Revs. Bishir, Spencer complete 'Disaster Academy'

Rev. Marji Bishir, NTC Disaster Coordinator, and Rev. Rob Spencer, senior pastor of Ridgewood Park UMC, Dallas, and the disaster coordinator for the Dallas Northeast District, recently completed four days of training at the 2008 United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) “Connecting Neighbors” Advanced Disaster Academy.

The event, on the Baldwin, LA, campus of Sager Brown Depot, was designed to provide certification for attendees to teach local churches disaster preparation within their home conferences.

Participants completed intense study that included:

• Designing a local church disaster response plan
• Information about pandemics and bio-hazards taught by Dr. Naomi Paget, a board certified expert in traumatic stress, FBI chaplain and crisis interventionist
• Connecting with government response agencies
• Sheltering
• The role of clergy
• Insurance issues and liabilities, by Dr. Don Cottrill, Director of Connectional Ministries and provost with the Louisiana Conference
• Reaching out to neighbors and finding the most vulnerable
• Spiritual and emotional care
• Ways to find resources
• Connecting to the church, district, conference and jurisdiction in disaster planning and response.
  
  Each day of study began with directed devotional messages by retired Bishop Marion M. Edwards, formerly of the North Carolina Conference,  now Bishop-In-Residence at LaGrange, GA, whose experience with disaster response served as a launching pad for refl ection and inspiration. Bishop Edwards concluded the training on Friday afternoon with a worship experience to send forth participants to share their training with their fellow United Methodists in their home conferences.
  
  The goal of “Connecting Neighbors” was to equip the attendees to return to their respective conferences and share information for developing local church disaster response ministries. Two prior trainings on this subject have been held in this conference in August 2007 and March 2008. Future trainings will be scheduled for 2009 soon.
  
  For more information, please call Rev. Marji Bishir, 972-5265000 ext. 220, 800-969-8201 or e-mail: bishir@ntcumc.org