WORKING TOGETHER FOR LASTING CHANGE By Cindy Schumacher, Regional Reporter
[Chronicle, Wailuku, Maui, December 28, 2023] On Saturday, December 16, 2023, the Rev. Canon Sandy Graham from the Diocese of Hawaii Support Center, and two staff members from Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD), the Rev. Patty Baker and Ms. Tamara Plummer, met with Episcopalians from the four Maui churches at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Wailuku. Their purpose was to reflect and discuss the response work being done for the people of Lahaina since the August 8 Maui wildfires. That disaster took over 100 lives along with thousands of homes, businesses, including the historic Holy Innocents Episcopal Church. (Pictured at top, seated, L-R: The Rev. Christopher Golding, the Rev. Amy Crowe, Mr. Chuck Spence, the Rev. Moki Hino; Standing: The Rev. Canon Sandy Graham, Ms. Tamara Plummer, the Rev. Patty Baker)
ERD works in areas across the United States that have been affected by disasters. They offer resources and training to help communities who are facing these disasters. “We provide emergency support, financially, spiritually and emotionally,” explained Baker. “In addition, ERD assists those volunteering their time and skills to help vulnerable groups of people make a full and sustainable recovery.” The day’s ERD training used written and verbal tools to facilitate conversation. Participants were able to ask specific questions and discuss issues of concern, as well as discuss certain Bible passages, such as Psalm 10, for insight on today’s challenges.
“This important meeting gave us an opportunity to share information about the needs that persist and to explore ways in which the Episcopal Community of Maui can use its gifts to respond to the needs of people throughout the island,” said Canon Sandy Graham. “Through prayer, reflection, and communion with each other, we also celebrated the aloha spirit that has already been moving through the Maui community. Being in the same room with so many from across Maui who have a heart for service and are devoted to the recovery of the whole Maui ‘ohana, is powerful and hope-inspiring.”
The Rev. Patty Baker & Tamara Plummer
“We were blessed to have these two ERD representatives share their expertise from working with relief efforts across the country and help us discover the ways in which we, as the Episcopal presence on Maui, might best support our extended island ‘ohana,” continued Canon Graham. “Discerning where we, and those we work, serve and pray with across the islands, find ourselves on the Emotional Life Cycle of a Disaster (one of the sessions), is so important. Noting that we are each experiencing life from sometimes vastly different perspectives and rates of recovery lets us understand new conflicts that arise and respond in the most loving and effective way possible.”
The Rev. Moki Hino, Rector of Good Shepherd Church, said, “I think the benefit of gathering together as the Episcopal Church on Maui was a great help to our wildfire relief efforts. ERD affirmed those efforts, and that will be very important to our morale, as we move forward in faith to do what we can to help those in need.”
Chuck Spence, Treasurer, Trinity-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church, Kihei, commented, “I had donated to ERD over the years and never fully understood how they worked during a disaster. Unfortunately, due to the wildfires on Maui, I now have a better understanding after meeting with ERD as a board member of A Cup of Cold Water, and then as a member of the Episcopal Churches on Maui. I was impressed with our facilitator, Ms. Tamara Plummer. Tamara helped us understand the cyclical processes that a community experiences after a disaster. It was helpful to understand the effects from the perspective of the people affected (loss of property, job or a loved one), the community at large, and the volunteers that provide aid. I feel better prepared and more confident in our strategy development to assist the people of Maui. It's not about helping just affected Episcopalians; it's about helping all members of the community, including ourselves.”
The Rev. Heather Mueller noted, “For me, the meeting showed where each of us is in the process of working through the crisis. We were given a chart, The Emotional Life Cycle of a Disaster, depicting a path through the stages of the trauma that is affecting us. Because people in stress are not able to give much to the community, it was important to identify problems, make lists of needs, and look at available resources, in order to build a plan. The groups within the church and community are pieces of the mass that must come together to efficiently serve those in need. Bottom line, it’s a two-way process: figure out the needs and discern what we have in resources to meet those needs.”
Mary Lou Mellinger, Good Shepherd Church Wailuku, reflected, “We are still in the early days of the Lahaina recovery. Saturday was a jam-packed meeting, with three days of training presented in one afternoon. The final list of our numerous resources among the Maui Episcopal churches included meeting spaces and outreach programs. Presently, I think we need to pray and listen and ask folks who are deeply involved, what will nourish them. We need to understand who is the most vulnerable and what we can do collectively to provide care and aloha. Another theme emerged and that is 'compassion fatigue' and what aloha and support we can provide to those immersed in helping people, including those folks working on the Lahaina-side of Maui. Good Shepherd Church's Episcopal Women's group recently had a luncheon with some of the members of Holy Innocent's Church in Lahaina which was burned in the fire. It gave us a chance to listen to their stories, for them to be heard, and for us to donate items. ERD has offered their continuous support for a well-defined collective outreach mission.”
Louise Aloy, Good Shepherd Church Wailuku, agreed, “It was great meeting with Rev. Baker and Tamara from ERD. I truly appreciated their sharing and support.” Jean Fiddes, St. John’s Kula and ACCW Board of Directors, said, “Thank you Rev. Baker and Tamara for all the time you spent on Maui this past week and for going on the ACCW run. I found the meeting most helpful and timely for me, both personally and as a member of the ACCW Board of Directors. The Emotional Life Cycle of a Disaster session was particularly enlightening.”
Baker and Plummer were impressed by all the Episcopalians helping to meet the needs of people affected most by the fires. Earlier in the week, Plummer went on the ACCW run with Cathy Paxton-Haines, ACCW President. Cathy shared, “Tamara noted it was one of the most spiritual experiences she’s had in a while. For someone who lives in New York City with a lot of unsheltered people, she said she never gets to talk to some the way she did on the ACCW run. Tamara thinks there should be more volunteers on the run: those to distribute the food and hygiene necessities, and those to just talk to the people.”
Graham added, “ACCW continues to astound. The board met before the general meeting on the 16th, and their outreach remains agile to new realities as they continue their ministry in distributing aid on behalf of the Diocese. We are committed to the long-term recovery in Lahaina, Upcountry, and to the Holy Innocents parishioners in particular.”
The Rev. Bruce DeGooyer, Vicar of Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Lahaina at the time of the August 8 fire, shared, “I found the ERD meeting to be beneficial for me personally, and from what I’ve heard, I think others there found it beneficial too. The thing from which I derived the most value was the Emotional Life Cycle of a Disaster graphic which gave perspective on ways that people feel and think during the trauma of a disaster, and in the recovery time afterwards. All of us who live on Maui (and even visitors who were here during that event) have been affected to one degree or another. I think that those closest, physically or psychologically, to the catastrophic fires probably feel things most acutely. The people of Holy Innocents Episcopal Church lost homes in some cases, lost the church and all it has meant to them and the generations before, and in some cases, lost loved ones. These are things we don’t get over, but we can learn how to cope with our thoughts, feelings, and memories. In this respect, hopefully we learn to carry on and move forward.”
DeGooyer added, “We all go through the traditional sequence of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and (hopefully) acceptance. I think at the core of this, we struggle with [the question] ‘Where do I find God in this?’ Some will wonder how God could let the fires happen and wonder if this was God’s will. For my part, I don’t think it was God’s will at all, and that God walks alongside each of us, grieving with us as we struggle to understand. I found the exercise of pairing with one other person in the room to be helpful. To be present with others, we need to give them the space to say whatever they have to say with no judgement, and without interjecting our own thoughts. This was an opportunity, not only to be vulnerable in an accepting setting, but also to accept the vulnerability of another. Finally, in the midst of all of this, it’s important that we also care for ourselves as we reach out to care for others.”
The Rev. Christopher Golding, Seabury Hall Chaplain, felt that while the fire can steal away our sense of purpose, even try to rob us of our hope, the gathering of Maui Episcopalians was a blessing. “We received wisdom, teaching, and passion from the ERD visitors. The meeting offered time to cleanse ourselves of any guilt about whether we’re doing enough or not. It offered a bright light. It offered a sense of hope. It offered solidarity, forging, through the Spirit, closer bonds of friendship and aloha.”
Fr. Golding explained, “I believe this gathering, an interactive workshop with food, and fellowship, was just what the doctor ordered. Providing practical tools with spiritual healing, these few hours struck me as one of many necessary starting points for all Maui Episcopalians in their grief, in their recovery, and in their shared ministry, now and into the future. All have been impacted by the Maui fires, so we find ourselves bound by trauma, yet existing in love, in aloha and by God’s grace, we are finding our way. God willing, we can run the race that the wildfires have set before us.”
In conclusion, Tamara said to the attendees, “Thank you for all that you do and will continue to do to support the response efforts on Maui. We moved very quickly on the meeting day and went through a lot of information that helped the congregations discern where they are in the recovery process. We walked through the Emotional Life Cycle of a Disaster to help see where each congregation is in the recovery process and how they are feeling. This was to support some of the emotional processing that is necessary in the healing process. It was also a way to find out about which communities are disproportionately impacted by the disaster. We discussed a way to maintain resilience during uncertain times; a way to start to address compassion, fatigue and burnout. We concluded with a session on Matching Gifts and Needs. This is something that all the participants can do within their congregation or with other partner organizations to begin assessing the resources available to the community. Anyone in the Diocese with questions or concerns is welcome to reach out to me.”
Tamara Plummer Program Officer, US Disaster Program, Episcopal Relief & Development 815 Second Avenue New York, New York 10017
The Rev. Patty Baker & Tamara Plummer
