St. Luke's United Methodist Church

WORSHIP TIMES

On-campus worship:

Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in Founder's Hall (Contemporary) and 10:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary (Traditional)

Live on YouTube:

Sundays at 9:30 a.m. (Contemporary) & 10:00 a.m. (Traditional) EST

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4851 S. Apopka-Vineland Road
Orlando, FL 32819
407.876.4991
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Disaster Response

Posted on February 18, 2025 at 4:00 am in .

Disaster Response Team

As storms continue to grow in Florida and natural disasters place a burden on our communities, we are building awareness on disaster relief by training and fundraising in order to meet the needs of our communities during a crisis.

Volunteers can be involved with various types of disaster response including hurricane assistance and clean up, assisting with answering calls for help, coordinating donations and being beacons of hope.  There is a role for everyone!

We are hosting two Disaster Response Trainings in April:

  • A Virtual Training for Call Center Volunteers – Thursday, April 24 (7pm-9pm).
  • Emergency Response Team Training will be at St. Luke’s, Building C – Room 207 –Saturday April 26 (9am-4pm).

 

Volunteers can be involved with:

  • Emergency Response Teams- be trained to be part of the Early Response Team to assist with local disasters.  Join a work team to provide a caring presence and assistance for survivors, helping to prevent further damage to a family’s property.  Emergency Response Teams travel to local disasters for 1-3 days to provide assistance,
  • Call Center Volunteers – be part of a local team to assist the community and answer calls for assistance.  Last year more than 2,000 calls came into the Conference following the storms and we are seeking volunteers to help provide a listening ear and assistance at St. Luke’s to answer the calls.
  • Donation Collections-Help organize efforts to gather and distribute essential supplies.

 

Sign up below to become of part of the Disaster Emergency Response Team.

 

Call Center Volunteers:  Sign up to attend the Call Center Volunteer Training Virtually on Thursday, April 24 7pm-9pm.

 

Emergency Response Team: Sign up to  be certified with the Emergency Response Team on Saturday, April 26 – 9am-4pm at St. Luke’s.  Please note, this training is provided by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church Disaster Recovery Ministry and there is a $15 charge to signup for t-shirt and background check to be certified..  Lunch will be provided at the training.

For more information about volunteering with the Disaster Response Team, contact Amy Simon at asimon@st.lukes.org.

 

Ann Eppinger’s Reflection

Last fall, I felt helpless as I watched the devastation that three successive hurricanes left on the west coast and northern panhandle of Florida.  I felt led to answer phone calls to the Florida United Methodist Conference hotline, and quickly began to understand what our Florida UM Conference does to reach out and help during a disaster and for quite a while afterwards.  This 800 number is given as a resource of about 10 total phone numbers given to survivors of a storm by the Red Cross, FEMA and other local organizations.   We answered close to 1800 calls in a little over 6 weeks!  Often, I was told that I was the only person that they had actually reached of the 10 calls they made, and as I followed my scripted questions, was able to listen to their sometimes harrowing, and always gut-wrenching, stories of survival and loss.   They needed to be heard.  They also needed real help.  Our calls were logged into a database, from which over 150 temporary Airbnb housing vouchers were provided, a number of disaster call teams were dispersed to help with cleanup and repairs, and long-term needs were assessed to help those without insurance or needed resources.  I was able to give survivors locations of charging stations, showers, hot meals and clothes.   And as the weeks progressed, my husband and I were able to be trained to go out on sites to provide help as part of an Emergency Response Team (“ERT” ).

I am grateful that my church, St. Luke’s UMC,  has decided to offer our services as a remote Disaster Call Center, in the event of a storm this season, and is also hosting an ERT training session, both events to be held in April.  We hope to bolster the number of persons trained to help in the case of future storms.  To listen, you just need to be aware of what the FLUMC Disaster Center can do to help, along with some guidance.  As to the on-site work,  I emphasize that I am a banker by trade – I have literally no skills but the willingness to take direction and help on those sites, by listening, hauling, or whatever the team leads ask.  I was as moved by my time at a housing site as I was in listening to survivors stories and needs.  I hope you will consider joining our team!

 

 


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