International Community of Christ Needs your Help
On Sunday, August 9th, the Bug Fire, north of Reno reached the ICC Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary, causing major damage.The “Chapter House,” which housed three of our ministers, was totally destroyed. Seven other buildings were lost, including a large utility shed containing tools, supplies, a 30kw generator, and a small maintenance office. Two ministers also lost their vehicles.
Many hundreds of juniper trees — some as old as five hundred years — were consumed by the flames.
Fortunately, the Cathedral Church of the Americas remains, as do all of the churches and shrines in the greater sanctuary area. The parsonage, which houses the Reverends Robert and Noriko Roy and their son, was thankfully saved.
We are reaching out to the wider faith community for assistance in the rebuilding process. Rebuilding what was lost and restoring this special place will be a tremendous undertaking, and we cannot do it alone. The first step is debris removal. If someone in your congregation has faced this situation before and can share information with us, we would greatly appreciate it.
Also, if anyone in your community has contacts in local or state government who may be able to help us or if they have experience seeking disaster relief grants, including writing grants, we would appreciate you contacting us.
Now for the big ask: we are seeking funds through a GoFundMe page. Funds raised will go toward helping to replace essential belongings and housing for those who lost everything and toward beginning the recovery process by addressing immediate needs caused by the fire. |
