Brethren Disaster Ministries/ Brethren Service Center: Help Meet Needs

A long time member of the Church of the Brethren, little did I know about, or have contact with, the Brethren Disaster Ministries. This ministry program has developed and grown through the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Maryland, which was established in 1944 as a collection site for material resources shipped to Europe as war relief and aid. The Service Center presently houses the Service Ministries Distribution Center, and from this center goods are inventoried, packed and shipped routinely, as well as during times of crisis and disaster within the US and around the globe.

I do remember, that, as a child, we put together individual personal hygiene kits and school kits during Sunday School; but I really didn't know the impact of the actions we were involved in. Everyone in the Sunday School Class just enjoyed placing a washcloth on the table, then being given, one by one, items to place on the cloth: a comb, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a bar of soap, and then we placed another washcloth on top of the items and used safety pins to create a packet by pinning the safety pins closed all around the edges of the cloths.

Today our children create almost the same personal Hygiene Kits and School Kits. The methods have changed, some of the items contained in the kit have changed, but, the children are still involved. Brethren congregations involve their members of all ages in preparing these kits through donations of items for the children to use to prepare the kits, or by putting kits together and donating them. It is still a wonderful feeling to be able to put together a kit that will offer a victim of a disaster or crisis a bit of comfort, useful items for learning, or even just knowing that someone cared enough about you to put the kit together and to send it to you. It is an expression of love and caring from afar, from a stranger, and a way to unite through such a simple act.

So far this all sounds so simple. Hygiene and School Kits are prepared, packed into boxes, and sent to the service center; and they ship them to the disaster site. Whew, glad that's done. Oh no, it isn't that simple. The Brethren Service Center contains a 72,000 square foot area which is climate controlled, has racks and racks, as well as bulk storage area. There is a cold storage, refrigerated area. Of course there is a vault area for securing small equipment and valuable stock. The perimeter is protected by an electronic security system and an IBM iSeries system is used for material location, inventory records and expiration date tracking. There is a packing area, and area to construct custom crates, both which enable skilled staff to efficiently strap containers with steel, and to handle a wide variety of goods and materials. Many years of experience of handling export and import shipments allows the center to tailor their services to worldwide needs.

The Brethren Service Center through the Brethren Disaster Ministries, reach far beyond the kits we put together with washcloths as a child; items handled though the center include books, training materials, medicines, medical supplies, medical equipment, dental equipment, office furnishings, vehicles, personal effects for field staff, water purification systems, disaster recovery supplies, tents, tarps, equipment for hydro-electric dam construction, hospital supplies and furniture. Two tractors, four trailers and a 28' straight truck with a tailgate lift are used to routinely pick up from and deliver to BWI Airport and the piers of the Port of Baltimore.

So the children putting together kits with personal or school supplies are really a part of this enormous disaster relief function. No wonder I had no idea how the packet I was putting together would actually get to the child that needed it. I would have been baffled and overwhelmed with the logistics of this form of disaster relief. I did understand that our church sent members on missions, that we had people in countries all over the globe, and that we provided services, spread the teachings of Jesus, the word of God and ministered to our brethren far and wide. As an adult I am proud to be a part of the Church of the Brethren, just as I was as a child pinning those small relief packets together. Now I am even more proud of the many services through which our members, and church at large, provide services.

This is just one program, on area of service through which the Church of the Brethren, its members and congregations provide ministry. The Church of the Brethren Disaster Response is another ministry which works in partnership with the Church of the Brethren Districts and volunteers through the disaster response network. But that's another story waiting to be told. These programs are a result of the biblical mandate to "bear one another's burdens" (Gal. 6:2) and causes church members to be involved in the relief of suffering, whether caused by war, strife or disaster.