Church of God Assists in Tornado Relief
Cleveland, TN–What is being called the worst tornado in U.S. history struck Monday, May 20 in Moore, just south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Since the disaster, the Church of God has been mobilizing resources and people to assist in any way possible.
By Cameron Fisher, Church of God Communications
Church of God General Overseer Mark Williams has met with key leaders at the International Offices each day, leading the effort to communicate the denomination’s commitment to support. Although no Church of God building in the area was destroyed, reports have been received of members at those local churches whose homes have been severely damaged or destroyed.
“We are committed to assist wherever we can get resources on the ground,” Williams stated. “We have groups, ministries and agencies that are geared and ready to go, or have already gone to Oklahoma.” Williams received reports from Dave Lorency, head of Operation Compassion, Donnie Smith, coordinator of the Care Division for the Church of God, and Jake Popejoy, head of the Chaplains Commission.
Operation Compassion has a network of 25 partner agencies dispatched across the country that supply much needed food, water, ready-to-eat meals, clothes and toiletries. They also supply critical services, such as sleeping quarters, shower stalls, mobile kitchens capable of producing thousands of on-site meals per day, and even mobile laundry units.
“We have found that many volunteers come with the desire to assist, but after a couple of days, they run out of clean clothes and they leave,” Lorency stated. “These mobile units fill a critical gap of service-oriented disaster relief.”
In the area of chaplaincy, Popejoy stated that in just a few hours of getting the word out about the disaster, a network of chaplains had already pledged over $12,000 toward the relief effort. He reported that within the first 24 hours, eight trained teams were deployed to head out toward the disaster site, ready to deliver hands-on assistance with prayer, counseling and critical incident stress debriefing.
“We (chaplains) are strong advocates of the ministry of presence,” Popejoy said. He also stated an effort was underway to employ the use of ham radios in the absence of the loss of cell phone and land line communications.
The Church of God has launched a comprehensive website and social media blitz since the storms touched down two days ago. The site, www.churchofgod.org, includes news and information, ways to donate and video updates from Williams, including an introductory message from the morning after the disaster and an interview with Smith and Popejoy detailing the involvement of the organizations under their purview. The latest video, posted on the afternoon of May 22, features a phone interview with Heartland Region state overseer M. Darrell Rice.
In addition to information and updates, the site includes a place where secure online donations can be made to the relief effort. There is a section dedicated to messages and prayers to the victims, their families, volunteers and the relief effort. Facebook messages and tweets may also be posted using the hashtag #OKCOG.
