Midlands churches on front lines of flood recovery
Congregants from Bethel AME. Church in Shandon are partnering with disaster relief workers at
"We e-blast our congregation when there is a need, and we get a group of volunteers and do whatever is needed to help those areas," said associate pastor
The needs are many and will continue to increase in number and in scope, Wannamaker said.
"One of the other ministers and I were talking about the mental effect of the flood and also the spiritual effect that we know we will have to deal with with our members and with people in the community down the road," Wannamaker said. "We just know there will be a need to address those effects, because every disaster affects people emotionally, financially and spiritually, too."
Bethel's efforts are among many across the
"We have had folks coming to help from all over," senior pastor
The church has received donations ranging from 1,000 cupcakes to 1,000 cases of water to 1,000 chickens, Smith said.
"We had volunteers put up a mobile kitchen and cook 1,000 chickens and countless hotdogs and hamburgers, and we were able to take all that food to
Like many churches, Trenholm Road has relied on social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to get word out on immediate needs.
"It's an opportunity to serve and to be a healing presence in this time of pain and a light in the darkness," Smith said. "The church membership has been amazingly responsive on every level."
"We're called to love our neighbor, and our neighbor isn't just the person who lives next door, but it's all people," Albergotti said. "So many people are wanting to do things to help, and it's not just Christians -- there's a response of the human spirit in people wanting to help. But for those of us who are Christians, it comes from a deeper place than that because we aren't just doing it as a love for people but out of a love for our Savior. Our response has to be to go. Our response has to be to give. It's what we're commanded to do, but it's also what we're compelled to do."
Albergotti and others at Mt. Horeb are coordinating efforts with
The church also has made a
Smith, of Trenholm Road, has seen much giving in the face of tragedy. But perhaps one of the most impactful donations he received was one for
"A woman brought her mom to get some supplies and, after they got their supplies, she had
"But I learned a long time ago if people want to give, don't tell them no, because that helps people feel like they are a part of something," he said. "It was just so moving that here was this woman, who was actually receiving supplies, who gave her last
More relief efforts
Many more churches have set up relief efforts. Among them:
"They have several big trailers on our church property," Lincoln said. "They are sleeping there. They get up every morning and eat breakfast there, get together and do a debrief and then get out to these places where they need to go to do the work."
In addition,
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