Emergency personnel rescue residents from flood waters brought on by Hurricane Sandy in Little Ferry, New Jersey, October 30, 2012. The giant storm Sandy wreaked havoc on the New York City subway system, flooding tunnels, garages and rail yards and threatening to paralyze the nation's largest mass-transit system for days. Photo: REUTERS/Adam Hunger, courtesy www.alertnet.org (via Church World Service)
Faith groups are among those on the front lines responding to Hurricane Sandy and they need your immediate support.
Church World Service has put out an emergency appeal for donations. ""Founded in 1946, Church World Service is a cooperative ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations, providing sustainable self-help and development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance around the world." The United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ are both members of CWS.
CWS is already working with people in New Jersey and Cuba, where the hurricane hit first.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief is also actively involved in Sandy relief efforts. UMCOR has already has "issued $10,000 emergency grants to the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, Greater New Jersey Conference, New York Conference, New York Disaster Interfaith Services, and the North Carolina Conference."
In Cleveland, the national offices of the United Church of Christ (UCC) were closed due to high winds and power outages caused by Sandy (yes, the storm impact areas as far west as Ohio). United Church News reports that the UCC is "coordinating with our partners, including the Latin American Caribbean Area Office of Global Ministries, Church World Service, and the ACT Alliance, all of whom are currently assessing needs."
All UMCOR and UCC relief efforts are being coordinated with CWS, federal and state agencies, and groups like the Red Cross.
Please consider helping these church organizations working to provide assistance in the wake of this historic storm.
