Churches helping victims of flooded Eastern Seaboard Religion Today Tuesday, October 5, 1999 Compassion is overflowing on the flooded Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Local church members are helping their neighbors recover from Hurricane Floyd as out-of-town volunteer work crews arrive by the busload. The effects of Floyd will be long lasting, and clean-up teams, service teams, and skilled labor teams will be needed in the weeks and months after the swirling brown waters recede, officials say. Flooding, rather than wind, caused the most damage. In North Carolina, the hurricane killed 47 people and destroyed 1,461 homes. Damage occurred all along the coast. Some Christian volunteers are bringing Bibles and tracts with them. They'll help first, then talk about their faith as opportunities present themselves, they say. Water and muck Much of eastern North Carolina "is covered with water and muck," Sandy Smith, an assistant to Marion Edwards, a United Methodist bishop, told United Methodist News Service. "It's just awful. Nobody knows how horrible this is." Many residents asked the country to pray for them. Large areas still are under water from the storm, which destroyed thousands of homes, office buildings, farms, bridges, and roads, including many that remain impassible. Dozens of emergency shelters are open, and many places are without electricity. The eastern North Carolina region is not wealthy, and people who didn't have much have lost it all, a state official said. Animal wastes and carcasses of millions of livestock, pets, and wildlife are floating in the water, and oil and gasoline from underground storage tanks has seeped into the floodwaters. Coffins floated out of the ground in some cemeteries. Eastern North Carolina is facing "a major humanitarian, economic, and ecological disaster," Johnny Wray, a minister who directs Week of Compassion, a ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), said. The homes of hundreds of church families are under water, Disciples News Service said. St. Luke's Christian Church in Princeville "is submerged," and five other Disciples church facilities were damaged. Residents of a United Methodist retirement home in Greenville, N.C., were relocated indefinitely to a facility in Durham. Churches that were not flooded have become collection and distribution centers for clothing, clean water, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. Centers have been set up where parents can leave their children for a few hours while they try to take care of business, such as filing insurance forms. Cleaning supplies provided Thirty thousand pounds of cleaning supplies donated by the United Methodist Committee on Relief arrived in Bound Brook, N.J., Sept. 25, United Methodist News Service said. Rains from Hurricane Floyd caused the Raritan River to overflow Sept. 16, nearly submerging the downtown area. Hundreds of National Guard troops, police, firefighters, helicopters, and boats rescued trapped residents from their homes. The Experiencing God Bible Study made a difference in Rocky Mount, N.C. Englewood Baptist Church had decided to build a small fellowship hall a few years ago when, during the study, church members sensed that God wanted something bigger, Baptist Press said. The church changed its plans, constructing a 27,000-square-foot facility with a 17,000-square-foot open area. Since Floyd hit, the new facility has been put to use for providing hot meals and distributing clothing and food. About 21,000 people were served hot meals in two days, and church members directed traffic in the parking lot. Relief workers take showers at the church and sleep in the classrooms. "There was a happiness and a joy in our people helping others," pastor Donald Pope said. "It was like you could see the river of love flowing from the people." Religious groups have worked hand-in-hand in Bound Brook. A United Methodist church set up a food pantry, a Jewish congregation is overseeing a temporary housing program, Congregational and Presbyterian churches are serving as Red Cross shelters, a Catholic church is distributing cleaning supplies, an Episcopal church is handing out clothing, and a Reformed church is coordinating work teams. Baptist churches also have been active. Cooperation among Christians "is a very powerful witness to Jesus Christ," Methodist Bishop Alfred Johnson said. "We are a people of faith, and are squarely able to face whatever comes our way because our God is with us," Charles Mosley, pastor of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in hard-hit Goldsboro, N.C., said. Related article: Presbyterian Disaster Assistance responds to hurricane Floyd Presbyterian Disaster Assistance September 20, 1999 Presbyterian Disaster Assistance website

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