Eastern District Relief Fund established to meet needs in NC

MB Foundation establishes relief fund for USMB churches in North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene

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Debris from inside the Walmart in Boone, N.C., litters the parking lot after Hurricane Helene mudslides and flood waters flowed in and then out of the box store downstream from downtown Boone. Photo by Austin Law, The Coastal Times.

MB Foundation has established the Eastern District Relief Fund to help meet urgent needs in North Carolina, where two Mennonite Brethren church buildings have sustained flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Helene made landfall in Florida Sept. 26 and moved north over a path of 800 miles affecting six states. Western North Carolina was hit especially hard due to rainfall-triggered flooding in mountain communities. The storm caused roads to wash out and left people without power, making it difficult to initially assess the damage.

Beech Bottom MB Church in Newland, N.C., and Boone MB Church in Boone, N.C., both in the mountains, report flooding in their facilities.

Currently, relief efforts are geared toward meeting immediate needs. Michael Mathes, pastor of Boone MB Church, reports temperatures are now dropping below freezing in the mountains at night, and people need heaters, generators and fuel.

Initially, impassable roads made it impossible for Beech Bottom MB Church pastor William Dugger to check whether the church sustained damage from Hurricane Helene. The hurricane was responsible for downed trees and much property loss, including in Lenoir where this photo was taken.  Photo: Carrie Foddrell.

According to USMB Leadership Board member Amy Jackson-Kincaid, a member of Boone MB Church, four members of her congregation have been displaced from their homes, and members of both Beech Bottom and Boone have lost possessions.

The Beech Bottom congregation is providing meals to 300 people daily. Churches in Lenoir, N.C., have mobilized several trucks of supplies to provide aid to hurting communities.

Jackson-Kincaid says that while the churches are receiving donated supplies, displaced people have nowhere to put them, making monetary donations for specific needs more helpful.

“When we hear of an urgent need in our MB family, we want to help mobilize our family of churches to unleash generosity for the benefit of others, our plenty can supply what they need,” says Jon C. Wiebe, MB Foundation president and CEO. “It is our privilege to be the conduit and steward of that generosity.”

Any funds received beyond what is needed for hurricane relief will be available for general ministry support of the Eastern District Conference.

For more information or to donate, visit the MB Foundation website.

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