Disaster Ministry As A Spiritual Calling

Help us help others.

Consider becoming a part of the Disaster Ministries response team of the United Church of Christ.

Article by Edith Guffey

For several years KO had two Conference Disaster Coordinators, Beth Whipkey for Oklahoma and Don Miller for Kansas. When Beth relocated, Don assumed the role for the entire Conference. Now, Don has stepped away from the role due to family obligations and it is time for KO to regroup with two new Conference Disaster Coordinators. These are crucial roles that are almost invisible until they are needed. But when a disaster hits an area,  Conference Disaster Coordinators are an absolute necessity.

The tornado in Moore, Oklahoma hit shortly after I arrived in KO and because there was no Conference Disaster Coordinator, I felt totally lost! There was an entire system at work and I simply had no clue: the phones were ringing, people wanted to help, the community was in need, and I had no way to plug in. I didn’t know the terminology, or the system… I didn’t even know that there WAS a system! So, as we continue to experience natural disasters both as “acts of God,” and through our own complicity in climate change and the harm we do to the environment, we know how valuable these positions will be. Think tornados in Moore, Oklahoma or Linwood, Kansas; fires in Western Kansas or in Oklahoma. Flooding and ice storms. Conference  Disaster Coordinators know what to do when disaster becomes a reality: they learn it through the UCC Disaster Ministries training and become connected through the state and community systems.  

Remember those clean up buckets that local churches have assembled? Conference Disaster Coordinators have often been responsible for that organization and campaign. Fortunately, none of our congregations have actually been destroyed by a severe weather., but Disaster Ministries isn’t about churches being destroyed, that’s what insurance is for. This work is about responding to disasters in a community. It’s about the church being present and part of the community network for the long haul as a community recovers. It’s an incredible ministry and KO needs two new leaders to begin to actually build a Conference Disaster Team.  

Read  what this role involves and if you feel called to explore this possibility please contact Edith at eguffey@kocucc.org.

Read the Volunteer Position Description here.