From New York-
In the weeks since rains from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee flooded parts of the northeastern United States, Episcopal congregations in affected areas have continued to respond to the needs in their communities.
In the Diocese of New York, St. Mary’s-in-Tuxedo Episcopal Church (Tuxedo Park, NY) has housed community meetings and played a key role in coordinating response efforts since heavy rains broke a dam upstream from the town, causing severe flood damage to local homes and businesses. According to the church’s Rector, the Rev. Elizabeth McWhorter, members of St. Mary’s pitched in immediately to help clean up debris and clean out damaged homes. “Using word of mouth and cell phones, we encouraged people to simply take a shovel, gloves, bleach, rags and whatever else might be helpful in shoveling out mud, sewage, fuel oil and water,” she wrote in an email to Episcopal Relief & Development.
The second week after the flood, McWhorter and a fellow priest, along with two volunteers from the community, worked together to coordinate volunteer teams and keep the local government – which was liaising with the Red Cross, FEMA, and state and federal officials – informed of their activities. The Church’s approach focused on listening to people who had been impacted by the disaster, and working with them to assess needs and figure out solutions. McWhorter wrote: “As we began to figure out how we could help in this next step, two things were basic to our thoughts and decisions: 1) we did not want to be ‘Lady Bountiful’, dropping off items we thought were needed and then going about our daily life; [and] 2) living out the baptismal vow of ‘will you respect the dignity of every human being’? Our neighbors had experienced tremendous loss and devastation in their lives yet they still had their human pride and dignity.”
More here-
http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=4332
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