Once in a while, I’ll get a phone call out of the blue that winds up being a great story.  I have the Rev. Dr. Erin Kirby to thank for this one. Reverend Erin, as she is known in her parish, was a...

In mid-October, I traveled with Katie Mears, our Program Manager for US Disaster Preparedness and Response, to the town of West Pittston, Pennsylvania.  West Pittston had suffered severe flooding...

At the invitation of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, we visited the area affected by the March 2, 2012 tornados, rated EF-4 (second most destructive). This storm left a swath of death...

In a great land, prior to an extended clergy retreat, a diocesan disaster manager called together her three regional coordinators and imparted to them her wisdom. She entrusted the three of them with...

When I was a member of St. Matthew’s Parish Life Guild (PLG) in the 1990s, our mission was a concerted effort of outreach. Through our fundraising efforts, we were able to contribute financially...

A certain family of five lived in the land of the rising sun, where there was a big flood.  One member of the family died, leaving the family with just four.  The surviving members were grieved and...

This year, I tried to commit to two seemingly unconnected devotions during the season of Lent. One was to be more intentional in exercise by training specifically for a half marathon. The second was...

It took me a while to digest the fact that he said 17,000 trees… seventeen THOUSAND trees!! Following the 2004 tsunami, Episcopal Relief & Development collaborated with multiple organizations to...

“I don’t want to be a recipient of aid, but want to be treated with dignity so that I can stand on my own feet.”This was a statement by Vasuki, an internally displaced person (IDP) from one of...

I must have taken the shuttle from the airport to Colombo city at least twice yearly for the past four years since joining Episcopal Relief & Development, as part of my role in managing our programs...

Wednesday was a rich day filled with visits to communities engaged in cash-for-work programs.One of the big challenges that large-scale disasters bring is the breakdown of the routines of work,...