RCWS Responds as Iowa Floods Follow TornadoJust days after a violent tornado ripped through Parkersburg, Iowa, and the surrounding area, torrential rains have hit the same location. Some RCA churches with members who lost homes in the tornado are now reaching out to members whose homes are flooded. The rains have also slowed debris removal and clean-up operations that began immediately after the tornado.
You Can HelpMake a contribution by check. Write "Spring Tornadoes" on the memo line and send it to Reformed Church in America, P.O. Box 19381, Newark, NJ 07195-1938 or, in Canada, to Regional Synod of Canada, 1985 Beke Road, R.R. #4, Cambridge, ON N1R 5S5.  Donate by credit card. Click on the "Make a Donation" button or call the RCA Michigan Regional Center at (800) 968-3943. (Contributions to "Iowa Tornado" will also be used to assist those impacted by the flooding.) Sign up to volunteer. Contact Mary Hondorp at (800) 968-3943 or mhondorp@rca.org. The RCA volunteer office will coordinate work teams to assist with remediation and rebuilding once local authorities invite outside volunteers into the damaged areas.
|
Members of at least four RCA congregations have homes that sustained damage in the flooding: New Life Community Church in Coralville, First Reformed Church in Evansdale, Bridge of Hope Church in Waterloo, and Orchard Hill Reformed Church in Cedar Falls. Cedar Hills Community Church in Cedar Rapids reports that none of its members have been affected, but many people from the congregation have volunteered to assist with sandbagging operations. The small town of Coralville near Iowa City was hit especially hard. Diane Ryan, the administrator at New Life Community Church, said the scene left her "absolutely speechless." "The Coralville strip was just wiped out," she added. "It just disappeared. And knowing the Iowa River, it won't reappear any time soon." Fortunately, church staff got advance warning that the area would flood. Last week volunteers helped them move equipment and resources to a storage area in North Liberty. "We moved the last of our boxes out just a few minutes before the mandatory evacuation was announced," Ryan stated. "And the local library has offered to let us worship in one of their spaces, so we feel really blessed." Church leaders are not certain whether they will return to the rented space, which currently has seven feet of standing water. They have already purchased land for a building program they plan to undertake in about two years. "It's possible that we'll just put everything in 'turbo charge mode' and move ahead with our new building," said Ryan. Jim Koopman, regional minister for Pleasant Prairie Classis, said the flooding is also wreaking havoc with the planting season. "There are farmers throughout Iowa who have battled to get their crops in, some planting two or three times," he said. "Our concern is that the damage caused by the amount of rain could end up being more than the damage from the tornado." Reformed Church World Service and the RCA Mission Volunteer Program office continue to work with regional and local RCA leaders to address the needs in Iowa. (See contribution and volunteer opportunities above.) For more information about the RCA churches affected by the tornado and flooding, go to the Regional Synod of the Heartland website: www.heartlandsynod.org. Posted 06/17/08
|