Bracing for Barry

All Louisianians have eyes toward the Gulf as we continue to monitor the developments of the storm, which could be named Barry. 

The Louisiana Conference Office of Missional Engagement and Outreach is actively working with all of the districts in the affected area. 

"We are monitoring the storm hourly and have been in close contact with the District Superintendents, the Distract Disaster Response Coordinators and UMCOR," said Rev. Elaine Burleigh, newly appointed Director of Missional Engagement and Outreach. "Early Response Teams around the connection have been put on standby and we are in the process of identifying churches that can serve as shelters and staging grounds for cleaning buckets and other donations."

Meanwhile, if you are asking how you or your church can help, here are five tangible ways. 
 

• DONATE

  • Donate to the Louisiana Conference Disaster Preparedness and Response Fund. Your gift allows the Louisiana Conference to prepare for disasters and respond to them - all in the name of Christ.  
     

• CLEANING KITS

  • Have your church make and prepare cleaning kits. These kits, previously known as flood buckets, and the help those affected by floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up. Assembly instructions and shipping instructions can be found here. A simple how-to video is found below. 
     

• ERT TRAINING

  • Sign-up for upcoming Early Response Team training in your area, when they are offered.
     

• PREPARE FOR DEPLOYMENT

  • If you are ERT trained and are asked to deploy, say yes.  Please do not self-deploy.
     

• PRAY

  • ​Stay safe and pray for those in the affected areas.