Flood Recovery for Sunday, May 9
Contact Fr. Thomas at Thomas AT RedeemerNashville.net, and follow Redeemer on twitter at www.Twitter.com/RedeemerNash
Greetings all,
I spent most of my day at the house on Rolling River Parkway, along with my daughters and an army of volunteers. Folks from Redeemer came out in a big way, and many of them brought friends along. I received a phone call of thanks tonight from the homeowner. She told me that some of the folks she works with came to help as well. They were blown away by the outpouring of volunteer work that they saw. Apparently, they think she goes to the coolest church ever. I agree.
In an amazing show of God’s provision, Family Affair Ministries received a large group of volunteers this weekend from West Virginia. Because most of FAMs folks fared pretty well, they sent these volunteers out to help us. Three Redeemer homes were helped, including the one I was working on. After they finished up with us, they moved on down the street to help neighbors.
I have received numerous e-mails and phone calls from around the country this week. People want to know how they can help. One of these calls was from Ellis Brust. Ellis was the President of the Anglican Mission in the Americas until he left to start an Anglican church in California. Epiphany Church is now 20 people who meet in his living room. He told me he has never asked them for money, but tomorrow he is going to take up their first collection ever; funds designated to our Redeemer Flood Relief fund. I told him we were grateful and humbled by their help.
Sunday
Sunday is Mother’s Day. In the midst of all that is going on, let me encourage you to honor the mothers in your life. I want to also encourage you to join us in worship if you can. It is important to gather as a community--to hug each other, to express our concern, to pray together, to celebrate God’s faithfulness in the midst of this difficult situation.
As tomorrow is the Christian sabbath, I encourage everyone to refrain from work if possible. Obviously, if there is a need in a home that simply cannot wait then action is necessary. But if you can, please take a day to rest and refresh after all the work you have been doing. As far as I know, there is no critical need at any of the homes we have been helping.
Please Report In
It would be a great help to me if you have been helping at a Redeemer home if you would report in to me. Please send me an e-mail and let me know what more needs to be done in the coming week, if anything. Let me know, also, what you have been doing. If you are a homeowner and you have not been assisted, or if you need more assistance, I need to know so that I can direct folks toward you. Please don’t be shy in asking for help.
I would also like to know from all of you what kind of damage the flood did. Even if you are not in need of volunteer assistance, if you could take a few minutes in the coming week to report it, that would be a great help. I want us to be aware of the full extent of the damage, so that we can pray and work appropriately.
Within a week or so I hope to have some mechanism set up for flood victims in our congregation to begin receiving assistance through our Redeemer Flood Relief fund. I hope you will all give something. Every dollar given to the Flood Relief fund will go to help people in our congregation. You can bring a check on Sunday, or mail one in. Please write you check to Church of the Redeemer and MEMO it to “Flood Relief.” Then send the check to us at 920 Caldwell Lane, Nashville, TN, 37204
Get a Tetanus Shot
If you have been doing work in flooded homes and have not had a tetanus booster in 10 years, get a Tetanus shot! They are readily available, and you need one. Yes, I’m going to get one, and I hate shots more than any of you do. Trust me.
Report Damage
Metro Nashville is requesting that everyone report flood damage to their new website: http://www.nashville.gov/flood/ They are trying to formulate an accurate estimate of damage done in our city.
Relief Fund
We have a designated fund set up at Redeemer.
Very Important Contact Information
If you have been affected, I strongly encourage you to contact two organizations as soon as possible.
FEMA/TEMA
1-800-462-9029 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST Monday through Friday.
www.fema.gov
Red Cross
www.GraceWorksMinistries.net – 615-794-2174
104 Southeast Parkway, Suite 100, Franklin , TN 37064
Keep Records!
Very important for the homeowners or someone very close to help them:
- Create a Diary / Log that lists and documents every person who has given volunteer assistance, what they did (generally) and how many hours. We are still within memory of being able to capture this.
- With that list, organize by Job Categories: Debris Removal, Gutting, Cleaning out crawl space, demo wall etc.
- Attempt to assign the volunteers and their hours to the Jobs that were done by them.
(Besides using this log to write thank you notes someday....)
This can be a crucial thing to document to the Flood Insurance Adjuster. Each one of the jobs and tasks in cleaning out your house "would be" paid for by them if they had to hire someone as a part of your settlement (and there was sufficient coverage). The position to document is that you did the work and compensation should be made for that. Documenting the work helps to obtain the maximum compensation.
Information and Resources I Can Pass On
I have tons of information I can pass on to anyone who needs it. Since it will not apply to most people, I won’t put it here or on the blog. But if you would like access to this information or these resources, please contact me.
- If you lost a car and need one, I can at least two available for loan. Let me know.
- If you need a truck, I have a line on two that you can borrow. Neither comes with a driver. Let me know, and I will give you the facts.
- Want to know how to preserve photos, I can pass info on to you.
- Tide “Loads of Hope” will be in Nashville on Wednesday to wash clothes for those affected. Watch the blog/facebook/twitter for their location once they are here.
- If you are replacing your HVAC, I have a line on a good 5 ton compressor that can be had at no cost. Let me know if you are interested.
- I have a sheet that tells you everything FEMA provides. I can pass it on.
- I have a lady who is offering an empty garage for storage. Let me know.
- There are some offers of people looking to donate furniture. If you have need now, let me know.
- Many people have offered short term places for folks to live. Please let me know if you need a short term solution.
Job Needed
A young lady, a sister of a member of our congregation, moved here last week to start work at the Opryland Hotel. Needless to say, she is out of a job. If you know someone hiring, please contact me and I will put you in touch with her. Thanks.
Service International, a professional disaster recovery team, is in town to help homeowners who have suffered flood damage. Their work is free. If you want their help, you must register and complete release forms at Bellevue Church of Christ, 7401 Highway 70S. (The church is located across the street from Red Caboose Park in Bellevue.) The hours are 8:00 am - 6:00 pm. The work will consist of cleaning up, carpet removal, drywall removal and disposal of debris and is scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 8.
