Friends,

The journey before our communities devastated by the EF-3 tornado last Friday will be a long one. Third Presbyterian Church is on the ground distributing tarps and other supplies. PDA grant applications have been submitted out of the APL office and a meeting is scheduled to discuss the process of bringing in a National Response Team. Your prayers are required, your hands-on service is needed, and your contributions of materials, food, and money are a blessing.

With gratitude to the Public Witness team, an expansive list of local agencies was curated. Congregations interested in providing aid of any kind are encouraged to contact them directly. Please scroll through and learn how you can serve.

Please note: you may have to copy and paste links into browsers.

Yours in Christ,

Liz

Associate Presbytery Leader

God of the ages, you have always been faithful to your people. Come to us now, we pray! Give comfort and courage to those who are suffering. Give strength and skill to those who are working to save and heal. Give us your peace that passes all understanding in these moments of shock and sorrow, and open our eyes, hearts, and hands to the movements of your Spirit, that we might be comforted and comfort others in the name of Christ, our healer, and our light. Amen.

-Book of Common Worship

Tornado Relief and Recovery

Service Opportunities

ACTION St. Louis

The above link will take you to their tornado response page which gives information on volunteering and donations.

LifeWise StL (formerly Kingdom House)

Google Doc Live List of Resources and Needs

We have compiled a huge list of everything they've seen and heard about that we are using to refer families - here's a link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UnP7JnFUGXSsiqfyciicUE2TNJkP55aqlsDNR663cbA/edit?usp=sharing

One that might be of interest and is legitimate is Rx Outreach who is supplying emergency supplies of medications. https://rxoutreach.org/relief/

LifeWise StL (https://www.lifewisestl.org) will be glad to take donations of essential items - with a large need for new underwear and socks in all adult sizes. For the items we can't use, we will share with agencies. We know the next big need will be groceries, as people have lost their food due to no electricity, so gift cards for groceries (Schnucks, Walmart, Target, Aldi...) are always helpful.

And of course, financial contributions help us meet the specific needs of families in need. https://secure.qgiv.com/for/tornadorelief/

Supply Donations

Requested supplies:

○     Tarps

○     2x4 lumber

○     4x8 sheets of plywood

○     Wood screws

○     Work gloves

○     Masks

Supply drop-off locations:

○     O’Fallon YMCA

○     Urban League (Kingshighway location)

○     4144 Martin Luther King Drive (serving The Ville neighborhood)  

From St. Louis Magazine

Lots of collection sites, businesses and restaurants collecting supplies, and more.

https://www.stlmag.com/news/st-louis-tornado-relief-ways-to-help/?utm_campaign=Family Newsletter&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8144JFkvBTREfi4kNhELYSE3xfLBcdLOqZLqNujs0RjNppZjVC2P5cYYCF0XZwShBNMqRy6xgDNovaVT9nhlzae_HMzmaTl1ok6whTsI8m-42akPs&_hsmi=361893873&utm_content=361893873&utm_source=hs_email

Volunteers Needed

The need for volunteers is great, especially ahead of incoming weather. Help is urgently needed to secure tarps to roofs. Volunteers with proper equipment are especially needed. Sign up to volunteer through the United Way: https://tinyurl.com/2r3a3uue

St. Louis Gives

The above link will take you to a long list of service and donation opportunities.

St. Andrew's Charitable Foundation

DONATE You Can Help St. Louis Seniors Recover from the Storm

Rev. Dr. Dave Burgess, Moderator

Ruling Elder Barbara Abbett, Vice-Moderator  

Rev. Ryan Landino, Presbytery Leader

Rev. Elizabeth Kanerva, Associate Presbytery Leader 

Rev. Dr. Brandan Eddy, Stated Clerk