Amid the gloom, faith leaders were focused on providing community and spiritual hope for congregants who lost homes and livelihoods. Some vowed to hold services on Sunday.
Angela Denker reflects on the aftermath of the worst earthquake in recent memory that struck Turkey and northwest Syria. Like all natural disasters and mass casualty events, as the death toll rises our ability to contemplate and synthesize the loss paradoxically decreases.
Marcus T. Coleman, the former interim director of the DHS Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships from 2017 to 2018 and a special assistant for it from 2013 to 2016, starts his new role on Monday.
The eruption of the La Soufrière volcano on Friday left the population on the main island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines without clean water. Local churches and international relief groups quickly started mobilizing aid.
Recovery has been painfully slow in Lake Charles, La., which remains a near-ghost town since being struck by two hurricanes last fall and cut off from the aid of faith-based groups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read full piece
When the Baptist World Alliance last month named Marsha Scipio director of its global aid organization, BWAid, it said her job would be to respond to people suffering in times of crisis by networking with other agencies to boost sustainability and capacity. Read full piece
Faith groups are quick to lend a hand when disaster strikes. But with organized religion fading, who will pick up the slack? Southern Baptists do lots of disaster relief, but where will that relief come from as the denomination shrinks?
Once Hurricane Laura passes and assessments are in, faith-based disaster-relief groups will be among the first to respond. Already, teams have been watching the storm and making plans all week.
Baptist disaster relief volunteers are responding in Iowa after a powerful derecho storm hit last week, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, hundreds homeless, and a mess of trees and debris.
Faith-based disaster response officials describe nightmarish challenges imposed by the coronavirus on communities that have endured hurricanes and tornadoes since the pandemic began. Read full piece