TBC DR volunteers serve flooding victims
October 21, 2009
BRENTWOOD — Fourteen Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are serving in Austell, Ga., helping flood victims as of press time on Oct. 21.
Joining three volunteers leading a laundry unit were 11 volunteers to do recovery including a DR chaplain. They are from Beech River Baptist Association, Lexington; Truett Baptist Association, Dover; Madison-Chester/Crockett Baptist Association, Jackson; and Shiloh Baptist Association, Adamsville. The workers left Oct. 18. All of the Tennesseans are based at First Baptist Church, Austell, Ga. They are serving with other Baptist volunteers.
The laundry unit is from Watauga Baptist Association, Elizabethton, and has been led by three teams since Oct. 2 in Georgia. The laundry volunteers have completed 575 loads of laundry.
Tennessee DR continues response in Ga.
October 12, 2009
BRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief continued as of press time on Monday to help flood victims in Georgia by doing laundry from a laundry unit. The volunteers were serving in Austell, Ga., where they began work Oct. 8. They also served in Marietta, Ga., Oct. 2-8.
Tennessee state disaster relief director David Acres said the laundry unit from the Watauga Baptist Association, Elizabethton, served Oct. 2-8 at an American Red Cross emergency shelter, which was housed in the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta. Then the Tennessee unit was relocated Oct. 8 by the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, Alpharetta, Ga., to First Baptist Church, Austell, to help disaster relief volunteers from NAMB and the Red Cross.
The volunteers had completed 375 loads of laundry in Marietta, Ga., and in Austell, Ga., as of press time. In Marietta they served the 200 flood victims housed in the emergency shelter, Red Cross volunteers and Southern Baptist Convention disaster relief volunteers
Earlier, disaster relief volunteers from Hamilton County Baptist Association, Chattanooga, responded to the flooding in East Ridge and Trion, Ga., Sept. 21-26. The teams cooked meals in Chattanooga’s Brainerd Baptist Church.
DR volunteers respond to flood victims in state
September 22, 2009
BRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptist disaster relief volunteers responded over the weekend to flood victims in Chattanooga, according to David Acres, state disaster relief director.
Trained Tennessee Baptist disaster relief volunteers who worked with the feeding unit from Brainerd Baptist Church, Chattanooga, were expected to cook more meals for flood evacuees in Chattanooga Sept. 21, according to Bob Rann, church disaster relief director.
Brainerd Baptist received a request Sept. 17 from the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency, Chattanooga, for meals and was also later contacted by the local chapter of the Salvation Army for assistance, Rann noted.
A five-member team from Brainerd worked Sept. 17-18 cooking three meals for a total of 150 meals, said Rann.
The meals were served to 50 evacuees in a Red Cross emergency shelter at the Brainerd Recreation Center by the local chapter of the Salvation Army.
Rann noted the church provided about 60 percent of the food for the evacuees; and the Salvation Army provided about 40 percent of the food.
As of press time Sept 21, Rann had received a call from the Chattanooga Chapter of the Red Cross requesting more cooked food for the Brainerd Recreation Center, which reopened today as an emergency shelter to help evacuees from Catoosa and Walker Counties in Georgia, and others in the Chattanooga area.
Tennessee DR teams serve in Louisville, Ky.
August 25, 2009
BRENTWOOD — Thirteen Tennessee Baptist disaster relief recovery workers and three chaplains are currently working in Louisville, Ky., where they are helping victims of recent flooding, according to David Acres, Tennessee Baptist disaster relief director.
Housed out of St. Paul Baptist Church, Louisville, the volunteers are scheduled to serve Aug. 23-28.
Serving are teams from William Carey Baptist Association, Fayetteville, with six members; New Duck River Baptist Association, Shelbyville, with two members; First Baptist Church, Powell, with five members; and chaplains from William Carey Association; Jefferson County Baptist Association, Jefferson City; and Nashville Baptist Association, Nashville.
TBC DR teams respond to floods
June 1, 2009
BRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief chain saw teams worked in Missouri and Illinois at the end of May on a response to an inland hurricane, according to state disaster relief director David Acres.
In addition, an association disaster relief feeding unit also wrapped up serving meals May 18 in Matewen, W. Va. The feeding unit of the Cumberland Gap Baptist Association, Harrogate, worked May 13-18 in Matewen where they served meals to workers, who were engaged in community recovery efforts due to severe flooding.
Besides a six-member feeding team from Cumberland Gap, an eight-member feeding team from Knox County Baptist Association, Knoxville, was working on unit when it closed down after serving over 11,300 meals.
Chain saw teams worked in Fredericktown, Mo., and Marion, Ill., helping homeowners. Working in Fredericktown were: a 14-member team from Beech River Baptist Association, Lexington; eight-member team from First Baptist Church, Jackson; one person from Weakly County Baptist Association, Dresden; along with two chaplains from Hermitage Hills Baptist Church, Nashville; all serving May 27-31. Also serving in Fredericktown were: an eight-member team from First Baptist Church, White House, May 26-30; and a three-member team from Northside Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, May 26-29.
Other chain saw teams that worked in Marion included: a six-member team from Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, May 20-27; six-member team from Holston Valley Baptist Association, Rogersville, May 20-25; five-member teams from New Duck River Baptist Association, Shelbyville; Duck River Baptist Association, Tullahoma; and William Carey Baptist Association, Fayetteville; and one chaplain from Duck River Baptist Association, Tullahoma, all May 21-27.
Frank Metcalfe from Cumberland Baptist Association, Clarksville, is serving as unit director in Marion.
Tennessee Baptist disaster relief responds to needs in Clarksville and West Virginia
May 13, 2009
BRENTWOOD - In addition to three Tennessee Baptist disaster relief chain saw teams responding this week to Montgomery County following an unconfirmed tornado, a feeding team will head to Matewen, W. Va., according to state disaster relief director David Acres.
A feeding team from Cumberland Gap Baptist Association, Harrogate, will May 13 for Matewen where they will serve meals to workers who are responding to recovery efforts from severe flooding over the weekend. "We will also be sending mud-out teams to West Virginia as the waters recede and assessment teams are allowed to do their jobs," said Acres.
In the meantime, chain saw teams continue working in the Sango Community and other parts of southern Montgomery County helping homeowners who received damage from a possible tornado that spun off of severe thunder storms May 9. Local reports indicated home damage was also found in the Hampton Station Road area and in Windemere subdivision in addition to severe flooding inside the city limits. The disaster relief team of Cumberland Baptist Association, Clarksville, is also receiving requests for mud-out teams for homes in downtown Clarksville.
Disaster relief chain saw teams worked May 9-12 helping out homeowners in the Clarksville area. Chain saw crews responding were: eight volunteers from the Cumberland Association; six from First Baptist Church, Jackson; and 12 from Robertson County Baptist Association, Springfield. The Cumberland Association disaster relief operational command center is located on the front porch of Carolyn Watson's home in a Sango community subdivision. Watson, who is the associational disaster relief director, is directing the administrative, volunteer mass feeding, chain saw and mud-out operations from her damaged home. Four other homes were also damaged in her Woodson Park subdivision.
"Everybody in the subdivision, which has around 50 homes, had trees down and trash in their yards," Watson reported, who rode out the possible tornado in a stairwell closet with her husband. "My house had minor damage with windows broken out and screens blown out on the porch. We lost several trees." "In our subdivision, a lady whose husband is away in the military had to be literally cut out of her home, because of a large tree that fell on it. Besides my house, there were three other homes with minor damage here."
Damage assessment will continue May 13. Another cleanup day is planned for May 16. "This is the first time I've been through a tornado," she added, who has responded on numerous disasters across the country for others. "Now I can tell people, I know what you are going through with a storm. I've also been praying for unchurched neighbors in the subdivision."
According to Watson, one family which had a tree tear down a fence is now talking about getting their children back in church. "I have a great ministry situation coming out of this horrible situation. We will get them back in church."
Tennessee Baptists respond to recent tornadoes
April 13, 2009
Brentwood, TN - Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief did not respond officially to the tornadoes which struck Middle Tennessee on Friday, April 10, but churches and individual Baptists did.
Two people were killed and about 100 homes were destroyed in the tornadoes which caused the most damage in Murfreesboro. Additionally, a male teenager in Etowah died as he worked on trees damaged by the storm. Also Cannon Community Church, Woodbury, was damaged by a storm early that morning. The roof of the church’s education wing was removed.
David Acres, director of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief, said he met with the Emergency Management Agency on Saturday morning after the storms. The EMA coordinates response from disaster relief groups. It was determined that help from Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief wasn’t needed.
New Vision Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, has served as a Red Cross shelter and base of operations since April 10. The church also has about 10 families significantly affected by the storms, reported Ross Smith, business administrator.
Hundreds of church members and people from the community worked with the church and the Red Cross to help storm victims, he noted. Some church members housed church families who were storm victims in their homes. The church arranged for portable storage containers to be provided to several church families. Many volunteers helped families, church members and others, clear and pack personal items left at their damaged homes, described Smith.
Several people stayed the night at the church on Friday and Saturday and about 23 storm victims came to the shelter on Saturday for meals and help. The requests for shelter and meals have fallen since then, said Smith.
At this time the Red Cross plans to serve meals to victims and volunteers through lunch on Tuesday, April 14, at the church, Smith said. Other help will be provided by the Red Cross for a couple more days, he said. Wednesday activities at New Vision will be held as planned.
Smith said thankfully several months ago New Vision Baptist had planned to hold its two Easter services at an area hotel so the church facility was available to serve as a shelter. He said he also was glad the church was able to help some people “in their present condition” as a witness that the church is not just interested in the spiritual needs of people.
Other Baptist churches near the damaged homes and stores, including Westwood Baptist Church, Murfreesboro; Northside Baptist Church, Murfreesboro; and Calvary Baptist Church, Murfreesboro; had members who were victims of the storm, said David Pittman, director of missions, Concord Baptist Association, based in Murfreesboro. Members of those churches helped their fellow members and other people too, he added.
“Our churches seem to have responded real well,” said Pittman.
Also, many Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers, who are trained, responded to needs, reported Acres. They mainly did chain saw work and clean up.
David Acres said Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief may work with Concord Baptist Association to provide further help for victims. For more information, contact the association at (615) 890-6409 or dompittman@comcast.net.
Make a contribution to the 2009 Tennessee Tornadoes Relief Fund.
Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief Chainsaw Teams Respond
February 2, 2009
Brentwood, TN - Ten Teams, consisting of more than 90 members, of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief Chainsaw volunteers are firing up their chainsaws this morning in Poplar Bluff, MO and Princeton and Cunningham, KY. Teams have been activated by the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Operations Center in response to last week's ice storm that wreaked havoc in neighboring states. Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief is coordinating its response with the Missouri and Kentucky state conventions, the North American Mission Board and the American Red Cross.
An urgent call for trained Tennessee Baptsit Disaster Relief Volunteers came Saturday, and teams from all across Tennessee responded to the call making plans to move into Kentucky and Missiori this morning. Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tennessee and Chilhowee Baptist Association out of Seymour, Tennessee are serving in Poplar Bluff Missouri. Beech River Baptist Association and Maury Baptist Association will join forces in Poplar Bluff on Wednesday.
Tusculum Hills Baptist Church and Hermitage Hills Baptist Church are serving in Princeton, Kentucky, along with Chainsaw Teams from several different Tennessee Baptist ASsociations: William Carey, Duck River, Truett and Giles. In Cunninham, Kentucky, teams from First Baptist Church Morristown and Big Emory Baptist Association have volunteered their chainsaw work. First Baptist Church Sevierville has set up their Shower Trailer in Cunningham for the chainsaw teams.
At this time, no other special task teams have been requested. Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief Chainsaw Teams and Shower Trailer Units are among the seven different special task teams available when a disaster strikes. Feeding Units, Childcare, Laundry, Water Purification and Special Needs Teams stand ready and available to answer the call when necessary.
The Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief Disaster Operations Center is housed in the Tennessee Baptist Convention Building located in Brentwood, Tennessee.
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