Moravian Church in North America, Western District Runs a “Stuff the Truck” Mission Effort for Hurricane Katrina Victims in Mississippi

August 30, 2006

The Western District of the Moravian Church in North America has initiated an effort called “Building Materials, Bikes, & Blessings – Reaching Out to Our Neighbors with Christian Love” for the families affected by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. This is a part of the ongoing effort of the Moravian Church mission initiative that has been in place since Katrina stormed into the Gulf Coast in late August of 2005 destroying nearly everything in its path. A year later, the damage still exists and the Moravian Church is working to make a difference during week-long mission trips to clean-up and rebuild. This effort by the Western District will provide the much needed supplies to continue this effort.

The Western District program starts on October 28, 2006, by having trucks filled in North Dakota and Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. From there the trucks will travel through Minnesota and other areas of Wisconsin, stopping at various material drop-off sites along the way. Other regional trucks will be coming from Indiana and Michigan meeting up in West Salem, Illinois, where all of the collected materials will be reorganized into a semi-truck for safe travel to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Along with the truck full of materials and supplies, the District will be sending a work crew to the area of Ocean Springs to serve from October 28th through November 4th. This group of volunteers will be available to unload the 53-foot-semi once it arrives in Mississippi as well as begin work in the areas where they are needed.

Materials needed include: sheet rock (8 ft and 12 ft), sheet rock tape (by the case), sheet rock mud (5 gal), corner bead (by the box), paint (sheet rock primer, ceiling white, and antique white in 5 gallon buckets), paint roller covers, nails for finish guns and roofing guns, standard wooden baseboard, 442 door casing, bed & bath door lock sets, 18 volt baterries for Ridgid brand tools, and R-13 and R-30 Insulation. In addition, the group is challenging every Moravian Sunday School in the District to purchase one new child or adult bicycle to be used at the Moravian Guest House which has been bought and set up in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, as the headquarters for the Moravian mission efforts. Some of these bikes will be used by volunteers of the Moravian Disaster Relief response team as simple transportation to the various work sites in the area. Other bikes will be given away to children and adults in the Gulf Coast area where Moravian volunteer teams are working. All materials for donation need to be dropped off at the various sites by October 28, 2006.

Material drop-off sites are:

For more information on this program and how you might help, please call the Rev. John Wallace, the Western District “Stuff the Truck” Coordinator at 952-442-2920 or your most local material drop-off site.

The Moravian Church was founded in Bohemia, the current-day Czech Republic, 550 years ago and at that time was officially called the Unitas Fratrum, or Unity of the Brethren, which remains the church’s official name today. The Moravian Church is one of the oldest Protestant denominations dating back to 1457 in Europe and first coming to America in 1735. Moravians have a strong tradition of ecumenical work and are best known for their missionary work and rich musical heritage. The Moravian Church in North America is comprised of the Northern and Southern Provinces. The Northern Province has approximately 28,000 members in 102 congregations in 13 states in the U.S. and two Canadian provinces. The Western District of the Moravian Church in North America consists of 39 recognized Moravian Congregations throughout California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, as well as growing and emerging churches and fellowships in development in Indiana, Minnesota, and California.