Virginia churches serve ?secondary victims’
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert Marionette Changes and Andy Powell pack bags full of produce for distribution to elderly and handicapped people.
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At
Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church in Alexandria, Va., church
member Marionette Changes and Andy Powell pack bags full of produce for
distribution to homeless, needy, elderly and handicapped people along
Washington's Route One Corridor. Rising Hope, a church whose membership
consists mostly of the poor and homeless, is a recipient of the United
Methodist Committee on Relief's "Love in the Midst of Tragedy" grants
given after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and the World
Trade Centers. Many minimum-wage earners lost their jobs in the tourist
industry following the attacks. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert. Photo #
061070. Accompanies UMNS story #545. 9/13/06
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Sept. 13, 2006
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (UMNS) — Andy Powell, David Miller and Frank Baker take
brown paper bags full of fresh produce and canned goods out to waiting vans.
Marionette Changes keeps a careful eye on the men to make sure the right bags
get in the right vans.
“We got some fresh produce from the market,” she says, obviously
pleased with today’s offering. “One of our ladies loves asparagus.”
Changes and the others are members or regular attendees of Rising Hope United
Methodist Mission Church, a church whose membership consists mostly of the
poor and homeless along Washington’s Route One Corridor.
On this day, the church is delivering food to the elderly and handicapped
in the community.
Secondary victims
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert The Rev. Keary Kincannon says some of the hidden victims of Sept. 11 live in the Route One Corridor just south of Washington.
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The
Rev. Keary Kincannon, pastor of Rising Hope United Methodist Mission
Church in Alexandria, Va., says some of the hidden victims of the Sept.
11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centers live in
the Route One Corridor just south of Washington. Many minimum-wage
earners lost their jobs in the tourist industry following the attacks.
Rising Hope, a church whose membership consists mostly of the poor and
homeless, is a recipient of a United Methodist Committee on Relief's
"Love in the Midst of Tragedy" grant given after the attacks. A UMNS
photo by Kathy L. Gilbert. Photo # 061071. Accompanies UMNS story #545.
9/13/06
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Rising Hope was one of the recipients of United
Methodist Committee on Relief’s “Love
in the Midst of Tragedy” grants given after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centers.
Powell, Miller and Baker are some of the “secondary victims” of
Sept. 11 helped by the grant money.
The Rev. Keary Kincannon, pastor of Rising Hope, explains that some of the
hidden victims of the tragedy live in the corridor just south of Washington.
They are minimum-wage earners who cleaned motel rooms, served food in the restaurants,
worked in shops catering to tourists at Mount Vernon and other attractions,
or drove taxis to nearby Reagan National Airport.
After the attacks, the tourist trade dropped dramatically, taking jobs with
it.
Rising Hope Church was established in 1996 to
bring “spiritual and material
relief” to people who live in the area. About 60 percent of its members
are homeless or have been homeless at some point.
“Many of our members live in the woods, their cars or in shelters,” says
Laura Derby, church administrator and grant writer. Rising Hope has many members
who suffer from mental health problems or addiction. Derby says they were thrown
into an emotional tailspin by the terrorist attacks.
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A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert Laura Derby (left) and Marionette Changes prepare bags for loading onto vans.
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At
Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church in Alexandria, Va., church
administrator and grant writer Laura Derby (left) and church member
Marionette Changes prepare bags before they are loaded onto vans. Rising
Hope, a church whose membership consists mostly of the poor and
homeless, is a recipient of the United Methodist Committee on Relief's
"Love in the Midst of Tragedy" grants given after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centers. Many minimum-wage
earners lost their jobs in the tourist industry following the attacks. A
UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert. Photo # 061072. Accompanies UMNS story
#545. 9/13/06
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One example is “Evelyn,” a single
mother with one child who has suffered from mental health issues much of
her life. In
2001, she was struggling
to hold a job. She went into a depression after the attacks and was hospitalized
for severe clinical depression and suicidal tendencies. She was hospitalized
three times during the 18 months after Sept. 11 and was diagnosed with bipolar
disorder.
Rising Hope was able to give her support and find employment again. The church
provided clothes for her and her child and assisted with bills for prescriptions,
utilities and food, Derby says.
According to Kincannon, the UMCOR grant “helped us rise to another level” of
serving the community.
Help for immigrants
The first years after Sept. 11 were especially
tough for the immigrant population, says the Rev. Herb Brynildson, pastor
of St. Matthew’s
United Methodist Church, Annandale, Va.
“People were weary of immigrants regardless of who they were,” he
recalls.
State and local governments cracked down on the services they would provide
to people without proper identification. That action affected immigrants, the
poor and the homeless.
Brynildson helped write the proposal from the
United Methodist Virginia Annual (regional) Conference to receive “Love in the Midst of Tragedy” monies.
Virginia United Methodists then disbursed nearly $1 million to six organizations,
including Rising Hope.
The largest amount went to Grace Ministries, a community outreach program
to the Hispanic community. The ministries provide food and clothing, rent assistance,
job training and retraining, worship in Spanish and pastoral counseling.
Brynildson says Grace Ministries was able to expand
its outreach into two new locations and now serves four areas with ministry,
worship opportunities
and legal services. “Legal status is not important to who we serve and
how we serve,” he notes.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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