Dear Cornerstone,
The Nashville Presbytery’s Mercy Committee is organizing a trip to Panama City, FL, to assist with Hurricane Michael relief efforts. A team of volunteers from middle Tennessee PCA churches is pulling together to head down to Panama City, FL, next weekend, Nov. 8-11. Considering the extensive damage and sparse volunteers, we're actually still on the front side of the disaster response.
No particular technical skills are prized. Willing hands are in short supply in Panama City. Even inexperienced guys or gals at least 15 years old can go down and make a real dent over three days. We’ll no doubt be blessed by encouraging and praying with our Gulf Coast neighbors, serving them and serving alongside them for Jesus' sake.
If you’d like to serve and be the hands and feet of Jesus in the work of the mercy, play close attention to the information below and be sure to follow the instructions for registration:
· Every volunteer must sign up via MNA. The links are below. MNA Disaster Response is expecting a crew from Nashville Presbytery.
· Every signed up volunteer needs to contact Marty Smith at grandog_fighter@yahoo.com, so we can keep a count and communicate with the group and with MNA about our trip. No one should contact MNA Disaster Response after signing up.
· For those who choose to go, please start gathering tools and supplies to carry down for our use (and to leave behind if they need and you're inclined). Food/Water-grade necessities are not in short supply presently. We will send updates on what to pack and what not to pack as the day approaches. Plan on erring on the generous side with the tools you tote.
· As the group takes shape in these coming days, we’ll sort out who can drive to maximize our haul. Vans and extended cab trucks are ideal. (We have one x-cab truck already.)
The Trip Details:
· Meet Thursday, November 8, at 4:30pm, in the south parking lot at Christ Community Church, 1215 Hillsboro Road, Franklin, TN 37069. We may arrange to meet up along the route with folks coming from outside Nashville or its southern suburbs.
· We’ll sort into vehicles, pray, and head out by 5pm, driving straight to Laguna Beach Christian Retreat, where we’ll be housed. (This is the same retreat center that’s long been home to RUF and RYM conferences.) It's roughly a 7.5 hour drive.
· We will head east across the bay to put in a full Friday and Saturday as MNA directs, with a focus on helping our brethren at hardest hit First Presbyterian Church in Panama City, FL. We will also be serving Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Korean Presbyterian Church in town.
· We will go across the bay for supper and the night on the west side, where the food supply chain – grocery and prepared – is increasingly intact (We shouldn't have to carry all our own food/water. Possibly not even food/water for others).
· The Lord’s Day: If feasible, worship with our sister churches, then with their guidance find work (loving mercy) that afternoon in a more downtrodden and vulnerable area that’s close enough to be within reach of the churches’ outreach ministries.
· Having worked till 4pm (except for designated drivers who will have been excused early for a nap), make one last change of clothes and drive straight home, so worn-out servants can resume normal life on Monday morning.
· Folks who can’t leave with us as early as Thursday or who need to get back sooner than we’re planning to Sunday afternoon/night could still link up with us if we can work together on alternative arrangements.
MNA Trip Registration: https://stat.pcanet.org/mna/disasterresponse/signin.cfm
Important Info:
https://pcamna.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-09-Volunteer-Scheduling-Process.pdf
https://pcamna.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-09-MNA-Disaster-Response-Volunteer-FAQ.pdf