Read UUA President William G. Sinkford's letter to Florida UU congregations

News from Hurricane-Ravaged Florida

Report from Rev. Mary Higgins, Florida District Executive

Fri Sep 3, 5:28 AM ET Copyright © AP

(September 7, 2004) Hurricane Frances came and ground down the congregations in the Florida District with rain and winds on the east coast and interminable rain on the Gulf coast. Following closely on the heels of Hurricane Charley on August 16th, Hurricane Frances has left many of our congregations reeling. For those congregations who experienced both hurricanes or their threat, this is a highly emotional as well as physically exhausting time. The physical landscape has changed so significantly for many of our members here that many are suffering significant disorientation. The landmarks that anchored us in space are rearranged or gone completely. The blessing is that there has been no loss of life that we are aware of and no real injury.

Rev. Mary Higgins

Twenty-three of our forty-three congregations in the Florida District have suffered damage in one of the two storms. The Friendship Fellowship at Pineda has suffered major damage to their two structures located quite near the water from Frances. The flooding from Frances has been extensive and we are still in the midst of calculating the damage to our congregations and members between Palm Beach and Jacksonville on the Atlantic Coast. Members of the congregations in our district who were not directly affected by the first hurricane mobilized themselves into teams and arrived with their chain saws, gardening tools, food, water, and strong backs and have been working at the homes of members and at the churches to help restore them to full functioning.

The UU Trauma Response Team came the Sunday after Charley and conducted a workshop for our ministers. We have scheduled the Rev. Aaron Payson from that team to come back to our district in early October to assist our religious educators understand how to help the children and youth cope with the traumas they have faced. We thank the UUA for this ministry to us.

The UUs in FLorida and around the country have been offering major support to the farm workers in the center of the state whose homes were badly battered during Charley and whose jobs are in jeopardy because of extensive damage to the citrus crops in central Florida from both storms. The goods collected from nearly all our congregations, even those hit by the hurricanes themselves, have been gratefully received and the needs continue to expand as the emergency resources are stretched thin.

The financial support from our congregations and individual UUs around the country has been phenomenal and appreciated in more ways that just the monetary benefits they allow us to pursue. The letters and checks foster our sense of being connected to the larger whole and help us restore a sense of control to our lives that seem quite out of control at the moment. We still need money to help those in our district: congregations, UU members, and farm workers alike. If you and your congregations are able, please forward your contributions to the following address. And please put "Disaster Relief Fund" on the memo line of the check.

Florida District-UUA
1901 E. Robinson St. #18
Orlando FL 32803

It is wonderful to hear from you. Your messages restore our spirits just as your contributions help restore our homes, lives and congregations.

Rev. Mary Higgins
District Executive
Florida District of the UUA

More Information:

• The Rev. Mary Higgins, mhiggins@uua.org
• Disaster Help
• Federal Emergency Management Agency

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