We are grateful for all of the hundreds of volunteers from throughout the United Church of Christ who come to work with us strengthening neighborhoods, seeking justice and transforming lives. We also know that the needs that exist on the Mississippi Gulf coast are not unique to this region. We know that there is poverty and homelessness in every community in the United States, and that this is especially true after a disaster.
That’s why we’re always thrilled when we hear about a congregation putting what they learned at Back Bay Mission to work in their own communities.
One of those churches is United Church of Christ of Longmont, Colorado.
The people of UCC Longmont began coming to the Mission in the spring of 2007 and joined us in Biloxi every year for six years. While the faces sometimes changed, together the group learned about the long aftermath of disaster response and housing rehabilitation. They also got to know each other and how to work together to address problems of homelessness, housing insecurity and poverty.
And when historically heavy rains cause massive flooding along a 200-mile stretch of Colorado last September, the people of UCC Longmont leapt into action. The storms ravaged Colorado the week of September 9 and that Sunday members of the congregation started working on flood relief. They spent the first several weeks mucking out affected houses and then began rebuilding.
They have been working every day since the storm and don’t plan on stopping until the work is done, which they estimate will take a couple of years.
More than simply rehabilitating houses, however, members of UCC Longmont are living out a commitment to social justice and inviting others to do the same. They are active members in the Longmont Long-Term Recovery Team. They are also using their facility to house other volunteer groups coming to the area (including Back Bay Mission supporters St. John’s United Church of Christ in Milan, Ohio).
We’re very proud of our brothers and sisters at United Church of Christ of Longmont. We also know that they wouldn’t be doing any of this work without the seeds planted in their community by Back Bay Mission. As John Rostykus, who coordinate the church’s recovery efforts, put it, “If we hadn’t been to Back Bay Mission, we’d be just as lost as everyone else right now.”
Thank you, UCC Longmont, for carrying what you learned at Back Bay Mission home and using it to strengthen neighborhoods, seek justice and transform lives in your own community.
