10 Sep How the Hurricanes Affected UB Churches

Two significant hurricanes affected United Brethren people in recent days. Hurricane Dean brushed the southern part of Haiti, bringing some damage to United Brethren churches on that part of the island, but brought much more devastation to the island of Jamaica.

Hurricane Felix (a category 5 hurricane) hit Central America at the point Honduras and Nicaragua meet. In God’s mercy, this is one of the least populated areas of these countries, and the mountainous terrain quickly decreased the intensity of Felix to a tropical storm. Flooding rains soaked Nicaragua, bringing a great deal of agricultural damage. Some of our UB families were affected.

As mentioned, the greatest need at this point is in Jamaica. Two UB congregations, the New Gardens Church and the Yorktown Church, had all or a large portion of their roofs torn off, rafters and all. At New Gardens, the pastor and congregation are trying to continue meeting in an office area.

Hurricane victims from many different Jamaican UB churches are living with relatives or neighbors. Some have tried temporary fixes, such as using damaged zinc and boards to patch their roofs. Others are covering badly-damaged areas with tarps. As you can imagine, their houses were not insured, and many of these individuals need assistance putting their lives back together.

Global Ministries is receiving reports and estimates from the various sites. We hope that our North American churches can provide assistance to our brethren there. If you or your church can provide financial help, please send your gift to Global Ministries marked for Jamaica Hurricane Relief. If people from your congregation want to travel to Jamaica to help with repairs, please contact Global Ministries.