Entries Tagged 'Current Events' ↓

There are several organizations, or causes, that are close to our hearts. We’ve written about a few of them before (see posts categorized as causes).

One great cause is the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), a disaster response effort on behalf of the United Methodist Church.

UMCOR is an impressive organization, one that’s well-respected in the national/international community. In fact, UMCOR managed the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) program of distributing international aid for more than two years after Katrina (see Katrina Aid Today).

This is particularly a good time to learn more about UMCOR as they prepare to respond to Hurricane Gustav (see link for details and ways to help). Gustav made landfall in Louisiana yesterday, 3 years and a few days after Katrina.

How to help Kansans recover from recent tornadoes.

Our hearts go out to the people in Kansas who were devastated by last week’s violent tornados. More than 70 tornadoes were reported throughout the state. Greensburg, Kansas, a town of 1,600, was destroyed May 4, including the Greensburg United Methodist Church.

There are efforts underway to help with the recovery: United Methodists begin Kansas tornado response. See UMCOR’s page dedicated to the storm for more information.

Both links provide details on how we can help. If you attend a United Methodist congregation, you can place your check in the offering plate, marked, “UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response” (they can also be mailed; see links for mailing address). Online donations can also be made to the Kansas Area Disaster Fund directly at the Kansas West Conference of the UMC website.

Check out the Kansas West Conference’s photo page for photos of the storm’s damage, including the one pictured here. Photo by Rev. Kendal Utt, Dodge City District Superintendent, included here with permission.

Today is Earth Day 2007 so I’m thinking about the environment, the earth, and our responsibility to be good stewards of it.

Conversation is heating up (pun intended) on the topic of global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been releasing reports on global climate change that have been stirring things up. Also, The Weather Channel has a site (as well as a TV program) dedicated to climate change, led by Dr. Heidi Cullen. They also have a blog.

I’m not overly interested in the debate, but I am becoming more and more interested in caring for the environment. for me it’s not as a political issue as much as it is a a stewardship issue.

So, regardless of where you are in the global warming / climate change debate, here are some resources that may help us be better stewards of God’s creation …

The United Methodist Women have posted some good advice on some things we can do to help care for the earth: Earth Day and the Environment.

In our home, we try to do our best, but there’s still room for improvement. We try to recycle as much as we can. We usually collect and drop off our recyclables at the drop off site in Pine Grove Mills on our way to State College.

Here are links to information on recycling in Huntingdon and Centre counties …

Huntingdon County Recycling Information

Centre County Recycling Locations

The importance of caring for the environment / creation was reinforced for me last week on our vacation at the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers a 6-state area (including where we live, barely). As I understand it, basically everything that goes into the ground (chemicals, wastes, etc.) within this watershed area eventually makes its way to the Chesapeake Bay. And clearly, damage is being done to the Chesapeake Bay.

So, what do you think? Do we have a responsibility to care for God’s creation? What can changes can you make to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem?

Earlier, we offered a brief reflection and prayer in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Now UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) is helping the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to offer A Message of Hope to the Virginia Tech Community. TV spots “aimed specifically at helping young people cope with the tragedy” will be airing in the area.

For more on what United Methodists are doing, see United Methodists Across Virginia Rally to Offer Prayers and Support for Virginia Tech.

As you continue to pray for Virginia Tech, pray that God will bring hope and healing to people through this outreach. Also pray for churches in Virginia as they reach out to their community.

We were on vacation in Maryland when the news broke from Virginia Tech. What a sad and tragic story. Our hearts and our prayers go out to the families of the victims and to all the students of VT.

All tragedies have a lasting impact on the way we live. No doubt, there will be many changes, in terms of campus security, as a result of this tragedy as well. I like the text messaging systems, such as e2campus.com, that have been in the news this week (BTW, our local campus, Penn State, is listed as one of the schools already using this text messaging system). I also think surveillance cameras will become much more standard equipment on college campuses. And I’m sure there will be many other recommendations as well after the review committees have completed their work.

In the midst of this tragedy there have been many heart-warming stories, stories about the students and professors who lost their lives this week at VT. May God restore hope and bring healing to the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy!