Dear friends,

As you well know, the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene is almost unfathomable. In multiple states, the death toll continues to rise, and people are still stranded without electricity or water. Some have been able to leave the area and find places of refuge with family or friends. Others are in shelters not knowing what the next day will bring. People all around the country are in shock at what has happened to innumerable people, communities, towns, and cities.

Many in the areas where the devastation has occurred have turned to helping one another. Those of us who have witnessed the damage from afar continue to ask what we can do. We continue to hear messages urging people not to come, including a recent one from Orange County Sherriff’s Office as too many roads are still impassable and the ones that are passable need to be open for emergency vehicles. Some are gathering goods to take to those in need in different areas, but what is most needed by rescue organizations in this moment is money.

If you have means to contribute and are still looking for a place to give, I would recommend the following organizations doing work on the ground:

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: https://pda.pcusa.org/situation/hurricane-helene/

Montreat Conference Center (Assembly Inn is a FEMA distribution center): https://montreat.org/

Black Mountain Presbyterian Church (one of three locations serving food and distributing water, also providing portable bathrooms): www.bmpcnc.org

Red Cross - https://www.redcross.org/donate/dr/hurricane-helene.html/

Asheville/Swannanoa:

·        Beloved Asheville is on the ground, volunteers are collecting and distributing a wide array of supplies: https://belovedasheville.com/get-involved/

·        United Way, Asheville and Buncombe County: https://www.unitedwayabc.org/

·        Hearts with Hands (swannanoa/asheville): a local organization supplying food to buncombe county shelters https://www.heartswithhands.org

·        Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM): donations help to pay for motel and food vouchers for local residents and long term support for those displaced Abccm.org/donations/ministry-fund/

·        Haywood Christian Ministry: WNC’s largest food pantry distributing food in Asheville hcmnc.org

·        Diaper Bank: Babies need Bottoms Asheville: distributing children’s supplies including diapers, cream, and wipes babiesneedbottoms.org

·        Asheville Habitat for Humanity: Asheville’s chapter helping to rebuild homes and repair damage from Helene ashevillehabitat.org

·        Homeward Bound: supplying aid to Asheville’s homeless population homewardboundwnc.org/donate/

We will no doubt be sending goods and teams to help in the clean-up and rebuilding process in the weeks and months ahead. For now, in addition to your donations, please continue to hold all those affected by this storm and those who are on the ground providing aid and support in your prayers.

I leave you with this prayer, written by Esther this weekend, to guide you in your own prayers:

Lord God, as we watch in helplessness the devastation of rains and wind, we lift up our hearts in lament.

For those whose homes have been washed away, Lord in your mercy.

For the lives lost to trees and wreckage, Lord in your mercy.

For the upheaval of the familiar and important, Lord in your mercy.

For the safety of first responders and volunteers, Lord in your mercy.

For the anxiety of waiting for contact, Lord in your mercy.

For the loss of power, connection and comfort, Lord in your mercy.

For those who do not have the resources to rebuild, whose lives will forever be scarred by this storm and whose families will suffer the injustice of poverty and inequity, Lord in your mercy.

May our prayers not be the end of our compassion. May our words not be the only thing we offer.

For Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Cuba.

For all these O God, we name in this hour.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

“God is our refuge and our strength, our ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46).

May you know God’s comforting presence and indominable strength in the midst of this tragedy.

Mindy