9/18/18

Benson Memorial Family,

We give thanks that Florence has moved on and we were locally spared the brunt of the storm. Thank you for your prayers for others and your desire to help those who were devastated by destruction.

Our Bishop Hope Morgan Ward has asked the churches of our Capital District to team up with the Sound District to offer relief, clean-up, and rebuilding assistance. (The Sound District includes the towns of Kinston, New Bern, Emerald Isle, and Beaufort.)

Our immediate response is to donate funds through UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). One hundred percent of your donation goes to response/relief efforts. You can give online at this link https://www.bensonmemorial.org/give and mark it for UMCOR, and we will direct it specifically to NC Storm Response. You can also put a check in the offering plate with UMCOR on the memo line. We already raised $775 in just one Sunday!

Your pastors will be traveling tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 19, leaving at 8:30 a.m. from the church to volunteer at the the MERCI Warehouse (676 Community Dr., Goldsboro) to assemble health kits and cleaning kits. We welcome any of you to join us. Please email me at klogue@bensonmemorial.org to let me know you are coming.

You can bring any excess supplies you may have purchased for the storm but ended up not using to the church this week.

In addition, we will be collecting cleaning kits (formerly known as "flood buckets"). Here's the link for kit assembly, supplies, and instructions: https://www.umcor.org/umcor/relief-supplies/relief-supply-kits/cleaning.

If you would like to volunteer, either as a trained or untrained disaster responder/early responder, please call (888) 440-9167 to be put on a list to be called in the coming weeks and months. Training opportunities will also be offered and shared with you as we have that information. The focus of our work initially will be clean up.

Thank you for all the ways you are responding in kindness and generosity to your neighbors near and far. Many of you are hosting friends or family who were forced to evacuate. Many others are separated from family members because of flooding.

May God grant us patience, encouragement, and the gift of hope in these days,

Pastor Kelly Lyn

9/15/18

Benson Memorial Family,

Given the expected rainfall, the Children's Ministry Kick-off celebration scheduled for Sunday, September 16, has been rescheduled for Sunday, September 23, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Our Good Neighbor Ministry will be available to deploy in the case of emergency needs at your home after the storm clears. Please be in touch with me directly at (919) 612-0972, and I will collect the information needed for referral to our Good Neighbor Ministry team.

Our Fellowship Hall is approved as a Red Cross Shelter, should we be called upon to activate.

Please be in touch and check in with your neighbors, friends, and shut-ins who may need assistance. Just a phone call to say you care about them can make a big difference in hours of anxiety.

You can make a special offering for hurricane disaster relief through UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) by giving through Benson Memorial with UMCOR on the memo line at https://www.bensonmemorial.org/home/give-to-bumc/ or in the offering plate on a Sunday.

Our Disaster Response and Recovery ministries in the North Carolina Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church will let us know about other opportunities to respond in the coming weeks. Recovery work takes time, but it will happen!

We will continue to keep you updated.

May the peace of Christ be with you and sustain you as we navigate these days,

Pastor Kelly Lyn

Our online directory vendor is creating a new version of their online directory offerings. Until that is complete, our church directory will be offline. We will update you as we receive more information.

Your Calls Are Working!

Protect SNAP!

The fate of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as "food stamps" is again up for discussion in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In mid-May, the House of Representatives considered legislation that would have reduced or eliminated nutrition assistance to an estimated 2 million men, women, and children in the United States. Thanks to the advocacy of United Methodists and people of good will across the country, this legislation was defeated. But Congress is likely to try to pass these cuts again in June so our faithful calls and letters and visits are still needed.

Please contact your Member of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to protect SNAP and to oppose efforts that would reduce or eliminate critical food assistance for struggling families.