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A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Debra Ball-Kilbourne*
7:00 A.M. ET June 22, 2012
“Where were you?”
That’s a popular question for people who live and work in the Souris Valley of North Dakota.
Like any major event — such as the Challenger explosion or the death
of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — most people around Minot, N.D.,
will mark this anniversary by sharing stories of where they were when
the Souris River overflowed its banks on June 24, 2011. They’ll say, “I
was madly deciding what to take and what I could leave behind, knowing
I would never see those belongings again.” Or they’ll say, “We were
helping in Joplin! Who knew we were going to be in it ourselves in
Minot?”
The story I tell is that Faith United Methodist Church had evacuated
our Lord’s Cupboard food pantry, distributing the commercial-cooler
food to other programs that would feed people during the evacuation
period. Exhausted, I headed home. The emergency siren blew as I was on
my cell phone with my husband. I was relieved he was already at home,
but both of us were anxious that our younger son was not.
No one will forget the early days of actual flooding.
We lost 4,100 homes and 24 churches, among them Faith’s lovely
building. The Souris Valley became the third-largest Federal Emergency
Management Agency trailer event in U.S. history. The Dakotas Annual
(regional) Conference, in collaboration with UMCOR and its ecumenical
partners, provided case management and worked to rebuild homes. We call
this ecumenical effort “Hope Village.”
Faith’s feeding ministry continued in two locations, thanks to
another area church and a business owner. The flood taught us that we
could probably be more effective in our ministry by working with other
like-minded organizations.
For several months, Faith United Methodist Church has met weekly
with other parties to create “The Welcome Table,” a one-stop shop for
free medical care, meals, pantry, case management and interim shelter
services. The goal is to have all services of The Welcome Table under
one roof. This would extend our feeding ministry of nearly 22 years with
much-needed, value-added ministry. Now we are attempting to find an
affordable location and writing grants to fund this ministry.
‘New vision … new ministries’
And Faith United Methodist Church? We’ll never again use our
flooded building for worship. The cost to redeem it from the Souris
proved too expensive — between $1.3 million and $1.4 million. However,
Faith lives! The resilience of the congregation has been utterly
amazing!
Provided with temporary worship/program space by our gracious
neighbors, Vincent United Methodist Church, Faith has developed a new
vision and worked through our financing. Now, a new location of 14.1
acres — located out of the flood plain and in a newly developing
housing area — may house Faith for the future. The cost is less — $1.1
million. The new building will be accessible to people of all ages and
physical abilities.
Faith is rising from the floodwaters! While we certainly will miss
our former building, we look forward to raising the funds necessary to
purchase this new building. To help us reach our goal, we will have a
Miracle Sunday and pledge drive on July 15.
Meanwhile, our congregation continues with its historic mission of
feeding. Last year, people received nearly 47,000 meals through The
Lord’s Cupboard and pantry. Our new location will allow new ministries
of radical hospitality to emerge.
As friends and neighbors ask me, “So, Debra, where were you when the
sirens went off?” I tell them my story. I listen avidly to theirs.
However, I look forward to sharing sometime in the future, “Faith
thrives in a new location, where a new vision is guiding us to new
ministries, making disciples for Jesus Christ!”
*Ball-Kilbourne is pastor of Faith United Methodist Church, Minot, N.D.
For more coverage of the Minot flood, go to www.umc.org/minot.
News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org
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