Date: August 31, 2005
Dear United Methodist
Brothers and Sisters of the
Grace and
peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the healer and hope of the broken
world.
It is heart breaking to see
the catastrophic devastation of hurricane Katrina. Our hearts go out to the
hundreds and thousands—even millions—of people directly affected by this
horrible natural disaster of historic proportion. Human suffering as well as
loss of lives and property will continue to rise and claim numerous victims. It
is painful to see that those who have the least have suffered the most. I ask
my brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for the victims and those who are in
relief work.
United Methodists are known
for their generous spirit of reaching out to people in need that comes from
their compassionate heart.
Information on how you and
your church can join the relief and recovery work is printed below. It is my
prayer that God’s redeeming, renewing and recovering grace will prevail ever
more abundantly in the midst of this tragic situation, and that the beacon of
hope will shine brightly to the people in need.
May God continue to grant
grace and mercy to all.
Jeremiah J. Park, Bishop
To help the relief and recovery work
I.
Monetary gifts are most urgently needed at this time. UMCOR is prepared to send
relief workers and support for other agencies engaged in on-site relief
efforts. Donations should be made to: “Hurricanes 2005 Global, Advance
#982523.” Local church contributions should be sent to The United Methodist
Committee on Relief, General Board of Global Ministries,
II.
Flood Buckets and Health Kits will be needed as relief efforts progress.
However, we reiterate, the urgent need in these initial moments is for monetary
gifts. For information on how to assemble these kits and where to deliver them,
visit the New York Annual Conference Website: www.nyac.com and click on Flood Bucket
Contents and Drop Off Information.
III.
Individuals may give through their local church or send their gifts to
UMCOR directly at the above address. To donate online to UMCOR's
relief efforts, visit www.methodistrelief.org.
All
contributions to UMCOR will go – 100 percent – to this relief effort.