February 10, 2023
Disaster Relief
Snow Day as an Individual
You know when you are sitting at your house in the early morning of a snow day and look out the window at the gorgeous landscape? And then you just experience this overwhelming gratitude. Not only did you wake up today, but you woke up to a roof over your head. The temperature outside is not the same as it is inside. You have power, so you make a cup of coffee and sit in your chair in wonder.
Then you start to wonder how you can help your neighbor. Can you shovel their drive? Or deliver a hot meal? And that’s just your physical, in close proximity, neighbors.
Snow Day as a Ministry Leader
Now, what if you are a pastor of a church, and a bigger disaster strikes in your area? Then the term “neighbor” starts to have very different meaning.
Or what if you are a leader in a non-profit, and hear about a devastating natural disaster in another part of the world?
Talk about a brain on overdrive. Forget the temperature. Forget the chair. Forget that cup of coffee. (Or maybe don’t; you’ll probably need the energy.) You take out your phone and you start evaluating the situation and taking inventory of how your organization can assist.
Ready the Relief Team
Maybe you reach out to your disaster relief team. The team of people that has been training for these situations. If you don’t have a team ready, or feel an enormous amount of overwhelm, but aren’t sure where to start, you aren’t alone. Maybe, you just contact your five closest friends, and ask how we can partner together to figure out a plan.
Maybe you were ready for a security breach on your campus, or ready for what to do when you find fraud in your ministry, but disaster relief wasn’t even on your radar.
Cultivate a Plan
If your organization needs some training in where to start with disaster relief, this article from Church Law and Tax has some great places to start.
- First, respond to basic needs before the spiritual needs. Even as a Pastor, making sure the big things of safety and necessities are taken care of first is the most pressing matter.
- But don’t neglect your faith – utilize prayer and prayer warriors. Maybe your congregation is not able to be boots on the ground people. That’s okay, march those boots heavenward.
- Being available to listen and empathize can go a long way. Maybe there aren’t an overabundance of resources available at your disposal, but you do have people willing to listen.
- Lastly, know when to refer someone on to more advanced care. And in the same way, make sure you are taking care of your self. Disasters are tragedies, and need to be handled as such. Just because you are a mission-minded organization does not mean you have to take on the whole catastrophe. Know when you are in over your head, or when you just need to step back for a minute.
These were just a few of their recommendations, to view the whole list, visit: How to Provide Spiritual and Emotional Care in the … | Church Law & Tax (churchlawandtax.com).
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