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Pat Jones, pastor of King Street UB church in Chambersburg, Pa., left on September 14 for a trip to Africa through World Relief. He’ll be visiting several countries. The trip is led by Clive Calver, who has headed World Relief for the past seven years (and is stepping down at the end of September).
Further reports from Jamaica, in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, tell of much damage to UB churches and homes. in addition, at least 7 buildings lost their roofs at Jamaica Bible College (where Owen Gordon is the president, and where Bishop Emeritus Wilbur and Mossie Sites are currently serving as volunteers), and there is also much water damage.
A fund has been set up for Jamaica Hurricane Relief. You can donate via credit card online, or send a check to: Jamaica Relief, 302 Lake St., Huntington, IN 46750. Make checks payable to “United Brethren Headquarters,” and be sure to indicate whether it is for Jamaica or Florida hurricane relief (since we have funds set up for each).
Jana sent the following updates on September 14:
As of Thursday afternoon, September 16, UB people and churches had contributed about $6000 to the relief funds for Florida and Jamaica. This is only money channeled through the United Brethren Offices; others funds have been given directly. The Jamaica fund was established and publicized on Wednesday. Here is the breakdown thus far:
Darlene Burkett, who works in Global Ministries, was able to speak today with Owen Gordon, a UB minister in Jamaica who is also president of Jamaica Bible College. Phone service is back up, but that is all. There is still no electricity and no water. Owen said that they have no idea when those things will get restored because of the extreme damage.
Owen said that if there is someone who absolutely wants to come to Jamaica right now to help, here are three things that they could bring with them that would be of immediate assistance:
The airports are open on a limited basis. Owen isn’t sure what travel from the airports would be like. Most roads are still impassable for the large part. He thinks that individuals familiar with Jamaica might be able to get through.
Lamar and Karen Crumbley served with the UB mission in Honduras over a period of about 15 years, and recently served a short-term stint in Macau. Lamar sent a note about a surgery Karen will undergo on Thursday, September 16.
“After a long struggle with her lung tumor, Karen is at present very weak, but she is finally getting the operation she needs. On September 16 she will enter Northside Hospital in Atlanta and at 1:00 P.M. they will begin a three-and-one-half -hour surgery to remove one-third of her lung plus, part of her bronchial tube. Afterwards, she will spend a couple days in ICU with a total of about seven days in the hospital. Then home where it will about 4-6 weeks before she will be able to get around much, and a total of three to four months for complete healing. It’s going to be a long hard road for her, so please keep us both in your prayers.”
Donna Hollopeter, associate director of Global Ministries, made contact with Janet Smith, wife of Jamaica superintendent Rev. Winston Smith. As we know, the island of Jamaica was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan. Here are some notes Donna took from her phone conversation with Janet.
“Janet said that no part of the island escaped damage, but she feels that the Kingston area was one of the more fortunate areas. Along the bay in Kingston they experienced 15-foot swells and there is a great deal of debris that will need to be removed from the roadways, especially out to the airport in Kingston.
“The Golden Springs area of Jamaica is okay. They had high winds and a lot of rain, but everyone is safe. Mandeville was hit very hard. Rev. Don Dacres and Rev. Trevor Williams had heavy damage to their homes. Many of our churches sustained heavy damage, but it has been difficult to assess the damage because of debris on the roads. Janet knows that the Mt. Pleasant and Mt. Prospect churches sustained heavy damage. Montego Bay was also hit quite heavily.
“The whole island is without power. Electricity was cut before the hurricane came so as to help prevent fires from downed lines. There is no idea when power will be restored. They have limited phone service.
“As far as she knows, none of our UB people lost their lives and no one sustained injuries. There are many, however, who are without homes.
“Winston Smith will be calling into the office and keep us informed about needs. Mrs. Smith says she is confident one need will be work teams to help repair and rebuild homes and churches.”
Throughout the month of October, voting will occur in the US National Conference churches. Adult members will select laypersons and ministers to represent their conference at the 2005 US National Conference, and will also cast votes concerning three referendum items. Each church needs to appoint a board of tellers to oversee the voting. The conference will provide enough ballots for each member in your church, as well as other information. A number of resources concerning the voting are available online, though most will be sent to your church from the conference.
