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Email to FriendIOWA: Episcopal flood relief efforts take many forms
In a pastoral letter sent to congregations in the Diocese of Iowa shortly after the flooding began, Bishop Alan Scarfe said, "[We] need to wrap each other and our communities in prayer; we need to know that we are sharing ourselves with each other; and we need to commit to a long-term action plan."
He said the diocese would be involved in the clean-up and rebuilding and "eventually we have also decided as a church to be present for the mental and spiritual health needs as they arise, once the bravery and adrenaline drop with the water level."
Scarfe immediately established The Bishop's Crisis Relief Fund and called for donations. The Fund has received a $25,000 emergency grant from Episcopal Relief and Development and more than $5,000 in individual donations given online.
According to Anne Wagner, operations manager for the diocese, funds are initially being distributed to clergy in affected areas. With the money, the clergy are to provide grants of up to $500 per family to meet immediate needs for food, temporary housing and clothing.
Wagner explained that the diocese is not trying to replace relief funds available through the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency or insurance.
"We are focusing on those needs that are falling through the cracks and not being met at this time," she said.
Distribution of grants from the Crisis Relief Fund and coordination of other relief efforts, including volunteer teams, are being led on behalf of Bishop Scarfe by the Rev. Pat Genereux, rector of Christ Episcopal Church, Burlington.
Genereux has established a blog called "Iowa Waters," both for the sharing of stories and available resources," he said.
After communicating with many clergy and lay leaders around the state, both Episcopal and from other denominations, Genereux says that only now, as the waters recede, are people becoming able to assess their immediate and long-term needs. He said he expects the amount of individual grants from the relief fund to increase in the near future.
An Outpouring of Support
One generous offer of help was posted on Iowa Waters on June 20 by the Rev. Carl Mann, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Spirit Lake, an area not affected by the flooding. Through a program in which his congregation participates, Kids Against Hunger, Mann has access to, literally, a "ton of food," which he has offered to residents in flood-ravaged areas in the state. The food consists of bags of rice, soy, dried vegetables, chicken flavoring and nutrients. Each bag contains enough for six meals.
Mann explained that Spirit Lake is one of the preparation and distribution locations for Kids Against Hunger, which would normally ship the food to developing countries. He said the organization has offered the food to needy people in Iowa—relief workers or displaced families.
Mann, an over-the-road truck driver prior to his ordination, said he simply plans to take orders, load up a truck and hit the road, delivering the food to those who have requested it.
Down in hard-hit Cedar Rapids--where at the height of the flooding some 1300 city blocks were under water, forcing the evacuation of more than 24,000 persons--the people of Christ Episcopal Church are mounting a huge volunteer effort for the community.
Lisa Butler, parish life coordinator at Christ Church, is organizing volunteer efforts by members of the parish, which she said initially started with sandbagging and have now moved into the clean-up phase.
"I feel quite comfortable saying that 100% of our people are participating in some way or another, from donning hip boots to being out of town and praying."
She says that "all levels of skill" are needed and welcome in the clean-up and rebuilding effort, which makes it easy for everyone to participate in some way.
Faced with an "overwhelming outpouring of volunteer assistance," Butler has sought counsel and advice from representatives of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana in matters of volunteer management and scheduling.
Wagner reported that Katie Mears, originally from Iowa City, who now leads the recovery program in house building for the Diocese of Louisiana, will visit Iowa June 26 to 30 and will accompany Bishop Scarfe to some flooded areas. She will help the Diocese of Iowa focus on determining which efforts it should be involved in beyond the current "coping and helping to cope."
Protecting Workers' Rights
At Cornell College in Mount Vernon, The Rev. Catherine Quehl-Engel's flood relief assistance has taken on a very pastoral tone and even that of a watchdog for basic human rights.
Quehl-Engel, an Episcopal priest, is the chaplain at the United Methodist college, where hundreds of Red Cross workers, law enforcement personnel, and displaced families are being housed. One residence hall is also housing 150 migrant workers—Hispanics and African Americans—brought in to help in the cleanup efforts.
In an opinion article submitted on June 21 to Episcopal Life Media and the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Quehl-Engel reported that transportation, hygiene and employment conditions for some workers were substandard.
She reported incidents of workers traveling on a bus for 14 hours without food, no tetanus shots, no bedding or towels, only $15 a day for food and expenses ("Try eating out for $5 a meal and then deduct for hygiene products, coffee, etc.," she wrote), and less than minimum wage compensation. She said that some workers are required to reimburse a temporary employment agency $49 per week for gas for school bus transportation to and from Cedar Falls.
Quehl-Engel launched an ecumenical project to aid the workers that included efforts by the Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church and the denomination's National Board of Church and Society.
She reports that all workers have now been vaccinated, and plans are being carried out to ensure that they are paid Iowa's minimum wage and provided with adequate food. An Hispanic Roman Catholic priest and a national representative of Catholic Charities are now helping Quehl-Engel with pastoral care.
"And those in tears begging to go home are now having their requests honored," she said.
On June 22 Quehl-Engel reported accompanying "an exhausted female worker who I have come to know as Maria" to the hospital in an ambulance. She had suffered a heart attack after a fourteen-hour work day with only three hours of sleep the night before. A hospital official told Quehl-Engel they had "lost count" of the number of migrant workers who had come to the emergency room in the last week.
"We're better than this, Iowa," said Quehl-Engel, in a statement released to the press on June 23. "Our economy and rebuilding of communities rely on these day laborers and migrant workers. As Iowans, I know we'll rise to the level of leadership we need. Then we can lead the nation and uphold our reputation as a people of good will and sound character as we respect and protect folk like Maria as they aid us in our hour of need."
Wagner said that Episcopal clergy are also paying attention to the needs of Hispanic workers in Iowa City and Columbus Junction.
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