“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” — Matthew 25:40
Project (Re)Start:
The Episcopal Church's Disaster Resilience
in Northern California
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St Barnabas partners with the Mission for Disaster Resilience in the Diocese of Northern California and with other Episcopal churches in the diocese to offer tangible resources ready to deploy to those recovering after a disaster strikes, through a program called Project (Re)Start.
Our own Father Mark Dibelka is Diocesan Missioner for Disaster Resiliency for the Episcopal Church of Northern California,
St. Barnabas recently delivered eight bins of personal care products, each stocked for family of four in need as a result of the devastating Park Fire in Chico.
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(Re)Start Mission
Participating churches commit to preparing standardized bins of basic necessities people need for setting up a home after having been displaced. Each church focuses on a certain area (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, cleaning, etc.) to ensure we don't have overabundance or scarcity of certain supplies. The focus at St. Barnabas is on bathroom supplies such as soap, shampoo, toilet paper, disposable razors, towels, sanitary products, and so on. Each bin is designed for a family of four, and they are given free of charge.
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Photo: St. Barnabas's Father Mark Dibelka blessing the bins before their distribution.
(Re)Start Bins Delivery
When a disaster occurs, the Mission for Disaster Resilience immediately coordinates with local authorities on the ground to determine what needs are present and reports this information to the Project (Re)Start Coordinators at participating parishes. The parishes with needed supplies report back what they can provide and the Mission for Disaster Resilience begins coordinating delivery efforts by land or air once the immediate danger in the affected area has passed.
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Learn more about Project (Re) Start on the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California's website
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