A record 2020 U.S. hurricane season combined with the COVID-19 pandemic has created an additional population of victims: eager and skilled disaster-recovery volunteers prohibited from traveling to assist devastated communities. Many of them are members of American congregations with long…
In Lake Charles: Help needed after two hurricanes in six weeks
Being hit by two hurricanes in six weeks has stretched the spiritual and emotional health of many in Lake Charles, La., to the breaking point, according to faith leaders engaged in disaster recovery there. The coastal city was slammed by…
Collaborative plan emerging for Hurricane Laura relief work
Collaboration between two Baptist organizations has resulted in a plan for long-term disaster recovery work in Lake Charles, La., the coastal community devastated by Hurricane Laura Aug. 27. Leaders with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and National Baptist Convention of America…
CBF assessing damages and needs in path of Hurricane Laura
Hurricane Laura’s damaging foray through Louisiana and parts of Texas is inspiring faith-based collaboration in disaster response efforts that are complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Representatives of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and National Baptist Convention of America International plan to…
East Coast dodges Isaias as disaster relief continues to evolve
The folks at Palmetto Missionary Baptist Church in Conway, S.C., were ready for just about anything Hurricane Isaias had to throw at them. “We’re so seasoned with hurricanes and tropical storms that most people pretty much stay ready,” Senior Pastor…
Coronavirus complicates hurricane relief efforts by churches
If you think COVID-19 is nasty now, try riding out a natural disaster during the pandemic — or recovering from one. Faith-based disaster response officials describe nightmarish challenges imposed by the coronavirus on communities that have endured hurricanes and tornadoes…
Tornado in ‘the buckle of the Bible Belt’ takes toll on houses of worship
Tornadoes that destroyed more than 140 buildings Tuesday night in middle Tennessee left their mark on a number of religious landmarks in Nashville, a city sometimes called the “buckle of the Bible Belt.”
Our disaster-relief success hasn’t moved the needle in addressing poverty. We need to ask why
Because churches and faith-based organizations do disaster relief so well, we assume what works for communities recovering from a fire will be what works for a family experiencing food insecurity or poverty. Most victims of poverty suffer because of systems designed to help some people thrive at the expense of others’ languishing.
Physical recovery progressing a year after Harvey. Emotionally, not so much
On the outside, many of the Texas communities ravaged by Hurricane Harvey last year appear to making a comeback. But on the inside, some survivors say, the emotional rebuilding is only just beginning.