Friends,

We want to thank you for the outpouring of generous response around the Virginia Annual Conference over the last several days as we continue to navigate the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the connection. As promised, we have some updates to share with you today:

• Flood Buckets

• • • Flood bucket collection sites have been established in every district. A spreadsheet showing those sites is available here Flood Bucket Collection Sites
      • Please note that if collection times are not listed for the site you wish to use, please reach out to that site directly to coordinate the best time to drop off. 
    • If your church or group is preparing to drop off flood buckets, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/Y2evGmwwDHUEADXL8 This helps collection sites to be prepared to transport buckets most efficiently.
    • As you are building and collecting flood buckets, consider taking pictures and helping to share the story of how we are living in connection in this season. Pictures can be shared via email: [email protected]. 
    • As a reminder, flood buckets should be dropped off to collection sites by Sunday, October 13. All buckets will make their way to the Conference Office by Wednesday, October 16 where they will be blessed and sent out to Mission Depot.
    • Because this timeline is quick for some, we are working to set up a second round of collections and deliveries of flood buckets later in October. More information will be available about this in the coming days.
    • We are grateful that Brian Posey is serving as our flood bucket coordinator. If you have any questions about flood buckets, please email Brian: [email protected]

• Financial Contributions

• • • If you would like to help with building a flood bucket, but don’t have the resources or ability to do so independently, you’re invited to make a financial contribution to the building of flood buckets. To help streamline financial generosity, you can use this link to pay online: https://www.cognitoforms.com/NoVaUMC2/FloodBucketSupport. Contributions can be made in three distinct capacities:
      • To cover the suggested donation for sponges and shipping of flood buckets ($3/bucket x total number of buckets)
      • To cover the cost of a flood bucket if you are unable to make one ($75/bucket)
      • To make a general donation to be used towards buckets in whatever way is needed. 
    • If you would like to give via check, please make all checks payable to “Virginia Conference UMC” with “Flood Buckets/Kits (Advance #5041)” in the memo line. 
      • Please mail your check to the Treasurer, Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church P.O. Box 5606 Glen Allen, VA 23058.
    • Additionally, UMCOR continues to ask for funding to provide needed assistance on the ground in areas most impacted by this storm. You can visit vaumc.org/helene and click the link to contribute there if you’d like to offer a gift to UMCOR.

• Continue to Pray and See the Impact

• • We continue to encourage United Methodists and congregations throughout the Virginia Annual Conference to pray for the relief efforts and for the people and communities who are in spaces of grief, rescue, turmoil, and assessment right now. 
  • This week we’ve received word that one of our VAUMC shower trailers and a generator is going to be deployed down to Western North Carolina by the end of this week. Thank you for making this a reality!
  • Most of all, thank you for your continued generosity, support, and interest in serving neighbors during this time. These are moments when our connectional nature feels most essential. We are grateful for you and for the work we are sharing by God’s grace in this season.

Please be in touch if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support – there is much still to be done and we will continue to move forward together.

Blessings,

Rev. Amanda Garber, Director of Missional and Community Engagement
Rev. JoAnn Batteiger, Assistant Director of Missional and Community Engagement

Today, the Office of Missional and Community Engagement can offer more ways United Methodists can be supportive of communities that have been impacted by Hurricane Helene. We imagine you like us have seen images coming from around the southeast in the wake of this catastrophic storm. First and foremost, we must commit to being a people of prayer and holding all those impacted by this tragedy close to our hearts in this time.

We also recognize this is a time where many of us feel a call to take action and do something. This is worth celebrating! And we want to do this in a way that is mindful of Wesley’s three general rules: Do no harm, Do good, Attend to the ways of God. Being mindful of this, here are three actions we would encourage you to consider today to take action and respond to those most impacted by Helene:

Flood buckets

• All of the kits that we have collected at this past year’s Annual Conference and past year’s Annual Conference are in the process of being deployed into the areas of most need– so thank you!

• Now we will need more. Starting today, we will be collecting flood buckets to help replenish the Mission Central depot. This ensures that every area that has been impacted by Helene can get timely assistance.

1. There will be at least two sites on every district where flood buckets can be delivered as they are assembled. The list of drop off sites will be available and widely dispersed throughout the conference by Wednesday, October 2.

2. These buckets can be built now! We’d encourage flood buckets to be built and delivered to drop off sites by Sunday, October 13. Buckets will then come to Glen Allen to be blessed and delivered to Mission Central by October 16. 

Volunteering your time to be present

We utilize something known as the Early Response Team certification to ensure people who will be onsite in disaster response have appropriate training to go and help. Remember – the first rule is do no harm.

If you are ERT certified, thank you! You will receiving email communication from your team leader about next steps very soon.

If you are not ERT certified but want to be a part of an on-the-ground response team to assist with relief efforts, we are organizing multiple trainings around the Annual Conference in the coming weeks. Today we can share that trainings are scheduled for…

1. Saturday, October 26 in the Coastal Virginia District
2. Saturday, November 9 in the Richmond Area
3. More details will follow for both and any additional trainings that will be offered.

Financial Generosity

Right now, financial gifts are one of the biggest sources of impact to help with these relief efforts. When you give to disaster relief through UMCOR, 100% of your gift goes to support this work.

We will continue to be in communication about ways you can make a difference and be in connection with those most impacted by Hurricane Helene. Tomorrow, Rev. Bob Pihlcrantz, our VAUMC Disaster Response Coordinator, will have some further information about what the UMCOR Disaster Recovery Process looks like and where we are in it as of right now. Additionally, we are in the process of preparing our disaster response tool trailers and shower trailers to be sent out to impacted areas when we receive the invitation for them.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our office by email at [email protected]. Thank you so much for bearing witness to the love of God in this time. Please be praying, be preparing, and be providing. This is the power and the beauty of what it means to be a church in connection.

Blessings,

Rev. Amanda Garber, Director of Missional and Community Engagement
Rev. JoAnn Batteiger, Assistant Director of Missional and Community Engagement