Haiti Health Kit Ecumenical Response

Several weeks ago, Woodland Park UMC offered to be a collection site for health kits made by churches in the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. At that time a need had been expressed by the Salt Lake City Depot of the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) that it had shipped out 23,000 kits and needed replacements. With ongoing efforts around the world, health kits and other kits are always needed, but with UMCOR's response in Haiti and the Philippines, this call was an urgent one. I was hoping for a good response from the United Methodist congregations in the area. What surprised me was the ecumenical outpouring of support.

Most United Methodist congregations appear to be sending their kits to the depot as soon as they make them. However, some churches are bringing kits to WPUMC. But, churches outside of the UMC connection -- churches and individuals without an ongoing relationship with UMCOR -- have been bringing incredible numbers of kits to WPUMC. The response has been tremendous, and I have so very grateful to be a part of this local response.

When we notified the annual conference that we were willing to receive kits made by other churches, we also said that we would go pick them up from places if that would be helpful. The Church Council of Greater Seattle saw the announcement and publicized it in their email updates. This broadening of the recipient base was a wonderfully unexpected gift; it meant that dozens of churches outside of the UM connection were learning about UMCOR and its response to Haiti. Additionally, our church puts out a weekly email update to many people who no longer attend the church but like to be kept abreast of happenings in our congregation; these folks saw our announcement and they responded. I received a call from a woman in West Seattle. "I have four kits. Can you come get them?" A church from Mercer Island had a few dozen. A UW campus group from the LDS church had a trunk load. Another LDS ward had a few. Mt Zion Baptist Church had a trunk load. And the calls kept coming. We've had kits delivered or picked up from:
Quakers
Mennonites
Mormons
Baptists
Roman Catholics
United Methodists
Lutherans

As a matter of fact, we've an interfaith response. People in the area who identify as Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims have all responded to the call as well.

In addition to area congregations sending kits, so have individuals. Our church printed flyers for all of the groups who use our building. 12 Step Programs, the Suzuki Music School, various musical groups, and other renters all received flyers with instructions on how to make kits. So far more than a dozen kits have been turned in through this outreach effort. Additionally, we have printed letters of invitation for our neighborhood. These letters are being hand delivered to neighborhood businesses and homes right around the church.

Our concentrated focus on this effort is scheduled to last until Easter Sunday. As time goes on I expect the response to taper off, but I hope that kits will continue to come until Easter. It's tempting for people who belong to a small church to think that their outreach, their efforts, and their abilities to have a deep and lasting affect on the world are limited. After all, a health kit won't make a great difference in a devastated nation's recovery. Yet, the response to our call for health kits has also shown that a few kits here and a few kits there add up to a truck load of kits that will make a difference for a family, a village, a community. This is a tangible way for people in Seattle to reach across the miles and say in real ways that they care. It is proof that when given clear needs and clear instructions on how to meet those needs people will respond with grace and love and kindness.

I am overwhelmed at the ecumenical response that we've received with this effort. I thank all of the pastors and lay folks who have publicized the kits, those who have sat down and assembled kits, and those who have shared information with neighbors and friends. I am proud of the kids of our church who spend an hour every week diligently going through every kit turned in to check them for accuracy. We want every kit sent to UMCOR to be complete and ready to be shipped out to whatever place and people need them.

Several hundred kits litter our chancel area. I hope that the chancel becomes nothing more than a communion table surrounded by kits from the floor to the ceiling. I want to see boxes stacked all around. These boxes of kits stand as proof that God's healing breaks into the world one little $12 kit at a time. This is proof that small churches, single families, and individuals make a tremendous difference in the world when we respond together. When I think of Lent and the brokenness that is laid bare during this season, I am moved at this healing response.

We will be receiving kits through Easter Sunday. If you are part of a congregation and would like more information on how to get your kits to us, please call Woodland Park UMC at 206-784-6969. Information on assembling health kits can be found on UMCOR's website. We also accept layette and birthing kits. Any contribution to WPUMC for help in transportation and shipping is tax deductible.

Pacific Northwest, Western Jurisdiction, and Local Church Haiti Relief Update

Haiti relief efforts continue in the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church. Our efforts have grown out of a local desire to respond, and they are in conversation with the Western Jurisdiction's call to response entitled "Operation Resurrection." While I was excited to see that the bishops and other leaders of the Western Jurisdiction devised a hoped-for response for us, I believed they set their sites too low. People are compassionate. And, I am glad to say that we in the PNW have already surpassed the overall financial goal for the jurisdiction. The jurisdiction's goal was $100,000 to be met by Easter. As of last week, the PNW had surpassed $100,000 right here in Washington State and Idaho! God is good.

Need continues to be great, however. And, Operation Resurrection concerns much more than raising money. It is a four point plan designed to engage our congregations, connect them with the people and place of Haiti, and utilize our connectional system to keep the United Methodist Committee on Relief agile enough to respond to other emerging and ongoing needs across the globe.

Goal #1-Plan to learn about Haiti’s history, culture, and ecnonomy.
Goal #2-Gifts totaling $100,000 for recovery and relief through UMCOR
How can I help?
- Remember the people of Haiti in worship and receive a special offering
- Encourage a discipline of Lenten giving
- Make a personal contribution
- Host a Haiti relief fundraiser with your neighbors
For more information or to give on-line go to www.umcor.org. Gifts through your local church should be marked for “UMCOR Advance #418325.”
Goal #3-25 Volunteers in Mission (VIM) trips to Haiti over the next 5 years
How can I help?
- Schedule and organize a team from your local church, district or conference
- Join a group that someone else is planning
- Sponsor a young person to join a VIM team
Contact Heather Wilson, Western Jurisdiction UMVIM Coordinator at www.umvimwj.blogspot.com/
Goal #4-Replace 23,000 Health Kits that have already been shipped from UMCOR West Depot
How can I help?
- Ask members of your Sunday School Class, Youth Group, or UMW to assemble health kits and drop off at Woodland Park UMC (302 N 78th St, Seattle, WA 98103) or send directly to UMCOR West (1479S 700 W, Salt Lake City, UT, 84104). You can also send $12 per kit to UMCOR West marked #901440 for Health Kits
- Schedule a VIM team to travel to Salt Lake City to help assemble kits
1005 of gifts through UMCOR go directly to relief. To track progress and for more resources go to www.westernjurisdictionumc.org.

We at Woodland Park UMC have set goals for ourselves. We plan to assemble 500 health kits between now and Easter. We are reaching out to other faith communities inviting them to also make health kits. Mennonites, several LDS wards, Quakers (Friends), Roman Catholics, and ELCA Lutherans have responded to this call. Each day I hear from another community interested in making health kits. We have received over 100 kits from other faith communities.
We are also reaching out to our local neighborhood and to organizations who utilize our facility inviting them to join us. And, it is our hope to organize a kids' work party for United Methodist congregations in the north end of Seattle. Little churches can make big differences; that is our belief.

And, even as make 500 kits and receive kits from others, we challenge the Pacific Northwest Conference to complete 5,000 health kits in an effort to replenish the 23,000 kits sent to Haiti and to equip UMCOR to send kits to all places in need.

Why Health Kits Matter - Possible PNW Response for Haiti

In an appeal following the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, UMCOR, the disaster relief arm of the United Methodist Church, issued a call for health kits. For those not in the know, a United Methodist health kit is a gallon size bag with a few health essentials. Since secular news reports have detailed the enormity of the disaster and denominational news reports have focused our emergency response in helping people access water, people have asked me why health kits are important. They don't, after all, help first responders do the work of emergency relief. Two band aids, these folks say, won't save a life. And, when people are trapped under rubble and have no access to water, food, or sanitation, why are combs important? I think something wonderful is behind these questions - People want to help, really help, and they want to know exactly what is needed so they can provide it. And so, let me tell you why health kits are important...among other things.

The truth is that toothpaste, combs, and two band aids often won't mean the difference between life and death, but overall good hygiene does: the use of soap and water and the maintenance of good hygiene make a great deal of difference between life and death for people in stressed living conditions, with poor nutrition, and in the midst of disease and bad sanitation. For people who live with easy access to reliable water, soap at every sink, and proper nutrition, it's easy to discount how important those things are.

I am excited to read that UMCOR, who has suffered tremendous loss themselves through the deaths of the Revs. Sam Dixon and Clint Rabb in this disaster, has made grants available to other organizations, is networking with other organizations, and has begun to mobilize into Haiti to assess what our denomination's response might be. This is in addition to other Methodist responses that began soon after the earthquake. Despite the loss UMCOR is experiencing, it has partnered with Global Medic, the Methodist Church in Haiti, Church World Service, ACT, and others who were better positioned to begin aid work right away. From the distribution of water to oral rehydration sachets, to purification tablets, to work on sanitation, the distribution of blankets, and relief kits, donations made to UMCOR for Haiti have already begun providing relief through our partnerships.

Health kits are one part of this very large effort, and we must remember that health kits are also being sent to other locations all around the world. In a phone conversation with Brian Diggs, Director of UMCOR West which was followed by a letter sent (you can read it below) to the conferences of the Western Jurisdiction, I learned that the depot in Salt Lake City shipped 22,800 health kits just in the past week and provisions had been depleted. Not only is it important for us to make up the difference for the loss of health kits, but we need to add to that number so that the depot is able to continue its work of sending health kits all around the world. Layette kits are also in need. In addition to basic sanitation and clean water, clean receiving kits also make an incredible impact on survival for infants.

We are a connectional church. UMCOR has asked that we respond to Haiti by giving to the Haiti disaster Advance fund (418325 ) and to provide the money for health and layette kits (Depot Advance number is 901440) as well as sending kits already assembled. By sending money immediately to UMCOR designated for depot use, the depot can purchase materials in bulk and replenish their shelves without delay. A health kit is estimated to cost $12 and a layette kit $35. I don't know what the Pacific Northwest Conference will eventually send, but I hope that we send at least $65,000 for kits (health and layette) by Ash Wednesday; that buys 5,000 health kits plus $1 for shipping.

Next, we need to send assembled kits. We need to do this to connect ourselves to this ministry and to this story as well as to reduce the amount of labor needed at our two depots (Salt Lake and Sager Brown). Churches can send kits directly to Salt Lake City to UMCOR West or churches in the Seattle District can drop off kits at Woodland Park UMC (302 N 78th St, Seattle). We are working with the conference to get kits shipped off. By mailing them directly, we keep the flow going, but at approximately $30/box of 50 kits via UPS, at some point it becomes financially advantageous to ship kits together. I challenge us to assemble and send 10,000 kits as an annual conference - 10,000 by Easter.

And last, United Methodists have already contributed over $2,000,000 do UMCOR for Haiti relief. This relief effort will take many years. I challenge the Pacific Northwest Conference to raise $200,000 by Easter for this effort. Our ongoing response will need to be evaluated and changed as needed. Individuals and churches may send money directly to the Advance or they can send it through the conference treasurer.

The leadership of the Pacific Northwest conference may come up with different goals and strategies, but until those are laid out, these are my ideas.

Health kits will not rescue people crushed under toppled buildings, but they will provide people displaced by the earthquake, people living in very stressful conditions, the ability to wash, to clean themselves, and to make themselves less vulnerable to the diseases that accompany disasters. Two band aids will not make a difference in a traumatic wound, but they can make a difference in a small wound becoming infected and turning life-threatening. Health kits, especially those we assemble, tie us to that other person on the other end of the process, whether that person is in Haiti, the DR Congo, or in another county in our own state. Kits lovingly packed make a difference for them and for us. They tie us to one another and to this denomination that is at work all over the world.

Here is Brian's letter from UMCOR West:

I am writing on behalf of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s UMCOR West Office and Depot which has been in operation since June 1, of 2009. We are a ministry that gathers, assembles, and sends disaster relief kits all round the world to the most vulnerable of populations. Along with UMCOR Sager Brown, UMCOR West is the second disaster relief depot. Except for Alaska and Hawaii, every western state has sent a work teams to UMCOR West to participate in our important ministry. You can find out more about our mission by going to UMCOR.org.

This last week has been particularly difficult for all of the UMCOR staff as a result of the earthquake in Haiti. As you may know, the Rev. Sam Dixon who was the head of UMCOR, along with the Rev. Clinton Rabb, head of mission volunteers, were killed in the earthquake. Your prayers for the UMCOR staff, the families of Rev. Dixon and Rev. Rabb, and for the people of Haiti are coveted during this grieving process.

On a more positive note, the people of Utah have responded powerfully to the call to help the people of Haiti. We have been working with hundreds of volunteers to assemble and send aid to the people of Haiti. Our first shipment of around 23,000 health kits will be sent from our warehouse in a few days!

As a result of this tremendous volunteer response, we are now running critically low on our disaster relief materials and we call on you to help. If you would like to help restock our warehouse in preparation for more supplies being sent to Haiti and other destinations you can:

Give financially through the Advance (gbgm-umc.org/Advance/ ) which is a powerful giving program in United Methodist Church. One hundred percent of the money donated goes toward the project you pick. Each mission project is assigned a number. The Advance number for both UMCOR West and UMCOR Sager Brown – our two UMCOR Depots – is #901440.

Consider putting together disaster relief kits at your home church. All of the information to assemble kits can be found at www.umcor.org. If you choose to make kits at your home church we ask that you please focus on two kits, the Health Kit and Layette Kit. They can be sent to UMCOR West, 1479S 700W, Salt Lake City, UT, 84104. .

Thank you so much for your support and faithfulness! It is the work of United Methodists like you that makes a difference in the lives of people around the globe.

Sincerely,

Rev. Brian Diggs, Director UMCOR West Office and Depot

Dear Seattle Times, Why Not List UMCOR

In an article today in the Seattle Times, a local couple who are in Haiti were featured for participating in relief efforts. At the end of the article, the paper lists a number of relief organizations, without listing UMCOR or any mainstream religious aid relief organizations. In the scope of the tragedy, it may appear ridiculous for me to write them and request that the paper include UMCOR and like organizations, but I thought it worthwhile. I noticed that NPR had omitted us along with several other mainline relief organizations; I contacted NPR to no response. Here is my email to the author of today's article in the Times:

"At the end of the article that highlights the efforts of a Seattle couple caught in Haiti, the newspaper lists several organizations offering aid in Haiti. What I noticed, as I do again and again in newspaper accounts of Haiti, is a number of very large aid orgs that are missing. The aid relief arms of major religious denominations are not listed:
United Methodist Committee on Relief: www.umcor.org has a special relief fund of which 100% of every donation goes to relief, none for admin. Almost no other relief org can make this claim.
Lutheran World Relief: www.lwr.org is already on the ground as is UMCOR.
American Jewish World Service: http://ajws.org/who_we_are/news/haiti_emergency.html also has a relief fund.

This is but a sampling.

I know there are literally dozens if not hundreds of aid organizations to which people can contribute, but I am struck that time and again mainline religious organizations are omitted in aid lists. Religion only seems to be given attention when fringe groups misrepresent the core values of the overarching religion, whether we are speaking of Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. There are millions of people of faith from many religions giving millions of dollars and their time to relief work. Would you please list them as well?"

I encourage United Methodists, Lutherans, Jews, Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Mennonites, and others to contact your local news media with information about your relief organizations. Until we give voice to the power of our efforts to bring healing, not only will we remain left out of the conversation, but the people we have on the ground ready and and willing to help will be unable to do so for lack of funds and supplies. Religious groups, by and large, are the best situated to provide aid. Unlike the UN and nation-states, we don't have to mobilize and send people to begin the work; we are already there. They are needed for the heavy lifting and organizing, but there are people already in place ready to do the work; let's equip them.

UPDATE: The author of the article to which I responded got back in touch very quickly. He forwarded my email to the online editor. She emailed me just a minute ago and the Times is adding the three relief orgs I sent them. Perhaps I am too tough on the media. Perhaps I should be tougher on us for not keeping our name before the media, for not keeping the general public aware of our relief work, for not PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL DONE BY WORKS OF MERCY! So, thank you, Seattle Times!