|
Photo by Paul Jeffrey, ACT International A tsunami survivor walks in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
|
A
tsunami survivor walks in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Many European
Methodist churches with special links to Sri Lanka - including
congregations in Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Britain - have given
aid directly to Sri Lankan Methodist organizations. A UMNS photo by Paul
Jeffrey, ACT International. Photo #05-026. Accompanies UMNS story #022.
1/11/05 |
Jan. 11, 2005 A UMNS Feature By Kathleen LaCamera* Horrified
by what they saw and heard of the destruction wrought by deadly
tsunamis in South Asia, Methodists across Europe have lined up to help
in whatever way they can. A
congregation in the north of England is filling and shipping plastic
crates called "aquaboxes" that contain water purification and filter
equipment. An elderly Irish Methodist couple donated their government
winter fuel subsidy to those they believe have more need of the money. Lithuanian
United Methodists collected a special offering that will go to the
United Methodist Committee on Relief’s tsunami response. Slovakian
United Methodists are collecting donations for the entire month of
January. And in the Czech Republic, where United Methodists remember the
devastating effects of recent floods in their own country,
congregations have organized a national appeal. The story is similar in Switzerland, Germany and other parts of Europe. In
a joint statement, the president and vice president of the British
Methodist Church called on members to respond to the tragedy "with the
fullest possible expression of our common humanity." President Will
Morrey told United Methodist News Service that Methodists should use
grass-roots networks in Southeast Asia, such as women’s groups, to offer
emotional and spiritual support alongside practical help. British
Methodist minister Rosemary Nunn was in Venezuela for her son’s wedding
the day after Christmas when the tsunamis struck. Upon returning to her
parish in Manchester, England, she suggested a collection be taken. To
her delight, she discovered the church treasurer already had sent almost
$1,000 to the relief effort and was organizing another collection for
the following week. The
Methodist Relief and Development Fund has been overwhelmed by the
generosity of many people, said representative Sarah Hagger. The fund is
working with global Action by Churches Together International to get
aid where it is needed most in India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. UMCOR is
also a member of ACT. Many
European Methodist churches with special links to Sri Lanka — including
congregations in Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Britain — have given
aid directly to Sri Lankan Methodist organizations. Acknowledging that
his country has been ravaged by 20 years of civil war, the president of
the Sri Lankan Methodist Church called the additional damage and loss
caused by the tsunami "unthinkable."
|
Photo by Paul Jeffrey, ACT International Sri Lankan refugees return home to rebuild their lives.
|
Sri
Lankans from a refugee camp near Palattadichchenai return home to
rebuild their houses and lives. They were left homeless by the Dec. 26
tsunami. Refugees in the camp have received assistance from a variety of
organizations, including the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, a
member of Action by Churches Together International. A UMNS photo by
Paul Jeffrey, ACT International. Photo #05-024. Accompanies UMNS story
#022. 1/11/05 |
Sri Lankan Methodist
layworker Selvie Selvaretnam is serving a three-year term in Wales as a
World Church Development worker. She reported that her adult son living
on Sri Lanka’s south coast saved himself from the waves by clinging to a
tree. Since
news of the tsunami first reached her in Wales, local people have been
"really wonderful," she said. "I didn’t expect such a very personal
interest in Sri Lanka from locals." Molly
Jenkins, a member of the Jersey Marine Methodist Church, where
Selvaretnam works, said her "heart went out to Selvie" when she heard
about the tsunami. Within a short time, two girls had started a
collection for Sri Lanka. "We’re
only a small village, with 150 houses, one post office, one hotel, one
church and a school," Jenkins said. "One local man gave my husband £50
straight off for the collection." The
Rev. John Kennedy, a former British Methodist missionary to Sri Lanka,
said that in the ravaged east coast region of Sri Lanka, Methodists are a
strong presence. Along a remote part of the coastline, people live on a
strip of land with the sea on one side and a lagoon on the other. "They
would have had no place to run. Every village would have suffered
Methodist deaths and will have Methodists survivors who will be
motivated to be a resource and help to others," Kennedy said.
|
Photo by Paul Jeffrey, ACT International Children walk in a devastated neighborhood of Batticaloa on Sri Lanka's east coast.
|
Children walk through a devastated neighborhood of Batticaloa on Sri Lanka's east coast. Many
European Methodist churches with special links to Sri Lanka - including
congregations in Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Britain - have given
aid directly to Sri Lankan Methodist organizations. A UMNS photo by
Paul Jeffrey, ACT International. Photo #05-025. Accompanies UMNS story
#022. 1/11/05 |
By New Year’s Eve,
Sri Lankan Methodists already had sent 10 truckloads of essential items
for distribution to local people, irrespective of faith, race or
political affiliation. European Methodists, who are concerned about the
fair distribution of aid in Sri Lanka, hope the disaster will bring
people together. "In
all the horror, there are glimpses of hope," observed British
Methodism’s president and vice president in their joint statement. "In
Sri Lanka, we hear of remarkable local acts of courage and generosity as
Sinhalese and Tamil, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian come
together in common need and support." French
and Swiss Methodists, who have no international relief channels of
their own, have donated special collections to UMCOR. United Methodists
throughout Switzerland also joined with representatives of other faiths
for a Swiss National Collecting Day. A national memorial service was
held for disaster victims and 130 million Swiss francs ($110 million)
collected in donations. Even
in areas where European Methodists are hard-pressed by economic and
political difficulties, people have been keen to join in the relief
effort. In
Belfast, Northern Ireland regulars at the East Belfast Mission’s day
center are dropping coins into a tsunami relief bucket. Elderly church
members ask "Meals on Wheels" volunteers to deliver their relief
donations to the church. Teenagers, benefiting from a United Methodist
funded Advance Special project, inquire if they can organize a
fund-raising event. In Macedonia, where the unemployment rate is between
40 and 80 percent, Methodists are committed to being part of the global
relief effort. In
the Ukraine the political landscape remains uncertain, and salaries
average about $100 a month. Still United Methodist leaders there hope to
consider the possibility of a collection for the tsunami relief effort
later this year. Ukrainian Methodist churches have only just finished
collecting a special offering to benefit victims of last fall’s Beslan
tragedy, in which terrorists took over a Russian school. During
a recent sermon at the Styal Methodist Church in Cheshire, England, the
Rev. Charles New pointed to the unprecedented public response to the
disaster as "evidence of the image of God on humankind." "I
cannot be indifferent to what has happened because God is not
indifferent," New said. "… This outpouring of love that we are
witnessing right round the world is a fundamental human instinct that
allows us to see, for a brief moment, just how we have been created to
be." Donations
to UMCOR’s "South Asia Emergency" relief efforts can be placed in local
church offering plates or sent directly to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive,
Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Designate checks for UMCOR Advance #274305
and "South Asia Emergency." Online donations can be made at
www.methodistrelief.org. Those making credit-card donations can call
(800) 554-8583. *LaCamera is a United Methodist News Service correspondent based in England.
|