MILES COLLEGE RESPONDS TO HURRICANE IRMA DISASTER IN FLORIDA

On Tuesday, October 3, 2017, a busload of Miles College students and other volunteers along with a load of supplies will leave Fairfield headed to Fort Lauderdale (Williams Memorial CME Church) and Miami (Trinity CME Church) to provide support and assistance to those who have been impacted by Hurricane Irma.

You can donate to the trip to Florida, by taking cleaning supplies, toiletries, new clothing, household items, water, diapers, sanitary items, etc. to Miles College.  The drop-off location is at the George T. French Student Activity Center, from 9 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday until Monday, October 2nd.

In Alabama we have arranged for these additional drop-off stations if you cannot get your items to the campus. All donated items should be dropped off at these additional locations no later than Sunday, October 1st. 

• Huntsville District - bring donations to Garner Memorial Church Anniversary Service on Sunday, September 24th at 3 pm.
• Tuscaloosa District - drop off items at Bailey Tabernacle after 10 am, Monday through Friday.
• Birmingham District - drop off at Miles College, Student Center.
• Anniston District - drop off at Jacobs Chapel, Talladega (contact Rev. Phoebe Presson)
• MPCO District - contact Presiding Elder James Q. Smith for dropoff information
• Mobile District - contact Presiding Elder Desi Echoles for dropoff information

VOLUNTEERS who are members of our CME Churches, who want to travel to Florida with the Miles Team should contact Dean Charles Gibbs via email at gibbsjcharles@gmail.com by Friday, September 29th. Volunteers must be at least 21 years old, must sign a waiver, must have the recommendation of their pastor/presiding elder or bishop.  You must be willing to share a hotel room with another volunteer, bring food money, and work clothes. Tasks to be done will involve yard work and food/supply distribution. 

 Departure is early Tuesday, October 3rd and returning late Friday, October 6th. 

We are grateful to Miles College for its outreach to the Fifth Episcopal District - Florida Region!  The team will also have application information readily available for anyone interested in enrolling at Miles!

In recent weeks, the Miles College students have been busy with outreach. More than 45 students plus staff traveled to Atlanta to participate in the CME Unity Summit's Feed the Homeless Banquet.  The last week of September another group of students will travel to Houston and Port Arthur, Texas to provide support and supplies to victims of Hurricane Harvey.

DISASTER REPORT ON CHURCHES IN FLORIDA

Jacksonville-Orlando District

• Holsey Temple in Jacksonville sustained major roof damage.
• Dawson Chapel in St. Augustine had significant roof and water damage.
• St. Paul, Gainesville sustained major roof and other structural damage. 
• Rev. Deborah Wallace, the pastor of Murchison Temple in Jacksonville, home was flooded and she lost almost everything.
• The roof on the District Parsonage where Presiding Elder Roscoe and Rev. Mary McKinney live was damaged.

Miami-Tampa District

• Rev. Dexter Harris, the pastor of Stewart-Isom in St. Petersburg, lost the roof on his house.
• Rev. Errol Darville, the pastor of Gray's Temple in West Palm Beach, and his family lost everything in the parsonage due to an electrical fire after the power came back on.
• Trinity Church in Miami had significant flooding and may have to replace the flooring and lower walls in the 1st floor fellowship hall.

Other churches and members across the state have had to deal with downed trees, power outages, broken windows, debris and litter and flooding in varying degrees.  As of today, some are still without power! 

Please send any monetary donations to assist with relief and recovery efforts to the Fifth Episcopal District Office.  Make checks payable to "CME Department of Finance" and put "Disaster Fund" in the memo line.

MEDIATION FOR SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2017

Galatians 6: 8 Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in.   (The Amplified Bible)

The past few weeks have raised our awareness of the impact of natural disasters. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria – all occurring within weeks of one another – have elevated our understanding of human misery and suffering.  Fires, earthquakes and other disasters have reminded us that Creation is not ours to control.

In the midst of these overwhelming events and the tragic stories that emerge from them, it is easy to retreat in the illusion of the safety and security of our own lives. It is easy to feel powerless to do anything. It is easy to get tired of so-o much need for comfort, for healing or just for a warm bed, a meal and other basic necessities!

In his letter to the church at Galatia, Paul reminds the believers of a peculiar demand of our faith, “that we not grow weary” in doing good. It sometimes seems an impossible thing to ask, because these things and often life itself seems more than we can bear.  Our resources seem meager and inadequate. Our strength fails and our energy wanes when we are called on to help, over and over again. But let us also remember these words that help us grasp the “reaping” or the “harvest” or the “blessing” that comes from hanging in there, doing good even when it seems impossible or too much:

Romans 5: 2b-5 (NRSV) we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.