Computers will help congregations stay in touch
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A UMNS photo by Woody Woodrick Sean
McAtee (left) and Jeff Byrd (center), of United Methodist
Communications, and the Rev. Patrick Phillips of Jackson (Miss.) Central
United Methodist Church unload donated computers.
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Sean
McAtee (left) and Jeff Byrd (center), of United Methodist
Communications, and the Rev. Patrick Phillips of Jackson (Miss.) Central
United Methodist Church unload computers donated by the United
Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits and United Methodist
Communications. The 23 computers will be distributed to churches in the
Seashore District that were affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Another delivery of over 100 donated computers was made to Louisiana
United Methodist Storm Recovery Center in Baton Rouge, for distribution
to damaged churches in the state. A UMNS photo by Woody Woodrick. Photo
#06329. Accompanies UMNS story #198 4/6/06 |
April 6, 2006
By United Methodist News Service*
United Methodist churches in Louisiana and Mississippi devastated by Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita got a much needed delivery recently ? computers.
The donated computers ? 115 desktops and 20 laptops ? are
the result of a joint effort by United Methodist Communications and the United
Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
The pension board was in the process of replacing the computers in the fall
of 2005 when the idea of giving the computers to pastors and congregations
was conceived by Sean McAtee, tech shop director for United Methodist Communications,
and Linda Haas, a senior analyst at the Board of Pension. The computers were
three to four years old.
“These computers are important for ministry,” said the Rev. Larry
Hollon, top executive at United Methodist Communications. “Many displaced
members of local congregations remain in contact with friends and relatives
by e-mail. Pastors need the capability to be connected in order to stay in
touch with their parishioners. In addition, they will be able to use the computers
for sermon preparation, writing and other more routine work that has become
commonplace in our digitized society.”
In a statement about the donation of computers,
Barbara A. Boigegrain, top executive at the Board of Pension and Health Benefits,
said, “It is important
to find meaningful ways to continue to assist those affected by the storms
and especially to help rebuild churches, which help people to rebuild lives.”
From November to February, the computers were
wiped clean, reloaded with software and tested to make sure they worked
properly. The value of the gift escalated with United Methodist Communication’s
provision of Microsoft Office software licensing and the cost of transporting
the machines..
“They (the board of pension) even went so far as to carefully box each
unit in its original Dell container so that all I had to do was pick them up
for delivery to the Gulf Coast,” said McAtee.
On March 28, McAtee and Jeff Byrd, maintenance supervisor for United Methodist
Communications, began moving the computers from the Board of Pension in Evanston,
Ill.
“We were able to pick up all the units at one time. Seven of the office
employees stopped what they were doing at their desks and joined Jeff and me
in loading up the truck,” McAtee said.
The pair left Evanston in breezy, 40-degree weather
to arrive 12 hours later in Jackson, Miss., to balmy 80-plus temperatures. “We definitely needed
a wardrobe change,” said McAtee. With Byrd behind the wheel of the truck,
the two made “great time” as they traveled south. “God truly
blessed our trip,” Byrd said.
They stopped first at Central United Methodist Church in Jackson, Miss. The
23 computers left there will be distributed to churches in the Seashore District.
The bulk of the computers were off-loaded at the Louisiana United Methodist
Storm Recovery Center in Baton Rouge. McAtee and Byrd were greeted by Louisiana
Bishop William W. Hutchinson, the Rev. Darryl Tate, storm center director,
and Fred Loy, a former member of the General Commission on Communication, the
governing body of United Methodist Communications.
“We are appreciative for the generous gift of computers from the General
Board of Pension and Health Benefits, along with United Methodist Communication’s
contributions,” Hutchinson said. “So many churches and pastors
lost all their office equipment, and this will go a long way in helping to
replace badly needed computers.”
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A UMNS photo by Betty Backstrom The
Rev. LeKisha Reed (center) of Boynton United Methodist Church in New
Orleans stands with Sean McAtee (left) and Jeff Byrd, of United
Methodist Communications after receiving donated computers.
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The
Rev. LeKisha Reed (center) of Boynton United Methodist Church in New
Orleans, stands with Sean McAtee (left) and Jeff Byrd of United
Methodist Communications. Boynton United Methodist Church was a
recipient of one of 135 computers donated by United Methodist Board of
Pension and Health Benefits and United Methodist Communications for
distribution to churches in Mississippi and Louisiana devastated by
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A UMNS photo by Betty Backstrom. Photo
#06330. Accompanies UMNS story #198. 4/6/06 |
McAtee and Byrd delivered the last load of computers
March 31 to the Rev. LeKisha Reed, pastor of Boynton United Methodist Church
in New Orleans. As the men carried the equipment inside the church building, Reed exclaimed, “Thank
you so much. This is awesome!”
Reed plans to use the two computers for church
administrative purposes and as part of the church’s ongoing tutoring
outreach for children in the neighborhood.
“We have an older congregation with a number of retired school teachers
and principals, so the tutoring ministry is a ?natural’ for Boynton
United Methodist Church,” Reed said. “The kids really need help
because so many of them were displaced from their schools for long periods
of time after Hurricane Katrina hit.”
“Through my work, I have come to see how important it is to do everything
you can with the resources you have to help others in ministry,” said
McAtee. “If everybody would look around them, and assess their resources
and connections that could be shared, the recovery effort will be that much
stronger.”
“We are delighted to work with the General Board of Pensions and Health
Benefits and the annual conferences of Louisiana and Mississippi to provide
these tools for ministry,” Hollon said.
Boigegrain said, “I am glad and proud of our employees and their ongoing
efforts to make positive investments in people’s lives: our participants,
our churches and, particularly, those in need.”
*This story was written by Betty Backstrom, editor
of Louisiana Now!, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church’s Louisiana Annual Conference,
and Woody Woodrick, editor of the Mississippi Advocate, the newspaper of the
United Methodist Church’s Mississippi Annual Conference.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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