Monday, October 02, 2023
The United Methodist Church's EARLY RESPONSE TEAM (ERT)
I’ve been a United Methodist pastor for twenty years and there’s still so much I’m learning about our wonderful connection and the many ways we have for ordinary people – disciples like you and me – to be involved in all kinds of ministries.
I spent a beautiful autumn Saturday in a church basement
with fifteen other people, learning about one specific area of disaster-response
ministry provided by The United Methodist Church: the Early Response Team
(ERT). You may have heard that our United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR)
is first on the ground after a disaster, and last to leave after recovery. I
learned that before work teams go in to rebuild, re-roof, and re-paint, ERTs go
to disaster sites to “provide a caring Christian presence in the aftermath of a
disaster.” Before rebuilding can happen, these specialized teams provide some needed
clean-up labor and some equally-important companionship. Grief work and
relationships go hand-in-hand with elbow grease and cleaning up.
There are over 400 communities in West Virginia, from the 15
people in Birch River (Nicholas County) to the 50,000 people in Charleston. We
have close to a thousand United Methodist Churches across the region. Wouldn’t
it be great to have an Early Response Team in your community?
Contact our Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, the Rev. Jim McCune (email: DisasterResponse@wvumc.org) to find out how you can become part of an Early Response Team near you!
Rev. Kerry Bart, Epworth UMC Ripley, Jackson County
