. It is hard to balance people’s immediate needs with their long term needs which will surface in the days and weeks and months ahead. It is likewise difficult to balance the passion with which people outside of an impact zone want to help (now!) with the fact that this help is generally more important many months from now. It is hard to ask people with needs and those who want to help to be patient, just as it is hard to hear this word. Yet we must find ways of pacing ourselves. Responders burn out quickly. Clergy burn out in communities hit by disaster is especially high; informal surveys place the number of clergy who leave their church following a disaster at more than 50% within the first three years. It typically takes 3 months for a community recovery effort to be fully implemented (consider recent flooding along the Mississippi River, which in some places will not even subside for more than a month). Then it is no less than 1 year – and for disasters of the magnitude of recent tornadoes, probably 2-3 years – for the recovery to conclude. It is never completed. This is a marathon, no way around it.
Disciples Volunteering represents the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in our programmatic response to disaster. We support the local recovery as it unfolds by matching resources to identified needs. Sometimes, that means structuring our own response through a congregational Mission Station. Other times, it means channeling resources through ecumenical partnerships. Our greatest resources are the congregationally based mission teams that answer the call to serve and our long term Servant Leadership Team. Other resources exist and as those offers of support are received we do our best to match them to identified needs.
As responses to recent disasters come together, from North Carolina to Washington and many places in between, Disciples Volunteering will extend the call to Get Dirty for Jesus and partner in the long mission of disaster recovery. Thank you for hanging in there with the people who are recovering from disaster. Disciples are only able to be present and bring hope, healing, and a hand because of the vision, patience, and compassion of individuals and congregations to serve in mission for as long as there is need.
Help Make Ministry Happen at Yakama Christian Mission
Serve the Body of Christ by sharing your time and skills with other caring people at Yakama Christian Mission in White Swan, Washington. This important project will run April 9-16. Help improve this great facility for mission and ministry during all or any part of that time. The focus is on remodeling the Parsonage and painting the Friendship House. Cost is $150/week or $25/day and includes all meals.
More information and a registration form are available at the Yakama Mission Blog. Or Contact Brenda Tyler (888-346-2631) for a registration form or David Bell (509-874-2824) with questions.
The Mission Continues in San Antonio
The first week of the Alternative Spring Break Project is now behind us, and it was a great one. The Mission Team from West Des Moines Christian Church, Iowa worked on installing showers and enclosing them in the basement of Mexican Christian Church. They also addressed a number of plumbing related needs at the church. Others in the group were busy on several projects at Inman Christian Center. They tore up part of a sinking floor in one office and built a new, secure, level floor in its place. Windows in both the office building and the upper floor of the education wing received a major face lift as cracked panes of glass were replaced, windows were reglazed and sealed. In some cases, new windows were framed in and installed in previously boarded up openings. Water damaged walls were repaired and repainted. A second floor space was removed entirely and a new roof constructed on top of the storage area below.
This week, mission teams from Timberlake Christian Church, Lynchburg, VA and Michigan State University are hard at work on Mexican Christian Church’s parsonage. I’m looking forward to some great pictures on their work. Right now, here are a few highlights from last week.
Thanks to Dwight and Bernie Elrod for sending the pictures!
Servant Ministry in San Antonio
Mexican Christian Church, San Antonio
Today marked the first work day for Disciples Volunteering’s Alternative Spring Break – and it went great! Disciples Volunteering has partnered with Inman Christian Center and Mexican Christian Church to offer this opportunity to serve. Over the next three weeks, Mission Teams from five congregations and two college campuses will come to San Antonio to help with needed rehab and improvements at these facilities. A Mission Team from West Des Moines Christian Church is in town this week, and they wasted no time getting right to work. (Follow their own photo updates at this link.) New showers were framed in and drywall was hung in the basement of Mexican Christian Church; vent fans were connected and are operational; and doors were hung. The work begun at Inman includes: the rebuilding of a sinking office floor; clearing crumbling plaster from office walls that have been unusable due to the disrepair; and beginning a major window rehab and restoration process.
While all of this work is great, the important story for today lies in the way that it is happening. The successes of this first day – and of the entire week – would not be possible without the leadership of a team of Long Term Volunteers. Disciples Volunteering has not been immune to the financial shortfalls that are impacting the church at nearly every level. A real blow was struck to the program last fall when cuts were made in response to shrinking resources. This forced us into a time of creatively re-imagining the ways that Disciples Volunteering can continue to help engage Disciples in hands on mission projects. Our greatest resource is the people who have served in mission through any number of special projects, focused builds, and disaster response stations – especially those folks who have been trained as Long Term Volunteers. Long Term Volunteering is a true Servant Ministry. While these people possess a variety of skills and experiences, they share one common trait: a servant’s heart. They give a few weeks or more of their time to be on site, serving with mission teams that come to a project for up to a week. With this year’s Alternative Spring Break, they have stepped up in a whole new way. They are now the site leaders, the advance prep team, the behind the scenes gophers and logistical coordinators and communicators and so much more. Their service is enabling others to serve.
I am grateful to Dwight, Bernie, Steve, and Randy, who are already on the ground in San Antonio, and for Larry and Jan who will join them. I am grateful for the other Long Term Volunteers, many of whom will be involved in this evolving ministry in Nashville this summer. And I am grateful for those who are not yet trained Long Term Volunteers but who are looking for a way to share their time and their commitment to serving others. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please be in touch with Disciples Volunteering by phone (888-346-2631) or e-mail. Details are being arranged for the next training event this fall.
Yakama Mission Work This Week
Volunteers are hard at work this week in Yakama, Washington, making repairs at this historic Disciples Mission Center. The parsonage roof needed torn off and replaced. The parsonage is also in need of new insulation and some gutting and repairs inside. The log church is also due to have some logs replaced, some rechinking work performed, and other repairs. Enjoy some pictures of the volunteers in action, and read more on the Yakama Mission blog here and here.
News from Northwood, Fall Blitz Volunteers Needed
August brought a flurry of activity at Northwood Christian Church in Beaumont, TX. Insulation was installed. Sheetrock was hung, finished, and textured. Every room has been primed and all the ceilings along with the walls in two rooms have been painted. It has been a busy month, and we are grateful for the labor of volunteers from Broadway Christian Church, Columbia, MO and Kingwood Christian Church and Restore Christian Church, both from Houston, TX who helped us get this far. Many volunteers from Northwood have also been working around the church, and over the next couple of months they will be finishing the painting, doing some miscellaneous work on the building, and dreaming and visioning for their life and ministries together once they move into their new sanctuary.
Disciples Volunteering is now calling for volunteers to help complete the building during a two week blitz, Nov. 7-21 (more information & registration available here). Work to be done includes: installing floor tile, hanging interior doors, installing door & window trim and baseboard, finishing the siding and exterior painting. Volunteers are invited to stay through the dedication service on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3:00 p.m. It will be a celebration!
