On Sunday, August 28th, the area around Connellsville, PA was hit with heavy rains (4.8 inches of rain in two hours). The Breakneck Church of God is located near Connellsville. The damage in the Connellsville area was devastating: people were removed from vehicles trapped by rushing waters and others were evacuated from roof tops. Throughout this area there are destroyed bridges, sink holes, damaged foundations and buildings washed away. I received a report today that many of the roads in the flood-damaged areas remain closed because of concerns for safety. Many of the families affected did not have flood insurance and so recovering from such catastrophic damage will be challenging. Pastor Joe Wingrove reports in respect to the Breakneck Church of God that “the building is okay and the church is even better” (note that there is a difference between “the church” and “the church building)! The Breakneck Church of God was quick to open their facilities for staging and to prepare meals. They’ve joined forces with local first responders, PEMA, Red Cross, Salvation Army and others who were quick to assist in the area. The congregation has helped distribute bottles of bleach, cases of water, cleaning supplies and hot meals to their fellow community members and first-responders. The church is now receiving requests for assistance and has been able to respond to those basic needs through the generosity of local individuals, the Allegheny Regional Conference Churches of God and some of their sister churches in the local region. They know that the needs will exhaust the available funds quickly. There are immediate needs as well as future needs. |
Immediate needs: The Breakneck Church of God is well-situated to serve as a conduit to help meet financial assistance needs with the families of their local community. Their long-term presence in the community and their commitment to working hand-in-hand with the local emergency personnel and the Red Cross has open many opportunities to demonstrate God’s love and grace during this difficult time. Our brothers and sisters at the Breakneck Church of God will be in the area long after the news coverage moves on to the next big story. They will be there for the long-term as they work to assist people walking through the difficult process of recovering from this kind of disaster (I was informed this morning that they’ve identified at least four families who have suffered complete losses of their dwelling places). If you would like to help them provide financial assistance to these families, they have designated their church treasurer as the contact person. All checks should be made payable to the Breakneck Church of God. Please send those contributions to the church treasurer at the following address (I understand that the church will give a full accounting of these funds to their local region, the Allegheny Regional Conference Churches of God): Shelly Bryner 360 Breakiron Road Connellsville, PA 15425 |
As we all know from experience, the news media and immediate attention will fade fast as other events and stories take precedent. While there may be an initial push for immediate aid and help in devastating circumstances like these, there will be a long-term need for continuing work for several weeks or months.
Work teams will be needed. The local emergency personnel are still documenting the extent of damage and many of the roads remain closed, but some work is beginning to be done (my understanding is that people are currently parking outside the affected area and walking to the various sites in need of help – sometimes several miles away). The Breakneck church has designated Mr. Reed Richter as the point person for those interested in bringing a work team to the area to assist with the cleanup and rebuilding efforts. Mr. Richter can be reached at 724-970-3357. Those who are interested in assembling a work team to help with the work there should contact Mr. Richter in order to make appropriate arrangements.
I would like to ask you to pray for our brothers and sisters at Breakneck Church of God and ask the Lord how you should respond to this moment. Our brothers and sisters there are loving and serving their neighbors in their time of need and will continue to do so long after the news media moves on to other stories. We all can pray for our brothers and sisters as they serve the Lord and others in very difficult circumstances. Many of us can give financially to help them meet the very real needs of many of their neighbors. Some of us can even go and offer our bodies as living sacrifices by serving in the ongoing efforts of clean up and rebuilding. Let’s act in obedience to what God asks us to do right now.
As we receive more information, we’ll try to keep you all posted so you can act accordingly.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance
CGGC eNews—Vol. 10, No. 36