This past weekend Hurricane Helene cutting a wide swath of damage along the Gulf Coast and inland. Areas that were outside the hurricane's path were still hit with storm surges of five to eight feet. Helene also dumped so much rain in Tennessee and inland North Carolina that homes and vehicles were swept away. Many areas are still unreachable, so we won't know for some time the extent of the damage.

The national offices of the UCC are working with the congregations and Conferences in the states affected by this disaster. They have also set up a relief fund. Please prayerfully consider if you are in a position to support this fund for all whose lives were uprooted by this storm. If so, you can use this link to donate: UCC Hurricane Helene Relief Fund

Because of your and other UCC churches faithful generosity supporting the offering for Our Church's Wider Mission to the National UCC, all money donated to this relief fund will go to directly aid victims of this disaster. OCWM supports National, Conference and Association offices, local churches, and the UCC's established partnerships with service providers in the area. This means donations to this fund do not have to be used to set up temporary offices, hire staff, or other necessary expenses when providing disaster relief. Funds are directed to areas that have direct impact on the people affected. This ranges from helping individuals find shelter, to providing needed clothes and food, to helping navigate the complicated insurance and FEMA claims process, to hiring professionals to provide trauma recovery support to residents well after most relief efforts are over.

The link above also contains a few other ways that you can support the people affected by these storms.

In 1957 St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church became St. John’s United Church of Christ as a result of a merger. The denominations of the Congregational Christian Church, along with Evangelical and Reformed Church joined to form United Church of Christ. UCC is a distinct and diverse community of Christians that came together as one church. They joined faith and actions and currently are over 5,000 churches with nearly one million members across the U.S. The UCC serves God in the co-creation of a just and sustainable world. The UCC is a church of "firsts," a church of extravagant welcome, and a church where "…they may all be one".