The release below was prepared on September 26. ABHMS staff is presently in communication with Dr. Harrison, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of the South (ABCOTS), and other ABCOTS leaders and will provide an update as soon as possible.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (ABNS 9/26/24)—Hurricane Helene will make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Thursday, September 26, as a potentially deadly Category 4 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. High-velocity winds, flooding rainfall, and storm surge that could reach 20 feet are expected.
The Hurricane Center further states that as Helene progresses along its forecast northeasterly track, the massive storm will likely unleash fury across Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia in the coming days before it dissipates.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) requests prayers and donations for those in the path of Hurricane Helene, which has forced thousands of Florida residents to evacuate and caused other areas of the Southeast United States to be placed under severe weather alerts.
As parts of the U.S. are again threatened by a catastrophic weather event, Dr. Jeffrey Haggray, ABHMS’ executive director, reminds us of our call to help our neighbors by “lifting up those in need with our prayers and financial support through OGHS [One Great Hour of Sharing]. Let us respond with compassion and generosity, reflecting the love of Christ in this time of crisis.”
“Unfortunately, the severity of damage and loss from Helene is likely to be great,” says the Rev. Lisa Harris Lee, director of ABHMS’ Healing & Transforming Communities unit, following a brief conversation with the Rev. Dr. Rosalind Osgood, executive director of Mount Olive Development Corporation, an ABHMS partner in Community Outreach Ministries, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Osgood told Harris Lee that she is “praying for people to heed good instruction and exercise good, timely judgment to be safe through the hurricane,” noting that “heavy rain is already here.” The Hurricane Center expects the fiercest part of the storm, bearing winds easily exceeding 100 mph, to slam into the Gulf Coast early Thursday evening.
“Our generous response now to Hurricane Helene demonstrates our commitment to immediate care and longer-term renewal of lives in the weeks, months, and years to come,” says Harris Lee.
Your donations to OGHS are directed to the designated disaster areas in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to address immediate needs and often long afterward as additional needs emerge. All your gifts will make a difference in the lives of people you may or may not know and show the love of God when and where it is needed most.
The World Relief Committee of the Board of General Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA administers OGHS. The committee facilitates American Baptist emergency relief, disaster rehabilitation, refugee work and development assistance by establishing policy guidelines and overseeing the distribution of the annual OGHS offering received by churches.
How you can help:
Please join American Baptists in supporting the relief efforts directed toward those affected by the recent hurricanes and their aftermath. One hundred percent of designated OGHS gifts are allocated to domestic disaster relief.
You can donate via your church or directly online.
Checks designated to OGHS–Hurricane Helene should be mailed to ABHMS’ Office of Development care of Kim Wilkins, 1075 First Avenue, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406. If intended, donor checks should also include the name of the donor’s church and the name “Helene” in the memo section of the check to ensure that the church receives credit for the gift.
To learn more about ABHMS, visit abhms.org.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.