As of October 28, 2005, the World Church has received
$800,000 in Oblation contributions designated for hurricane relief. On
October 28, the Presiding Bishopric committed $150,000 in Oblation aid to
Guatemala for replanting crops and rebuilding homes lost to Hurricane Stan.
As Terry Fielder, executive director of World Accord, reports, “The damage
to Guatemala wrought by Hurricane Stan has been extensive. Damage to
infrastructure is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. As
of October 10, 652 have died, 384 were still missing, and 99 were badly
injured. Damage has affected more than 133,000, with at least 94,000
refugees and 5,000 homes damaged. It is estimated that millions of dollars’
worth of white corn, sugar, and garden vegetables were lost in the 30,000
square miles of crops that were damaged. Additionally, hundreds of thousands
of cattle were lost.”
The Presiding Bishopric also designated an additional
contribution of $50,000 for the American Red Cross’s ongoing relief efforts
in the southern United States, in response to damage done by Hurricanes
Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. In September the church gave the Red Cross an
initial contribution of $20,000. The Washington Post reported October 28
that the American Red Cross is borrowing $340 million to meet demands placed
on the relief organization by the recent hurricanes. The Red Cross plans to
spend $2 billion on hurricane relief, and has already raised and spent $1.3
billion.
In late October Hurricane Wilma passed through Florida from
west to east. The South Miami congregation, which had been struck earlier by
Katrina, had water in its building again. The neighborhood around the Fort
Myers congregation lost power and many trees, but no one was hurt and no
major damage has been done. The church building seems to be OK, with neither
roof nor water damage and no loss of trees as after Hurricane Charlie in
2004. Charles Greenberg of the West Palm Beach congregation reports, “We
survived! Praise the Lord! I have contacted all the members who have cell
phones (no land phones are working) and no injuries are reported. We
surveyed the church on the day after Wilma and saw many more shingles gone,
but fortunately no trees on the roof. There were some trees down on the
power lines but not nearly as many as last time. The signs in front of the
church are completely gone (they had just come loose last time). Here we go
again!”
Many relief needs are still unknown from these various
hurricanes. We continue to receive reports and be made aware of how the
church can further assist. We are deeply grateful for the generosity and
compassion of our members in responding to these needs.
—The Presiding Bishopric
