Disaster strikes. A tornado, flood or fire moves through your community. What now? Does God call your church to respond with compassion and generosity? How can you prepare yourself and your church? How can you help protect your community?

A unique and growing ministry that involves denominations from across the nation, disaster preparedness and response depends on congregations to help meet human needs in the wake of devastating events.

Community Arise! is an ecumenical curriculum designed especially for church leaders that will help answer the above questions by introducing the holy — yet practical — ministry of disaster response.

This series of courses consists of eight modules that address the primary components of disaster preparedness and response. Each Community Arise! module, made up of a participant guide, an instruction guide (with course outline and objectives) and a PowerPoint presentation, is available for download by using the links on this page.

• Basic Disaster Ministry provides basic information about disasters and the system that exists for responding; specifically, faith-based response to disasters.
• Long-Term Recovery is designed to be used at a disaster site to assist participants in establishing a long-term recovery organization.
• Managing Volunteers in Disaster introduces the concepts and procedures for managing volunteers in a disaster.
• Disaster Case Management provides an overview of the case management process in the context of disasters.
• Technology-Caused Disasters provides an overview of technology-caused disasters, explores how they are different from natural disasters and outlines appropriate response strategies.
• Emotional and Spiritual Care in Disasters provides an overview of the unique and important role the faith community plays in providing emotional and spiritual care during times of disaster in the United States.
• Children, Youth, and Disaster presents the unique needs of children and youth following a disaster and how to provide them support and care.
• Vulnerability to Disaster (Coming Soon)
  Helping those most in need is at the heart of the faith-based disaster response.  This brief module explores what vulnerability is and how to best help those with unmet needs.

More and more Presbyterian congregations are beginning to realize that effective disaster response requires training and preparation, and disaster response is a vital ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offers training on using the Community Arise! curriculum with Presbyterian-specific applications. Presbyteries and synods can indicate their interest in training by contacting PDA.

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