GREETINGS FROM
            BISHOP  D. MAX WHITFIELD  

 Bishop D. Max Whitfield, New Mexico and NWTX Conferences              

Some of My Thoughts, Oct. 9, 2008

                About three years ago, Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf shores and did tremendous damage.  Individuals and congregations responded immediately and generously.  VIM teams continue to go to Louisiana and Mississippi to help with the recovery.  I am extremely proud of the way you have responded.  You were some of the very first to recognize that gifts provided through UMCOR could not assist the pastors and congregations in their recovery.  All money raised through UMCOR goes to the victims of the disaster.  You wanted to do more and you did.  I stood with a certain amount of pride in knowing how quickly and generously you responded to your brothers and sisters as they struggled to re-establish congregational facilities and provided adequate compensation to displaced pastors.

                A few weeks ago, disaster struck again.  This time it was in Texas and the area near Galveston and Houston were smashed by hurricane force winds and flooding from Hurricane Ike.  This time the news media was concerned about national political conventions and quickly deserted the devastation left behind as Ike weakened into a Tropical Storm and spread across the country.  Thousands of people were forced from their homes and many United Methodist churches and parsonages were destroyed.  Pastors are struggling to survive without ongoing compensation.

                I urge every congregation in the Area to seriously consider assisting in this recovery.  I would never suggest that money be diverted from UMCOR to help our pastors and congregations.  I would urge every congregation to take a second look and see if you can support both causes.  The pastors and congregations in the Texas Conference suffered deep, devastating losses.  They need our assistance and I encourage you to do what you can to be of help to them.  (Your extra giving should be marked “Texas Conference hurricane relief,” and sent to your conference Treasurer, Cathy Anderson in the Conference Office.)

                This brings me to my final point in this appeal and that is for church leaders to make sure church facilities are adequately insured.  It troubles me that every year at your Charge Conference, Local Church Board of Trustees presents a statement affirming that the facilities are adequately and properly insured.  It is disappointing to discover a few months later their report was inaccurate.  Most church facilities do not qualify for, nor do they need flood insurance.  However, for those congregations that do qualify, it is essential that church facilities have flood insurance.  For all congregations it is vital that we be good stewards of the facilities entrusted to our care.  Many sacrifices were made to construct these facilities and we need to honor those sacrifices through faithful stewardship and adequate insurance.

                May God bless you as you have a wonderful week of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Grace & Peace,

Max

THE NEEDS CONTINUE.......

 Relief Kit information:  http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/
Flood Bucket Information i.e. Gustav and Ike Hurricane areas, etc. (send to Sager Brown)

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