In 2014, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s Associate for Story Ministry, David Barnhart, met Lisa Horne, Director of Community Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Flint, working on what would become the award-winning documentary, “Flint: The Poisoning of an American City.”
The brightly-lit Ramsey Gym at Beulah Presbyterian Church in Louisville came alive Saturday morning as some 20 area volunteers became a cheerful human assembly line in support of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
It is the season when volunteer work trips kick into high gear as groups from churches and other partners of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance show their love and compassion by helping with rebuilding projects in communities affected by disasters.
For groups that have one of these trips in their future, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has put together a free, downloadable how-to guide to assist with planning.
Lisa Baker has a promise for those pondering the idea of becoming a member of the National Response Team (NRT) of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
“It might seem daunting, but the reality is, you’ll get more than you give in this ministry,” said Baker, who’s part of the team. “Your heart becomes larger with every deployment.”
“Between 2 Pulpits” hosts the Rev. Dr. John Wilkinson and Katie Snyder called on the Rev. Dr. Laurie Kraus to wrap up their One Great Hour of Sharing podcast series by highlighting and illustrating the intersections of disaster assistance, ending hunger and the self-development of people.
Given the opportunity to talk about the well-known and well-respected work of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Rev. Edwin González-Castillo did not hesitate when he took to the Between 2 Pulpits microphone recently.
Although the women of Malawi are accustomed to doing anything and everything from farming to running small-scale businesses to support their families, Tropical Cyclone Freddy sorely tested Tinenenji [tee-nan-an-gee] Kalamba’s resilience.
Yet Kalamba was undeterred.
The above words came from a Syrian woman displaced from her homeland and forced to flee to Italy, but they’re words that could be voiced by thousands who face a similar migration journey to often-unwelcoming countries; a journey that frequently leads refugees to be terrified, broken, and fragile at their destination.
Wednesday’s installment in the “Connecting the Dots” webinar series gave voice to three women who live on Vieques Island in the southeastern region of the Puerto Rico archipelago, an island that has faced many challenges including decades of hosting a U.S. Navy base for live-fire bombing practices.