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Lessening the Burden
by Sandra Murray, SPDR Liaison Many years ago, I was in a church that was devastated by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The one thing I...
Mar 102 min read

SPDR 2024 Year in Review
A whole year ago, we started off with what felt like a blank slate. Three hundred and sixty five days later, how did the events of this...
Jan 102 min read

Meet Your SPDR Liaisons
Did you know your presbytery has a designated SPDR Liaison? This past September, some of our SPDR Liaisons, along with members of the...
Dec 9, 20242 min read

Tres Rios Presbytery: Church Safety & Crisis Response
This past June, two congregations in Tres Rios Presbytery participated in a pilot initiative to increase Church Safety & Crisis Response...
Nov 15, 20242 min read

Hurricane Helene Response & Recovery
Cindy White looks over the devastation inside her home in North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene. Only a tiny number of households in...
Oct 8, 20243 min read

Preparing for Hurricanes and Other Emergencies
September is National Preparedness Month September marks National Preparedness Month, the annual public service campaign to remind...
Sep 10, 20242 min read

Phone Volunteers Needed for Hurricane Beryl Relief
Dear SPDR & Presbytery Leaders, As you are well aware, Hurricane Beryl has impacted millions of residents across our Synod and beyond. I...
Jul 11, 20242 min read

Hurricane Preparedness Webinar & Resources
July 2024 The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season is already underway, and the Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery (SPDR) is hosting an...
Jun 27, 20242 min read

Healing all kinds of brokenness, even a broken pipe!
The church is no stranger to the brokenness of this world, but Lord help us when something at the church breaks! In January, Oklahoma saw...
Apr 23, 20242 min read

Recovering Oklahomans After Disaster (with Iowans)
This past March, I spent a week in Oklahoma with a group of Presbyterians from Iowa. Together we worked on storm damaged homes through a...
Apr 16, 20243 min read

Texas Panhandle Fire Update - 03-08-2024
Text below is an excerpt from today's report. Click file above for the full report Palo Duro Presbytery: Thank you for your prayers and...
Mar 8, 20243 min read

Transforming Donations to Disaster Recovery & Resiliency
Editor's Note: The blog article is accompanied by a two episode Disaster Partnership Conversation podcast on Sunspots, the podcast of the...
Mar 6, 20244 min read

Texas Panhandle Fire Update - 2024/03/05
Prayerful Monday afternoon, Allow me to share update summaries today that I have received from a number of sources: Prayer from the hymn...
Mar 5, 20246 min read

Texas Panhandle Fire Update - 2024/03/02
In additions to sites listed below, donations can be made to: Palo Duro Presbytery - https://paloduropresbytery.org Synod of the Sun -...
Mar 2, 20247 min read

Church Safety & Security Deadline Alert!
Are you aware that the federal government offers grants to houses of worship with the intent of increasing the safety and security of its...
Feb 5, 20243 min read


2024: The Year of Resilience
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency for our nation, recently announced 2024 as the “Year of Resilience.” Someone from FEMA must...
Jan 5, 20242 min read

SPDR 2023 Year at a Glance
I’m excited for you to see how far we have come in our first full year of living into SPDR: the Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery!
Dec 11, 20232 min read

Building Resiliency: Taking a Moment for Gratitude & Hope
Do you have a gratitude practice? Many years ago, one of my Sunday School teachers taught me about gratitude journaling. I’ve never...
Nov 7, 20232 min read

Meet Kathy Broyard: Presbyterian Emergency Management Specialist
How did a radio engineer end up transitioning into a career in disaster ministry? To find out, you’ll have to listen to our next Sunspots...
Oct 5, 20233 min read

Disaster Recovery and the LGBTQIA+ Community
“Queer life, trans life, is often full of storms and winds and floods and fires: the storms of religious contempt; the winds of gender...
Jun 12, 20233 min read
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