Church of the Brethren    Acknowledging the personal struggle to face such a disaster during a time of celebration of the Savior’s birth, general secretary Stan Noffsinger urged Brethren to remember that “all who perished and all who survive are created in the mind of God, as we all have been. The appropriate people will be there (to help),” he added. “Our unselfishness, not our presence, is our gift.”  The Emergency Response/Service Ministries program of the General Board is requesting an initial grant of $30,000 from the  Emergency Disaster Fund to support Church World Service efforts, and expects to send more funds in the near future, Roy Winter said. Staff at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.—which warehouses relief supplies for CWS and other agencies—will be shipping light-weight blankets, health kits, and IMA medicine boxes as part of the response. “We need churches to respond by shipping more health kits and financial support,” Winter said. “Our focus will be to purchase relief supplies closer to south Asia because of all the shipping costs when sending from the US. A good example is the family shelter kits which Church of the Brethren funding will support,” he added.  Contributions can be sent to the Emergency Disaster Fund, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120.

The Episcopal Church    Episcopal Relief and Development has prepared a bulletin insert, Tsunamis Devastate South Asia (shown here, in miniature) in both PDF and JPG formats, and has begun emergency response efforts for which it welcomes financial contributions. ERD representatives request that contributions be directed to Episcopal Relief and Development, South Asia Relief Fund, P.O. Box 12043, Newark, NJ07101. Contributions may also be forwarded on-line ( http://www.er-d.org/). Devastation is reported worst in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India among other southern Asian countries. The retired Anglican bishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Rt. Rev. Kenneth Fernando, told Episcopal News Service: "Most of those affected are the poor who live in little shanties by the sea. They have lost everything. Our churches are being used as temporary camps and the government, and NGO's (non-governmental organizations) are beginning to function." Meanwhile, from the Church of South India, Bishop Thomas Samuel of the Diocese of Madhya Kerala, sent the following message: "The magnitude of the disaster is difficult to comprehend. This tragedy has suddenly made us not only challenged into rising up to the situation but also made us realize our insufficiency and vulnerability." Also in Tamil-Nadu, Bishop V. Devasahayam of India's Diocese of Chennai, a port center, concurred in a phone interview reported to ERD that the worst damage was in Tamil-Nadu, south of Madras. He said among the hardest hit were fisher-folk, many of whom were fishing at the time of the tsunami. Some 2,000 power boats and 20,000 catamarans were lost, he said. Many of the islands have been washed out.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America    The ELCA website offers a reproducible bulletin insert.
in PDF format for use by congregations.  immediate needs for survivors include clean water, medicines, shelter, and food. In addition to governments and relief  organizations around the world, church-related relief operations have begun. The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL), a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, has dispatched truckloads of essential food items and water for Muttur in two of the worst hit areas. Security forces have been dispatched in the affected areas to prevent the people from returning to the risk areas, some of which have had torrential rain. Medicines, cooked food, dry ration, temporary sheds and kitchen utensils are being distributed among survivors. In Indiana, ACT International, Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) and Lutheran World Service India (LWSI) have outlined a plan for work in the affected areas in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Feeding programs are being implemented through ten centers in the three states. Non-food relief will be distributed in the form of woollen blankets, clothing, utensils, candles, matchboxes. The Arcot Lutheran Church (ALC) has identified about 3000 victims at Cuddalore and Porto Novo. The church is also initiating efforts to begin operations in Pondicherry. The province of Aceh on Sumatra's northernmost tip near the epicenter of the under-sea quake is reported to have been hit the worst. Members of ACT in Indonesia, Yayasan Tanggul Benkana (YTB), Yakkum Emergency Unit/CD Bethesda (YEU) and Church World Service (CWS) are coordinating their response. Reports are that the island of Nias, one of the areas where YTB works, was hit very hard. The island, generally underdeveloped, has a population of nearly 700,000 people.

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America   The International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is joining with its partner Church World Service to respond immediately to the disaster, developing a regional response focusing initially on hardest-hit areas in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, and elsewhere, and CWS assessment
and relief teams are on their way to the region now. The joint relief effort may include an airlift of emergency relief supplies, including hygiene and emergency shelter supplies, from facilities in the US. IOCC has established a goal of $100,000 for the initial phase of its relief efforts. This appeal will be updated as response and recovery actions continue and expand in the coming days. Donations for IOCC’s “Asia Disaster Response” may be made online at www.iocc.org or by calling toll-free 1-877-803-IOCC (4622).

Mar Thoma Church   A "Natural Calamities Fund" has been established to respond to the South Asia disaster.  The Metropolitan of the Mar Thoma Church has urged the whole church to set apart Jan. 9, 2005, for prayer and fund mobilization.  The Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos, Bishop of the Diocese of North America & Europe, said the Diocese would join in this project by observing Jan. 9 as "Relief and Rehabilitation Day."  He is urging all members to contribute at least one day's income toward this fund.  Rev. K.A. Abraham of the Mar Thoma Church reported that damage in Kerala, the church's strongest population center in India, was currently 168 dead and 150,000 displaced persons, compared with Tamil Nadu, which now reports 7,400 dead and a million displaced. Mar Thoma churches are gearing up to help in Tamil Nadu and other locations.

Orthodox Church in America    Members are being encouraged to send contributions to International Orthodox Christian Charities [IOCC], with which the OCA is working in cooperation. Donations may be sent to the “IOCC Asia Disaster Response,” P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, MD 21263-0225. The Ecumenical Patriarchate's Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia, preparing to work with the Orthodox Churches in Indonesia and India to offer assistance to some of the millions affected by the tragedy, "there is a significant Orthodox presence on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, including numerous churches, schools, and other philanthropic sites. His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas has been in contact with Indonesian Orthodox clergy and Orthodox brethren in southern India since the time of the disaster and is able to report that none of the faithful have been seriously injured, and very little damage has been done to churches and related buildings."   Reports from the scene said that more than a third of the victims found so far have been children.

Presbyterian Church (USA)    Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is processing an immediate response of $100,000 to support regional church partners and their relief organizations. Already CASA (Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action) and the National Council of Churches of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) are hard at work. In India, CASA reports that 12 teams have been deployed, both assisting and assessing needs of people in the coastal areas. Four strategic operational points are being set up and an emergency feeding program started. Nine of CASA’s member churches are already engaged in relief work. Plans are to reach at least 50,000 families through these operational points. In Sri Lanka the three pastoral teams have been sent to the affected regions. Food distribution has started and church members are hard at work transporting people to safe areas. Emergency officer S.K. Xavier reports that “there are many children’s homes run by the churches, and although we have been told that they have been moved to safe places, we have been unable to make contact with them.” The homes support children who have lost their parents or families in the war. As in India, churches cancelled all end of the year functions and are using funds collected at Christmas for relief work. In Indonesia assessment visits are underway. Information there has been more difficult to get as the region hardest hit has also been isolated from the world due to a clampdown by the Indonesian government in an effort to control fighting between government soldiers and separatists rebels. PDA is expecting assessment information and response plans from Church World Service within the next couple of days. “I can’t describe the disaster that has hit Sri Lanka very unexpectedly and has thrown millions of lives into complete disarray. We have broken our vacation and are working today to assist those who are helpless during these times. Please help us.” Writes Xavier, an emergency officer with the Council of Churches of Sri Lanka.

Reformed Church in America   Reformed Church World Service (RCWS) is responding quickly with a grant of $10,000 to partner Church World Service (CWS) in response to the immediate needs and is focusing support for emergency response efforts in at least three of the most affected areas.CWS has been in contact with their Indonesian office where staff are assessing the affected area and planning an initial emergency response. No reports have been received so far from Aceh.  A complicating factor is that this area has become increasingly isolated from the world due to a clampdown by the Indonesian government in an effort to control fighting between government soldiers and separatist rebels. In Sri Lanka, CWS is taking initial planning steps to deploy an emergency assistance team from its regional office in Pakistan/Afghanistan. The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, a CWS partner and member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together. Along India's southeastern coast, several villages appear to have been swept away and thousands of fishermen, including 2,000 from the Chennai area alone, were out at sea and have not returned. Government officials say at least 2,300 Indians were killed as a result of the massive waves. Across the entire region, emergency officials say thousands are missing and more than a half million people are displaced. Contributions designated for Asian Tsunami may be sent to Reformed Church in America, P.O. Box 19381, Newark, NJ 07195-1938 or, in Canada, to Regional Synod of Canada, RR #4, Cambridge, ON N1R 5S5. To make a credit card donation, call (800) 968-3943, or go to www.rca.org.

Swedenborgian Church     One of the basic tenets of the Swedenborgian Church is to reach out with care for the neighbor, be it next door, or be it the world.  Member congregations of the Swedenborgian Church, according to President Christine Laitner, are working with local, state, and national humanitarian aid organizations to assist in helping those so profoundly affected by the tragic loss and devastation caused by the tsunamis.  All members and friends of the Swedenborgian Church in North America continue to pray for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the people whose lives have been painfully touched by this unfathomable occurrence.

United Church of Christ   As members of Church World Service (CWS) and Action by Churches Together (ACT), UCC will be undertaking a regional response to this catastrophe, focusing support for emergency response efforts in at least three most affected areas. CWS staff in Indonesia are assessing the affected area and are
planning an initial emergency response. In Indonesia, the province of Aceh on Sumatra's northernmost tip near the epicenter of the under-sea quake is reported to have been hit the worst. Reports are that the island of Nias has been hit very hard. The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL), a CWS partner and reports complete destruction in parts of the capital city Colombo along the seashore where many of the poorest of the city lived. Telephone lines are also down, making communication difficult. Financial assistance will be needed to support country specific emergency appeals. The UCC website has equipped members with several Action Steps:   Pray! [PDF] using A Christmas Prayer, 2004 by John Thomas; Contribute!; Make Kits! Health Kits for personal hygiene urgently needed; Download! [PDF] bulletin insert. The Southern Asia office of Global Ministries is contacting partners throughout the region to offer our prayers and support. To assist those affected, make gifts payable to your UCC Congregation, marked for "Asia Tidal Waves" in the memo portion, to be sent to your Conference Office with a note asking that the gift be forwarded to Wider Church Ministries; 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115.

United Methodist Church    On Monday, Jan. 3, The United Methodist Church ran a full-page ad in the national and international editions of USAToday, providing ways for all people around the world to give directly to the relief effort.  Readers are directed to donate to the denomination's relief efforts by logging on to www.MethodistRelief.org and using a credit card, or to give through their local church.  Read the whole story.  See actual ad. An online site has been established for donations to assist the United Methodist Committee on Relief in coordinating resources with international partners and organizations such as Action by Churches Together and Churches Auxiliary for Social Action, which have aid workers at the scene of some
of the devastation. “Currently, UMCOR’s response is focusing on empowerment – providing resources to local people so they can direct their recovery,” said Linda Beher, communications director for the agency. Cash donations are the most important contribution people can make at the moment,” she added. People can support UMCOR’s relief efforts online at www.methodistrelief.org. United Methodist Communications developed the secure-giving site. The response of people wanting to give has been immediate, said the Rev. Larry Hollon, top staff executive of United Methodist Communications. “The desire to give has been as urgent as the need to deliver humanitarian assistance. Online giving helps UMCOR’s efforts to get relief on the ground as soon as possible.” Church World Service, an UMCOR partner, has already provided shelter and health kits, medicine boxes and blankets. Donna Derr, associate director of Church World Service’s International Emergency Response Program, estimated that these items – already in the agency’s inventory – represented more than $800,000 worth of aid. “The thoughts and prayers of the United Methodist mission family are with those whose lives have been ended or forever changed by the devastating earthquake and tsunamis (tidal waves) in the Indian Ocean,” said the Rev. R. Randy Day, top staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. UMCOR is a unit of the missions agency.

To monitor the relief work of all the NCC member churches, you may use the web links below, or check periodically with Worldwide Faith News (a service sponsored by NCC), using the WFN search facility to see information from a specific faith group.
 

• African Methodist Episcopal Church
• The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
• Alliance of Baptists
  
• American Baptist Churches in the USA
  
• The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
  
• Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
  
• Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
  
• Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
  
• Church of the Brethren
  
• The Coptic Orthodox Church in North America
  
• The Episcopal Church
  
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  
• Friends United Meeting
  
• Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
  
• Hungarian Reformed Church in America
  
• International Council of Community Churches
  
• Korean Presbyterian Church in America
  
• Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
  
• Mar Thoma Church
• Moravian Church in America Northern Province and Southern Province
• National Baptist Convention of America

• National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.
  
• National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
  
• Orthodox Church in America
  
• Patriarchal Parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA
  
• Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
  
• Polish National Catholic Church of America
  
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
  
• Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
  
• Reformed Church in America
  
• Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada
  
• The Swedenborgian Church
  
• Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
  
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America
  
• United Church of Christ
  
• The United Methodist Church

      See also:

• The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA)