This is a recording of a Hurricane Preparedness Webinar and Table Top exercise that the Synod hosted on July 11, 2024, just four days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on the coast of Texas. Earlier this year, many forecasters predicted that this years’ Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than usual, with as many as 25 named storms to form from now through November. And as we have just witnessed, Hurricane Beryl is the earliest Category 5 storm on record. In addition to the heavy damage caused across the Caribbean islands, Venezuela, and Mexico; Hurricane Beryl impacted at least a dozen states in the U.S. with tornadoes, wind damage, flooding, and of course, the power outages affecting millions of residents during what is already an extremely hot summer.

We hope this webinar and the conversation shared between those who attended this event will give you the resources, courage, and support you need to make a disaster plan for yourself, your family, your congregation and your community today. Our hope for this hurricane season is for us to not be overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty, but rather that we might be grounded in the gifts of our faith and set free to serve in this shared ministry together, because the truth is: you are not alone. My prayer is for this conversation to help you find inspiration, community and connection in the Sun.

Our latest Sunspot’s Disaster Partnership Conversation podcast features a three-part series, highlighting the tornado recovery efforts across the Presbytery of Arkansas. On March 31, 2023, a high-end EF3 tornado hit Central Arkansas, damaging areas of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, and Jacksonville. In that same storm system, another EF3 tornado swept through Wynne, Arkansas. Five lives were lost as a result of these storms.

In this three part series, you’ll meet two survivors: LuAnne Dugan from Wynne, AR and the Rev. Marie Mainard O’Connell from Little Rock. Throughout these episodes, you’ll hear stories of their experiences during and after the tornadoes and given a glimpse into how their communities are doing one year later.

There are certainly some similarities between the recovery progress in Wynne and Little Rock, but you’ll also hear some extra challenges and complexities that a city like Little Rock faces when economic disparities add an additional layer of difficulty to recovery. Both LuAnne and Marie share the wisdom they’ve gained through these experiences, like how to understand your insurance coverage and how to care for yourself, while also caring for others after a traumatic event.

You can continue to support the long term recovery efforts in both Wynne and Little Rock, but giving directly to the Presbytery of Arkansas, and selecting the “PDA-Local Presbytery Committee” option. The presbytery’s Disaster Preparedness and Response Subcommittee remain connected to the Long Term Recovery committees in both regions. You can also volunteer directly by serving at Ferncliff Camp & Conference Center, whose Disaster Assistance Center is an integral source of support before, during, and after disasters.

Our latest Sunspot’s Disaster Partnership Conversation podcast features a three-part series, highlighting the tornado recovery efforts across the Presbytery of Arkansas. On March 31, 2023, a high-end EF3 tornado hit Central Arkansas, damaging areas of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, and Jacksonville. In that same storm system, another EF3 tornado swept through Wynne, Arkansas. Five lives were lost as a result of these storms.

In this three part series, you’ll meet two survivors: LuAnne Dugan from Wynne, AR and the Rev. Marie Mainard O’Connell from Little Rock. Throughout these episodes, you’ll hear stories of their experiences during and after the tornadoes and given a glimpse into how their communities are doing one year later.

There are certainly some similarities between the recovery progress in Wynne and Little Rock, but you’ll also hear some extra challenges and complexities that a city like Little Rock faces when economic disparities add an additional layer of difficulty to recovery. Both LuAnne and Marie share the wisdom they’ve gained through these experiences, like how to understand your insurance coverage and how to care for yourself, while also caring for others after a traumatic event.

You can continue to support the long term recovery efforts in both Wynne and Little Rock, but giving directly to the Presbytery of Arkansas, and selecting the “PDA-Local Presbytery Committee” option. The presbytery’s Disaster Preparedness and Response Subcommittee remain connected to the Long Term Recovery committees in both regions. You can also volunteer directly by serving at Ferncliff Camp & Conference Center, whose Disaster Assistance Center is an integral source of support before, during, and after disasters.

Our latest Sunspot’s Disaster Partnership Conversation podcast features a three-part series, highlighting the tornado recovery efforts across the Presbytery of Arkansas. On March 31, 2023, a high-end EF3 tornado hit Central Arkansas, damaging areas of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, and Jacksonville. In that same storm system, another EF3 tornado swept through Wynne, Arkansas. Five lives were lost as a result of these storms.

In this three part series, you’ll meet two survivors: LuAnne Dugan from Wynne, AR and the Rev. Marie Mainard O’Connell from Little Rock. Throughout these episodes, you’ll hear stories of their experiences during and after the tornadoes and given a glimpse into how their communities are doing one year later.

There are certainly some similarities between the recovery progress in Wynne and Little Rock, but you’ll also hear some extra challenges and complexities that a city like Little Rock faces when economic disparities add an additional layer of difficulty to recovery. Both LuAnne and Marie share the wisdom they’ve gained through these experiences, like how to understand your insurance coverage and how to care for yourself, while also caring for others after a traumatic event.

You can continue to support the long term recovery efforts in both Wynne and Little Rock, but giving directly to the Presbytery of Arkansas, and selecting the “PDA-Local Presbytery Committee” option. The presbytery’s Disaster Preparedness and Response Subcommittee remain connected to the Long Term Recovery committees in both regions. You can also volunteer directly by serving at Ferncliff Camp & Conference Center, whose Disaster Assistance Center is an integral source of support before, during, and after disasters.

On today’s episode, we have a conversation with the Rev. Mitchell Miller, who was unanimously elected at the Spring 2024 Stated Meeting as the new Synod Leader/Stated Clerk of Synod of the Sun.

Interviewing Mitch is Rev. Elizabeth Brinegar, who served on the Search Committee and Rev. Steve Shive, our current Bridge Interim Synod Leader and Stated Clerk.

March 2024 Issue of Synod Newsletter, introducing Mitch: https://conta.cc/3PfqIEd

Today’s episode is all about volunteering and disaster recovery. Kathy joined a mission trip with a group of Presbyterians from Iowa as they as they work on storm damaged homes in Eastern Oklahoma. For this podcast, Kathy spoke with the group leader, the Rev. Tim Maxa, who is the pastor of two congregations who has been leading teams of youth and adults on these trips for over 30 years.

The synod has recently updated the SPDR section of the website to highlight our volunteer work partners in each of our four states. There is no shortage of opportunities within and beyond our Synod.

https://www.synodsun.org/spdr-about-us

On this episode of Sunspots, we continue the series of Living in Liminal Space but expanding it from the church setting to a global context. Bridge Interim Synod Leader/Stated Clerk Steve Shive welcomes his twin brother Ronald Shive to the conversation. Ron is a Retired Presbyterian Minister and Owner of Spiritus Mundi Travel.

Ron has been engaged with Israel/Palestine issue for the past 20 years in the PC(USA) and active in leading groups to the region. After delivering a report to the 2010 General Assembly as the chair of a Middle East Study Committee, Ron continues to be involved in the study of that region.

You can find the documentation referenced in this Liminal Space episode HERE: https://www.synodsun.org/post/resources-from-the-israel-palestine-sunspots-episode-with-ron-shive

You can also read Steve Shive's article about his recent visit to Israel/Palestine HERE: https://www.synodsun.org/post/crying-all-the-way

You can watch the video of this conversation on our YouTube channel or listen to the audio on our Sunspots podcast.

Today's episode is part two of a two-part episode of a Sunspots’ Disaster Partnership Conversation. This episode features Jim Kirk, who serves as the Associate for Disaster Response in the U.S. for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and Michelle Muñiz, who serves as the Disaster Recovery Coordinator for the Presbytery of San Juan in Puerto Rico.

In this episode, Jim and Michelle reflect on how they see resiliency as a critical component of disaster recovery and in the people they’ve to know through their ministries. They also share ways we as Presbyterians across the Synod of the Sun can continue to pray and support one another, particularly before a disaster strikes.

“Anything that doesn’t kill you and you integrate into your life will make you stronger. Healing camps, emotional spiritual care programs of PDA are all designed to help people integrate just horrible experiences in a way that it gives them meaning and becomes part of their journey, but doesn’t define their journey.” - Jim Kirk

“We have to be careful how we talk about [resiliency], so we don’t get into the place where we romanticize that people are struggling and somehow figuring it out.” - Michelle Muñiz

Download SPDR’s 12 Steps to Building Resiliency Guide by clicking the links below:

English

Español

한국인

Reach out to Michelle Muńiz directly to learn more about supporting disaster recovery and volunteering in Puerto Rico by emailing: puertorico.pda@gmail.com.

To learn more about volunteering at PDA host sites in the Synod of the Sun and beyond, go to: https://pda.pcusa.org/page/volunteer-work-teams/