As Hurricane Milton threatened Florida’s storm-battered Gulf Coast and cleanup continued in Florida and five other states after late September’s Hurricane Helene, Archbishop Bernard Hebda urged parishes to conduct special Sunday collections for hurricane relief.
Parishes are encouraged to take emergency collections on or near the weekend of Oct. 12-13, said Deacon Mickey Friesen, the director of the Center for Mission in the archdiocese, which was helping to handle the collections.
“This crisis offers us an opportunity to stand in solidarity of prayer and give what we can to bring relief to those suffering from this crisis,” Deacon Friesen said in a letter to priests of the archdiocese. “The funds collected in this special appeal for Hurricane Relief will be sent to Catholic Charities USA, the U.S. Catholic relief agency, to provide immediate disaster relief with necessities such as water, food and shelter,” as well as pastoral and social needs of the Church as it reaches out to those displaced by the natural disaster, Deacon Friesen wrote.
As parishes were to complete their collections, staff members were asked to send one check made payable to Center for Mission, with Hurricane Relief Appeal in the memo line, Deacon Friesen said.
As the Church responded to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, emergency management and National Guard units have responded from across the country, including from Minnesota.
Gov. Tim Walz signed an emergency executive order Oct. 7 authorizing the Minnesota National Guard to provide emergency assistance to Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton, which could hit the coast Oct. 9.
“Minnesota will provide every resource we can to support communities across the south that have been devastated this hurricane season,” Walz said in a news release. “In this time of crisis, Minnesota’s first responders have demonstrated unyielding dedication.”
To manage anticipated widespread damage from Hurricane Milton, Florida requested assistance from first responders under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a mutual aid agreement among all 50 states.
In response, the Minnesota National Guard was working with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management division to determine the mission requirements.
The Minnesota National Guard, St. Louis County Mobile Command Post, and the Minnesota All Hazard Incident Management Team were also on site in North Carolina and South Carolina assisting with recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.
