29 Apr 2011, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Adventist Review news roundup
Members and employees of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in thesouthern United States were not spared suffering during a day and night ofviolent tornadoes that swept through six states April 27. The North AmericanDivision reported late in the evening on April 30 that two church members innortheastern Alabama and one in Apison, Tennessee are confirmed as fatalities;overall, at least 349 people have been reported as killed in the region, 250 ofthese in Alabama alone, according to the latest media reports.
“Two members of the Ownbey Chapel Seventh-day AdventistChurch, which is located in Ider, Alabama, [approximately 33 miles southeast ofChattanooga] and one member of the Apison Seventh-day Adventist Church insoutheastern Tennessee were killed during Wednesday’s tornadic outbreak,”a North American Division statement indicated.
Also, one Seventh-day Adventist Church member inTuscaloosa, Alabama, was hospitalized following the tornado’s devastation inthat city. At least six members of the South Central Conference lost theirhomes in Tuscaloosa; several more members’ homes have been reported damagedthere. The tornado which swept from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham had an 80-miletrack, winds as high as 165 miles-per-hour and was designated an EF-4, the second-highestrating, a report at the HuntsvilleTimes Website indicated.
Church officials in the affected area are working with local andstate emergency officials to assess the situation in their local communitiesand determining where our assistance will be most needed, but are experiencingdifficulties caused by numerous downed trees blocking roads, limitedelectricity, and unreliable phone service.
A tornadodestroyed the Piedmont, Alabama, Seventh-day Adventist Church, 29 miles east ofGadsden, Alabama, the North American Division said. No injuries were reported,however.
InHuntsville, Alabama, church-owned Oakwood University lost electricity, alongwith much of the northern Alabama city, and ended its semester early. Finalexams were canceled and the 2011 graduation is postponed until the end of May,school officials said. Several members’ homes in the Huntsville area have beendamaged or destroyed, reports indicate.
TheAnderson Hills neighborhood home of Dr. Leslie Pollard, Oakwood’s president,sustained major damage, OU spokeswoman Michele Solomon said in a telephoneinterview. A number of other Oakwood employees and retirees are also AndersonHills residents, she said, and many of these suffered damage. So far, in theHuntsville area, the homes of five other church members have been reported aslost, with seven others reported as damaged, the NAD report said. Two membersin neighboring Madison, Alabama, also lost their homes.
The SouthCentral Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said April 29 they would postponethe April 30-May 1 Constituency Meeting, originally slated for the Oakwoodcampus. Conditions at Oakwood and in Huntsville have precluded having thesession, expected to see 1,500 delegates, at the school, said South CentralConference president D. C. Edmond. A new date will be announced following theconference’s next executive committee meeting, he said.
In Guntersville,Alabama, approximately 41 miles southeast of Huntsville, Pastor JonathanArroyo’s home was damaged, but his family is safe.
At thesame time, eight Southern Adventist University faculty and staff homes wereeither damaged or destroyed in the wake of the 20 tornados that swept throughSoutheastern Tennessee Wednesday, April 27. Among the SAU faculty whose homeswere lost is Dr. Jud Lake, Professor of Preaching and Adventist Studies, whose2010 book, “Ellen White Under Fire,” seeks to answer current criticsof the visionary who was a pioneering co-founder of the Church. Lake and hisfamily are reported to be unharmed.
“Weactually were very very lucky,” said Trenton Schwarzer, SAU patrol officerat Campus Safety. “The worst [damage on campus] was one tree on CafeteriaDrive that took out one car, and miscellaneous trees on campus.”
Whilestudents and staff are helping clear trees in nearby neighborhoods, SouthernAdventist University is mobilizing to help displaced faculty and staff.
“Weare working at finding housing for them for tonight. Where there aretransportation issues–cars damaged to the point where they cannot be driven –we’re working on providing transportation for them. If they need to move thingsthat are not damaged out of a damaged home…we’re going to provide warehousespace on campus,” said Bob Young, senior vice president of AcademicAdministration at Southern.
“Ourprayers and condolences are with all those in the Southern Union who have beenaffected by these storms,” said Pastor Gordon Retzer, president of theSouthern Union Conference territory. “In this time of turmoil, we can becomforted by God’s grace and mercies.”
“Inresponse to tornadoes, severe weather, floods and wild fires throughout theUnited States, Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) teamsare assisting individuals, families and communities,” said Sung Kwon, ACSnational executive director. “ACS DR, in partnership with other voluntaryagencies and Federal and state governments, meets the physical, emotional andspiritual needs of those affected by providing food, blankets, clothing, andother much needed relief supplies. Adventist churches, schools and mobiledistribution units are utilized to collect and distribute donated goods,”he added.
On April30, the North American Division reported the following assistance efforts:
* TheSamaritan Center in Ooltewah, TN has partnered with Adventist CommunityServices Disaster Response in Ooltewah to distribute cardboard boxes, gloves,trash bags, and flashlights;
* Volunteers from Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church made about 100 sacklunches. They worked with The Salvation Army in Bradley County to distributethe food;
* Apison Seventh-day Adventist Church members are providing food to residentsof the Apison area, which is three miles from the Southern Adventist Universitycampus;
* A volunteer group from Johnson City, TN came with chainsaws to theCollegedale area and helped Adventists and other community members;
* The First Seventh-day Adventist Church of Huntsville Alabama fed members oftheir church and community on Saturday, April 30;
* McDonald Road Pathfinders fed emergency workers at Apison Elementary School.This was the staging location for clean-up and recovery efforts there;
* Atlanta Adventist Academy sent a group of students to the Apison area to helpwith clean-up;
* Southern Adventist University has offered the Hamilton County EmergencyManagement Agency the use of dorm rooms for temporary housing beginning Sunday,May 1;
* The Georgia-Cumberland Conference is working with emergency managementofficials to establish warehouse operations in Georgia and Tennessee. And, theSouth Central Conference is working with emergency management officials toestablish warehouse operations in Alabama. Locations for both warehouses willbe announced when confirmed, officials said.
Churchmembers and friends are encouraged to visit the Adventist Community Services website, for more informationabout how ACS ministries are making a difference, or to make a donation.
–Rainey Park of Southern Adventist University andthe North American Division contributed news reporting for this article
