FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 1, 2017
WASHINGTON – Council of Bishops President Bishop Bruce R. Ough is urging all United Methodists to pray and offer support to the victims of the flooding in the Gulf Coast and the mudslides in Sierra Leone.
In his letter issued today, Bishop Ough said the heart-rending images from the floods in Texas and the mudslides in Sierra Leone should move all Christians into helping fellow brothers and sisters in the disaster areas.
“This is not a time to theologize on why disasters occur. This is time to act in love in order to help our sisters and brothers who are victims of these tragic events. This is not a time to point fingers but to raise our hands in praise to those first responders and volunteers who are already helping to save lives,” he said.
Flood buckets and other relief supplies from the Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church have begun to arrive in hurricane-battered areas of the upper Texas Gulf Coast.
He urged Methodists to do three things:
a) Donate funds; b) Offer spiritual support; and c) Offer practical help.
Bishop Ough said Christians should still have hope that God will lift up those under the water and “out of the mud and mire; set [their] feet on a rock and give [them] a firm place to stand.” (Psalm 40:2)
CLICK HERE TO READ BISHOP OUGH’S FULL STATEMENT
CLICK BELOW TO READ BISHOP APPEALS FROM THE BISHOPS IN TEXAS http://www.txcumc.org/floodrelief
https://riotexas.org/harvey-blog/2017/8/30/bishop-makes-special-appeal
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT RECOVERY EFFORTS
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Contact: Rev. Dr. Maidstone Mulenga
Director of Communications – Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
mmulenga@umc-cob.org
202-748-5172 (office) or 585-455-5683 (cell)
