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AMBRIDGE, PA: Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry sends team to stricken areas
In response to the catastrophic losses that were suffered along the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry is forming and preparing an emergency response team of twenty-five to thirty student volunteers and others will travel to the affected area from October 14-22, 2005.
The team will be working with the Rev. Marcia King, a Trinity alumna, who is the Assistant Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. St. John's Church miraculously did not experience much damage, and so it is well-situated to serve as a base of operations. In Ocean Springs itself, numerous houses, businesses, churches, and other buildings were destroyed. As the Rev. Marcia King said, "A group from Trinity arriving in October will give us a tremendous boost. They are needed very much."
The team will focus on construction and repair, clean-up and health concerns. Pastoral work among those who suffered losses from the component is also an important part of the work that the team will be doing.
The Very Rev. Dr. Paul F.M. Zahl, Dean of Trinity said, "We want to be hands-on and concrete, putting our bodies where our mouths are. Maybe we can be a little part of our Brothers' and Sisters' Good Friday as they wait for the break of day."
The Team will be under the leadership of the Rev. Canon John A. Macdonald, Director of Trinity's Stanway Institute for World Mission and Evangelism. The South American Missionary Society - SAMS-USA - is partnering with Trinity in a supportive and logistical role. SAMS-USA was one of the major relief respondants and coordinators for the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch devastated the country.
Financial support is urgently needed to purchase relief, medical and building supplies and to equip the team for their work in Ocean Springs.
Please make checks payable to: Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and make a notation in the margin stating: Stanway/Hurricane Katrina.
Online credit card donations can also be made via the Trinity web site: www.tesm.edu
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