But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. -Isaiah 40:31
Bishop David Graves, resident bishop of the Alabama-West Florida Conference, hosted a Zoom presentation with Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey of the Louisiana Conference and other conference leaders. After sharing a few words about our United Methodist connection and the help the AWF Conference received after Hurricane Michael, Graves informed Harvey that an initial donation of $100,000 would be sent immediately to be used with disaster response and recovery.
With deep gratitude, Bishop Harvey accepted the generous donation by saying, “I’m not often speechless but I am, thank you. I cannot imagine walking this journey without people like you and the good people of your conference. You know first-hand what this is like. She continued, “These initial financial gifts enable us to deploy into places where help is needed. It truly does take all of us in this recovery.”
Graves stated, “We’re wanting to hold you up because it’s exhausting work. But the beauty of the United Methodist Church is in our connection, and we come together to support one another.”
Rev. Chris Ackerman, AWF Disaster Response Director, is currently in the Louisiana Conference assisting their conference leadership in assessing damage and formulating a response plan. He said, “We learned valuable information and best practices after Hurricane Michael. Sadly the Louisiana Conference is no stranger to catastrophic storms yet we share our up-to-date knowledge and we wish to show our support to them during this challenging time.”
Rev. Bob Deich, Louisiana Disaster Response Coordinator, shared an emotional story of coming to the AWF Conference immediately after Hurricane Michael and working with our connection to enter a closed-off Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe areas. He understands the importance of this financial support soon after a storm has left an area.
Bishop Graves concluded with a heartfelt prayer and pledged to continue to support the Louisiana Conference with financial support, response teams and our prayers.
Click here to see the Zoom presentation.
