Our hearts go out to the Unitarians whose villages in Transylvania have been flooded, and to all the people whose lives are devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Our Good Neighbor offering at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley for the month of September will go to both flood and hurricane relief. Gifts can be given during the offering on Sundays or mailed in to the church office.
As a community and as individuals we have financial challenges, and then things like this happen, and we realize how much we have. We know that the poor are the ones who lose the most in disasters like these. Their homes, those who have them, are located in more vulnerable and more densely populated areas, and are built with less structural strength; they have less money to fly out, less access to cars and gas to drive out, and are often without money for lodging, or relatives in other places who have room for them. Our gifts, joined with the generosity of people everywhere, can help.
We remember, too, the poverty in our own local communities, and are reminded of the importance of volunteering at the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program Souper Center and other food banks, kitchens, and homeless shelters, where we can advocate and work for change.
Unitarian Universalist relief efforts in response to Hurricane Katrina are going to a fund created by the UUA and UUSC to work through the Southeast District. Donate to the The UUA–UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund
Transylvanian Flooding on August 23rd sent 4 villages into chaos. Lives were lost, livestock, crops, food and wood stockpiles and entire houses and barns were swept away. Our village of Homorodujfalu sustained relatively minor flooding, with water rising twice into the center of the town. They have been aiding others close by. For detailed information and pictures go to www.uupcc.org. Your donations will be sent through the UUA and Partner Church Council to aid people in the region. Reprints of email from the ministers and networkers are available at the Partner Church table.