| Dear MCC Friends: Thanks to everyone for your responsiveness, care and concern for the thousands of people affected by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, Sunday night. If you have been following the news, you know the devastation is profound and search-and-rescue efforts continue.
As of today, these are the updates we have:
- Rev. Steven Urie, the pastor of Spirit of Christ MCC in Joplin, and his partner, Heath, are safe. Our communication with them is patchy, but we believe they are managing.
- Rev. Kurt Krieger, pastor of Spirit of Hope MCC in Kansas City, Missouri, and Linda Beckstead, one of the Network Leaders for that area, will be driving to Joplin today. As a result, we expect to know a lot more about Rev. Urie, the other church members and friends, what things are really like on the ground, and what the current needs are.
- We are aware that the link for donations that went out in our communication on Monday is not working properly, so please use the method below instead. Thank you so much for your donations, as they are a great deal of help as we continue to assess needs. Since the economic base of the city of Joplin has been basically destroyed, we know that financial support is going to be needed.
- It is in the plans right now for many of the pastors in the Heartland Network to be in Joplin on Sunday to hold a worship service. This may be impacted by President Obama's planned visit to the area. Please pray for that gathering and for ALL those who may need to have a place to pray and be comforted.
It is important to underscore the importance of waiting before acting. We are so blessed that people are eager to help and even go to Joplin to assist on the ground. For right now, please wait until we know more about what is really happening and what would truly be most helpful.
As more information becomes available, we will post updates to the MCC Disaster Relief page on our website. TO DONATE: 1) Go to our website at http://mccchurch.org/ministries/disaster-relief/. 2) Scroll down to the Joplin May 2011 alert. 3) Click on the Support tab.
Again, thank you for your prayers and support.
Faithfully, 
Rev. Elder Lillie Brock 
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