A plea from UMCOR concerning the floods in Tennessee

6/10/2010

 
(GBGM) So much rain fell in two days in Tennessee—15 or more inches in some spots—that experts refer to the event as a “1,000-year flood,” not expecting to see another like it in that span of time. Besides middle and western Tennessee, rain also poured over south-central and western Kentucky and northern Mississippi. Creeks and rivers overflowed their banks and caused flash flooding.

Crops—especially in the western part of the state—suffered severe storm damage. Families without flood insurance—and most had long thought themselves safe from such an event—experienced catastrophic losses.
Please give generously to speed relief and recovery efforts.

News coverage of the disaster receded far faster than the floodwaters. In Nashville and Memphis and in scores of towns and villages spread over 52 counties, vulnerable people only knew they were not alone because of the compassion and generosity of neighbors near and far united in a connectional web of caring.

Neighbor lent a hand to neighbor, and volunteers arrived by the busload. Others assembled cleaning buckets and sent them to UMCOR Sager Brown and annual conference depots to be delivered to those in need.

The best estimates say it will be at least two years before the people of Tennessee fully recover from the flood of 2010.
The floodwaters carried away many things—a wedding album, an heirloom, a life—that cannot be replaced or restored. Your gift of compassion can help those impacted by this disaster to start again, knowing that their pain is not dismissed, their plight is not forgotten.

Please give to U.S. Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670 and help the people of Tennessee rebuild. To give online, please visit http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/umcor/donate.cfm?code=901670&id=3018992. 

Our prayers are with the children and families who are hurting as a result of this devastation. Again, please give generously today.

Thank you, as always, for your support.

Grace and peace,
Rev. Cynthia Harvey
Deputy General Secretary
United Methodist Committee on Relief