Episcopal Dioceses Respond to California Wildfires

Map_of_USA_CA 100wRecent unprecedented fires have devastated communities in California, most notably the Camp Fire in Northern California, and the fires in and around Los Angeles. NAES has received inquiries about how schools and churches have fared, and how Episcopal schools might help devastated families and communities.

Episcopal schools and churches fared well. Some churches in and around the Camp Fire area, along with other community organizations, are being used to provide relief. Read more in this story from Episcopal News Service.

Both the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California and the Diocese of Los Angeles have established disaster relief funds. As Serena Beeks, Executive Director of the Commission on Schools in the Diocese of Los Angeles, wrote in her November 19 newsletter:

So many of you in our diocese and across the state have been struggling with a horrendous fire season. We pray that the efforts of firefighters and other responders and the possibility of a little seasonal rain will bring this destructive and deadly time to an end. The Diocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Northern California have set up special funds to help under-resourced people and families to recover.

Ways to Help

  1. To donate to the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California disaster relief, please click here, or make checks out to EDNC with “Disaster Relief” in the memo line. Mail your check to the address below.

    The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
    350 University Avenue, Suite 280
    Sacramento, CA 95825
     

  2. In Los Angeles, donations to the diocesan Fire and Mudslide Relief Fund may be made online here. Priority is placed on disbursement of aid to the region’s low-income and otherwise most vulnerable who might not otherwise receive relief amid the disaster.

A Prayer for First Responders

 
Blessed are you, Lord, God of mercy, who through your Son gave us a marvelous example of charity and the great commandment of love for one another. Send down your blessings on these your servants, who so generously devote themselves to helping others. Grant them courage when they are afraid, wisdom when they must make quick decisions, strength when they are weary, and compassion in all their work. When the alarm sounds and they are called to aid both friend and stranger, let them faithfully serve you in their neighbor. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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