News

9/7/2023

PHOTO ALBUM Hurricane Idalia made landfall August 30 in Florida before continuing into Georgia and the Carolinas. The Category 3 storm brought significant flooding and damaging winds. Early reports indicate winds as strong as 100 mph as Idalia moved across South Georgia.  We'll Help! Once again United Methodists have responded: We'll help! The North Georgia Conference is coordinating with our surrounding Annual Conferences and UMCOR, as well as GEMA (Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland ...

4/3/2023

PHOTO ALBUM United Methodists gathered in Griffin on March 31 for a celebration and a commitment. It was a day to honor the work of the churches, clergy, ERT (Early Response Teams), and our United Methodist connection in response to the communities struck by a band of tornadoes on January 12, 2023. The day ended with the launch of our long-term recovery effort. Griffin First UMC's clergy, Rev. John Mattox, Rev. Nelson Furtado, and Rev. Debby Stikes, led a tour of the local damage and of the ...

3/29/2023

Dr. Stephen Redmond of the NGUMC Disaster Response Warehouse delivers UMCOR Relief Kits to West Point. Photo: Rev. Erik Mays VIEW PHOTO GALLERY Updated 3/30/2023 Our prayers are with the people of West Point, Troup County, Baldwin County, Milledgeville and across the southeast, who experienced a tornado and severe storms over the weekend. There is significant damage in West Point in particular, and United Methodists are already at work in the community.  Local EMA, Red Cross, and other ...

3/6/2023

Earlier this month, The Nett UMC included a pilot project for Disaster Response as part of their Mission Sunday—Tornado Buckets.  Just as UMCOR Cleaning Buckets (or "Flood Buckets") include key, immediate needs of those experiencing hurricane and flooding, Tornado Buckets are filled with supplies needed immediately after a tornado or wind damage. Tornado buckets were developed by the Disaster Response Warehouse in Decatur, Alabama. They have been assembled and deployed there for a few years. ...

2/12/2023

Join United Methodists around the world in prayer for the people of Turkey and Syria who have experienced two devastating earthquakes. News reports are assessing the impact as the worst to hit the area in a century. UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) has issued an initial solidarity grant to longstanding humanitarian partner International Blue Crescent, working in both countries. UMCOR's support will provide tents, heaters, blankets, clothes, ready-to-eat meals, and first aid kits.  ...

2/8/2023

SEE PHOTO ALBUM Updated February 9   "Almost a month after the impact, ERT are assisting with residential requests for help," said Parrish. "There are still 360 requests in CrisisCleanup, the online dashboard connecting disaster impacts with volunteer organizations, so we continue to need many teams responding. We’re also in conversations with the range of partners required to assist with long term recovery, so there will be ongoing mission needs for the next 2-3 years." United Methodists are ...

1/26/2023

Updated January 27 "On behalf of the North Georgia Conference, we send our earnest prayers to all those persons and communities affected by the recent tornadoes. We also pray for generosity and provision asking individuals, churches, and organizations to contribute to UMCOR." —Bishop Robin Dease (Read the full message from Bishop Dease.) Along the path of a tornado in Griffin. Photo by Mark Brown. North Georgia United Methodists join in prayer for all who were affected by the January 12 ...

12/14/2022

After the news stories subside it's easy to forget about the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole this fall. But North Georgia United Methodists haven't forgotten and keep showing up. Last week, two Early Response Teams from North Georgia served in Florida in coordination with the Florida Annual Conference. A team with members from Northside UMC, Hillside UMC, and Due West UMC served on the Fort Myers coast while a team from Alpharetta First UMC, Midway UMC, Northbrook UMC, ...

10/27/2022

Members of Alpharetta First UMC's Early Response Team pray with a homeowner in Newnan in March of 2021. Photo by Larry Garrard. The North Georgia Conference received word this week that we have been awarded a grant of $500k for Newnan Tornado Recovery from UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief). This is the largest grant our conference has ever received from UMCOR. On March 26, 2021, an F4 tornado struck Newnan and Coweta County. The total damage area extended beyond 31 miles and ...

10/13/2022

Your help is needed in response to Florida Hurricane Recovery. As our neighbors in the Florida Annual Conference face a 20-county clean-up effort following Hurricane Ian, the North Georgia Conference is looking to multiply our numbers in service in Florida in the coming weeks. Our goal is for representatives from 100 churches to commit to serving, "boots on the ground," in Florida.  What can my church do? Identify two or three already-badged ERT or skilled workers willing to serve Encourage ...

10/5/2022

October 13 Update In the last 10 days, the North Georgia has sent two ERT groups, delivered two truck-loads of supplies, delivered our conference shower trailer as Florida opens another church to host ERT in Fort Myers, and some of these same ERT who served in the last week are in the queue to return! Now, we need your help.  As our neighbors in the Florida Annual Conference face a 20-county clean-up effort following Hurricane Ian, the North Georgia Conference is looking to multiply our ...

9/7/2022

UMCOR has awarded a solidarity grant of $10,000 to the North Georgia Conference to support initial relief efforts for the damage caused by severe flooding in Chattooga and Floyd Counties this weekend. The Conference is coordinating with a range of local and state partners including GEMA (Georgia Emergency Management) and Georgia VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) as the assessment phase continues.  "Sometimes the best thing to do is wait. The flood happened on Sunday and Monday ...

8/2/2022

North Georgia United Methodists join in prayer for all affected by recent historic flooding in Kentucky and stand ready to help.  Stephen Redmond, our North Georgia Conference Disaster Response Warehouse Manager, delivered a truckload of North Georgia cleaning buckets to Jackson, Kentucky, this week in coordination with UMCOR and the Kentucky Annual Conference. "I was able to deliver the cleaning buckets to United Methodist Mountain Missions safety," reported Stephen. "This was a true ...

12/14/2021

An exterior view of Mayfield First United Methodist Church in Mayfield, Ky., shows the roof torn from the middle section of the building after a devastating line of tornadoes leveled the small town on Dec. 10. Photo courtesy of Mayfield First United Methodist Church via Facebook. A deadly tornado outbreak December 10 and 11 produced catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across portions of the United States including Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and ...

10/5/2021

Louisiana Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Bob Deich, at Golden Meadow UMC. Trained Early Response Teams from across the North Georgia Annual Conference deployed last week to Louisiana where they served alongside the Louisiana Annual Conference in response to Hurricane Ida damage.  With a goal to bring hope and help to our neighbors, they found the people of Louisiana themselves to be a beacon of hope. Team members represented Alpharetta UMC, Canton First UMC, Northbrook UMC, Midway ...

8/29/2021

Rev. Scott Parrish, Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, shares the following update on Hurricane Ida Response. (Updated August 30) All eyes were on the Gulf as the powerful Category 4 Hurricane Ida made landfall Sunday. Our best response today is to pray, wait, actively communicate, and prepare. We'll have more news later from this developing situation as we coordinate with UMCOR & partners in the affected areas to add action to our prayers. As always, don’t self deploy to a disaster ...

8/25/2021

For more than 40 years Afghanistan has been wracked by war, civil strife, invasion, and massive amounts of arms shipped in from outside forces. Millions of Afghans have been displaced as refugees over these many years. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, with high infant and maternal mortality rates. Today the country is again at a point of transition with great uncertainty about the future. Thousands of Afghans are seeking to flee violence and a fear of persecution. Roland ...

4/29/2021

Photo by Larry Garrard. Members of Alpharetta First UMC's Early Response Team pray with a homeowner in Newnan.  By Sybil Davidson MAY 13 UPDATE Last month North Georgia United Methodists gave nearly $52,000 to Disaster Response efforts to support Newnan Area tornado recovery. This is in addition to dozens of trained UMCOR Early Response Teams who served over the past 6 weeks, and an emergency grant awarded from UMCOR just one day after the storm.  As the long-term recovery phase begins in ...

3/26/2021

Major storms crossed the Southeast last week including a tornado causing significant damage in the Newnan area. There are reports of wind damage and localized flooding in other parts of the conference. Our neighbors in Alabama also saw storm damage and multiple fatalities. The North Georgia Conference is coordinating with UMCOR, Early Response Teams, and with Coweta County Emergency Management. Response work is underway. Read on for updates:  UPDATE: March 31 In addition to the trained ERT ...

10/8/2020

While Hurricane Sally is off the minds of many of us here in North Georgia, communities along the Gulf coast are still in the early phases of recovery. The North Georgia Conference has sent several trained ERT teams and would like to send many more. Our Conference Disaster Response Coordinator, Rev. Scott Parrish, headed to the Alabama-West Florida Conference to check in on our neighbors and learn more about how we can help! Follow along with Scott:   Downed Trees and Debris Piles Once I got ...