We did something unusual for our church last week, and invited in-the-moment benevolence gifts for hurricane Sandy relief. There is a sister (EPC) church I've come to know recently in Brooklyn (with several campuses). A church integrally involved in serving needs in their community year round (legal services, food, etc), thus we knew they would be caring sacrificially for neighbors after the storm.
I'm happy to say that Lake Forest followers of Jesus generously gave $10,000 for this effort, which we passed along last week. Here's a note from the pastor of Park Slope Presbyterian, Matt Brown, about what they face and some of their efforts. It is a precious snapshot of what it means to love Jesus and love your neighborhood in concrete ways as a result. No airy fairy pie-in-the-sky spirituality here. Its a bit of what I pray our own One More Neighborhood initiative becomes known for on a permanent basis in our part of our county. This note was written last Friday. Its an honor to partner with such normal, humble heroes of the Faith. Check out their links below:
Hey Mike, thank you so much for your generosity to us and to
our city. Your church's willingness to support and care for us is beautiful and
humbling.
Overall, the EPC is being very supportive this week and we
need it regarding the structures we currently have in
place and the long-term plans we are putting together.
Immediately, we have been caring for the needs of our
congregants who were affected by the storm as well as our neighbors here in
Brooklyn. Friday we gutted our members' house that was destroyed. We are
currently helping them find a new apartment. We've also begun to receive
requests for financial assistance from those who lost work. Throughout the
borough, many people have been volunteering in various shelters while others
are buying and distributing blankets, water, food, batteries, flashlights, etc.
We are focusing attention on two neighborhoods, Coney Island and Red Hook, both
of which were very troubled before the storm and are now much worse. In both
areas, we are assisting city and federal agencies, but that's not always
possible. The mayor's office contacted us yesterday because they heard about
all the work we are doing in Coney Island and asked us to distribute supplies
for them. Our own congregants have been busy preparing meals, buying materials,
working in shelters and helping with distribution. We are hopeful that all the
power will be restored in Coney Island tomorrow (despite various media reports,
that is still not the case), but even so the salt water destroyed the
mechanicals in the large towers (projects) and they almost certainly will not
have heat. Therefore, we are buying lots of space heaters for distribution tomorrow.
Longer term, we will be working through Brooklyn Jubilee,
our non-profit organization, to provide legal aid and healthcare resources to
the poorest of the poor in these neighborhoods. It would be impossible to
overstate these needs. Many people lost their papers and need help replacing
them. Already, many landlords are demanding rent when the law forbids it.
Inevitably, other landlords will try to evict various tenants and most will be
slow to resolve mold issues that should be rectified immediately. Most acutely,
there are many illegals who won't apply for assistance from any agencies and
are completely helpless. We have long been involved in these situations and
have many attorneys who work for justice. As a matter of fact, we've never lost
a court case so we anticipate being very busy for a long time.
Through all of these efforts we are hoping to increase our
presence in neighborhoods that desperately need more churches. Please continue
to pray for us. If you have people who work in NYC, they are welcome to come
visit—and so are you.
Thanks again for being generous to us and for entrusting us
to your congregation. Warmly, Matt
PS If you'd like to follow our activities on FB...
Our church relief: http://www.facebook.com/BrooklynPresbyterianChurch
Our non-profit work: http://www.facebook.com/brooklynjubilee
