Dear clergy and other colleagues in ministry:

I’ve just returned to Burlington following a couple of days on the road here in Vermont, in which I visited three sites where members of our churches are responding to the devastating results of Tropical Storm Irene.

First I went to Gethsemane Church in Proctorsville, where the most extensive damage to any of our church buildings occurred. There I found the people of Gethsemane dealing well with their loss, but more significantly engaged fully in the relief effort underway in their community for those most affected by the flooding from Irene. I was able to bring them a reminder of the prayers and support of people throughout our diocese, as well as a check representing a portion of the funds we have received so far from Episcopal Relief and Development and others who have made donations through my office and on our web site. This money is being used to help those who have lost much, most, or all of their belongings and who have sustained severe damage to their homes. I am so very proud of the efforts of this “small” church of ours. They need and want our help in this effort, so please reach out through their Senior Warden This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . [Find pictures from Bishop Ely's visit to Gethesemane here.]

Next, I visited Melrose Terrace, a housing complex for seniors and people with disabilities in West Brattleboro, where the people of Saint Michael’s, Brattleboro, have concentrated their relief efforts. I was privileged to arrive at lunch time, when the staff was offering thanks to the members of Saint Michael’s for all that they had done over the course of these past two weeks. The whole complex was evacuated prior to Irene! The appreciation and level of personal relationship and gratitude present in that room was as rich as anything I have seen. The bulk of the “hard work” there is done, but I am sure the good folks of Saint Michael’s are not done with their ministry among the residents of Melrose Terrace, even as they look for additional opportunities to help others affected by the flooding.

My third stop was at Saint Paul’s, White River Junction, which is serving as a central gathering and distribution center for many communities affected by the flooding and as a place where the efforts of many of our Episcopal Churches have been connected through the ever expanding “Freeway Relay” set up to bring food and supplies from the more northern areas of the diocese to the areas of most need in the central and southern parts of Vermont. The outreach effort and level of participation in this ministry is amazing and so well organized by the folks at Saint Paul’s. Again, I was able to offer a check to support this expanding ministry from the support we are receiving from ERD and others. Here I heard story after story from the volunteers who are bringing food and other needed relief to the workers and residents of some of the most hurting communities in that region. [Find more pictures from Bishop Ely's visit to St. Paul's here.]

These are only three of the many expressions of outreach that are part of the effort of the people of the Episcopal Church in Vermont. You can read about more on other pages of the Hurricane Irene Response section, including updates coming from our Disaster Response Team, headed up by Canon Lynn Bates. If you have a story to share, or a situation in need of assistance, please be in touch with Lynn about it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This is a time and circumstance when God is calling us to act together as a diocese for the relief of those in need. Obviously, we cannot solve all the problems, or answer all the needs resulting from Irene, but we can offer our generous hearts and resources as part of the effort. Please keep up the effort and increase it where you are able. As the effort moves from relief to recovery the needs will continue to be there and I hope we will be there as well.

Our web site is now expanding with stories and articles and resources related to Irene. We are receiving not only the good wishes and prayers of others throughout The Episcopal Church, but also offers of human and financial assistance. One of the most moving emails I received this past week was from Zaché Duracin, the Episcopal Bishop of Haiti, who wrote this to us:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This is to express my deep sympathies and those of the church here for damages caused by the hurricane Irene in your respective diocese. We pray for families and individuals who have been victims. We in Haiti, know what that means by our experiences.

May God sustain you all in this difficult  time.
+ Zaché

Someone asked me if we were going to postpone our fundraising effort for the rebuilding of Haiti in light of Irene and the need we have right here in Vermont. I said, absolutely not. The choice is not them or us. Our generosity as partners in God’s own mission for the world embraces both local and global needs and we made a commitment to do our share for this church-wide effort. So please keep on with your efforts for Haiti that will culminate at our Diocesan Convention in November, even as you offer generous response to the needs here in our diocese.

I leave Tuesday for a meeting of the House of Bishops, where I will have an opportunity to report on the impact of Irene here in Vermont and our efforts to respond to the human need resulting from the flooding. I am reminded that it is ten years ago now since the House of Bishops met in Vermont, in those weeks following September 11, and how welcome they all felt by the people of our diocese. I will tell them that the place that offered its beauty and hospitality to them at that time is now bruised and broken in many places. I will ask for their prayers and support and I know we will receive both.

Thank you for all that you are doing to respond to the needs throughout our state. I am so privileged to share in ministry with such generous people.

Faithfully,

+ Thomas

Report from our Diocesan I-91 'Freeway Relay' thanks to John Morris:

Our first test of the Relay worked just fine.

Parishioners in Newport packed up 130 snack bags and took them to the parish in St. Johnsbury, where parishioners were packing up 130 lunch bags. Then all of those items were brought to St. Martin's this morning, where we loaded them up with the 130 brown bag "dinners" that our parishioners had prepared Wednesday morning. The items took two vehicles to transport but we made it to the Montshire Museum and delivered them to the students, staff, and parents of Moretown Elementary School (The school's septic system backed up during the flood caused by Irene and the school is not ready for use until next week. All the carpets and some of the walls had to be ripped out. They will begin school with a "bare bones" building.)

Thank you to the sandwich-makers and sandwich-haulers: Linda Secord, Melinda Ricker, Erin Ricker, Kirsten Glass, Janet Jones, Connie Gephart, Mary Hays, Bill Secord, and Susan Morris. Also, we are grateful to Panera in West Lebanon for donating bread and to Poverty Lane Orchard in Lebanon for donating apples.

Note: Each parish had some leftover items (snacks, bread, turkey, cheese, ham, juice, etc.). All of those items were taken to St. Paul's Episcopal Church in White River Junction to be used for lunches that are being taken to families and volunteers in towns west of White River Junction.

And thank you to those who have already donated funds for this project.

By next week, we will have a list of specific items that are needed for the next "relay". In the meantime, gift cards from "big box" stores will always be useful. They can be brought to St. Martin's at any time and will be kept until the next delivery.

Posted by Canon Lynn Bates on the community network

Dear people of Vermont (and beyond)

Note: You can make an online donation to support flood relief efforts through the diocesan web site by using this link and following the instructions for setting up an account. Choose the option to donate to "VT Flood Relief 2011.

You are well aware of the devastation caused by the flooding associated with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. Roads and bridges in many parts of Vermont have been destroyed, while communities, businesses and homes have suffered tremendous damage. People’s lives have been upended and there have been many injuries, and even some loss of life. For the most part, according to reports we have been monitoring our congregations have weathered the storm fairly well, with the exception of Gethsemane, Proctorsville (see below). There is some water damage reported by a few congregations and some reports of parishioners who have sustained damage to their property. Please continue to hold all those who have suffered loss or dislocation in your prayers, and give thanks for the tireless efforts of first responders, utility and road crews and all who are responding to this crisis.

The most significant damage to any of our church buildings reported thus far is that sustained by Gethsemane, Proctorsville, which lost its parish house and suffered serious damage to the foundation of the church. See an Episcopal News Service article here. The local leadership at Gethsemane is assessing the situation with the good help of the folks from Church Insurance Company of Vermont. While the congregation is obviously concerned for their buildings, they are (not surprisingly!) more concerned about their local community and its residents who have been hard hit by the storm, on top of hard economic times. The congregation will meet this Sunday to outline their plan for responding to the needs of their community and will be calling upon other Episcopal congregations to support them in their efforts. I have assured them of our prayers and support and will keep you posted on how best to help. I hope you will be ready and responsive to their calls for assistance.

We also hope to have more information posted on our diocesan website soon. Anne Brown, our Communications Minister, was severely affected by the flooding at her home in Plymouth (near Killington) and is just now regaining power and internet access. So, please do check back on the website for updated information. You can also make an online donation to support flood relief efforts through the diocesan web site by using this link and following the instructions for setting up an account. Choose the option to donate to "VT Flood Relief 2011."

Meanwhile, members of other Episcopal congregations are already reaching out to their local communities that have been hard hit by the flooding. Several congregations in communities that have not experienced local flooding are also doing their part to offer support and relief to those in need. Canon Lynn Bates has been gathering information from congregations and sending out updates to clergy and other congregational leaders. She is in touch with Episcopal Relief and Development to help direct support to congregations reaching out to their local communities.

Representatives from Episcopal Relief and Development will be in Vermont near the end of September and will meet with clergy at our already scheduled clergy day in Randolph on September 27th. It seems clear that we will need to sustain our support to numerous local communities for many months to come.

I am grateful for all the expressions of support and outreach coming from members of The Episcopal Church in Vermont. There are far too many to list here, but if you and your congregation want to lend a hand there are many ways to do so. Please be in touch with This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to let us know of your desire to respond. If your congregation has a relief effort underway that would benefit from the support of other congregations, please let Lynn know about that as well and we can help spread the word. We will also try to post as much information as possible on the diocesan website. This is a great opportunity for us as a diocese to work together and support one another and the communities we serve as Vermont recovers from this natural disaster. It is also a great opportunity to partner with other faith communities and local relief agencies. And, it is a great opportunity for us to bear witness in Vermont to the love of Christ as it is lived out in The Episcopal Church!

Finally, we have received calls, emails and other expressions of concern and prayer from many parts of The Episcopal Church, including the Presiding Bishop. In just about every instance the communication includes an offer of assistance – “Let us know what we can do to help!” So, we have lots of friends out there ready to support our efforts. What we need to do is be clear and specific about what we are doing to help and then invite the support of others. The best way to coordinate this effort is to be in communication with Canon Bates. If your congregation is working on an initiative to help and support those who have been afflicted by this natural disaster then we would like to know about your effort so we can invite others to join you. If you know of a situation calling for a response and/or are looking for a way to offer help, then please be in touch as well. In all of this, the generosity of the people of our diocese can make a difference in the lives of others.

Thank you for all you are doing and for all I know you will do in the months ahead.

Faithfully,
+Thomas
The Right Reverend Thomas C. Ely