CADR leaves Home

There are many projects which can be done by chaplains and any ministry agent and part of the job is choosing what to do and where.
Opportunities come and go. Situations give rise to ideas,especially in the context of other work being done on various projects. One such is the CADR -Congregations And Disaster Recovery- project so named because the full title to describe this exciting project is rather a mouthful -“Integration of Faith Communities with Disaster Resilience, Response and Recovery”.

CADR was designed to make sure that when this,

or this happened,

this,

was not the best response local congregations could give-  a disorganised, really wanting to help, but not really sure what to do, response.

CADR is a program which in the words of the outcome statement on the grant ....

.... will seek to establish better communication and a clearer understanding between faith communities such as church congregations with their leaders, local governments, emergency services and welfare service providers in relation to disaster response and recovery.

This is done with the intention of allowing more helpful integration of the largely untapped resource of faith communities and their assets in building resilience and more inclusive and integrated locally-led recovery.

This will seek to overcome some negative interactions (such as unhelpful spontaneous involvement and interventions) and build positive, long-lasting partnerships with emergency and local government agencies in response and recovery.

 Congregations and faith communities not only are permanent entities in the community but the reach of their members is often substantial, especially to those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged. By helping these groups and emergency services to develop working relationships and trust, the ability to build resilient communities and respond to disaster will be greatly enhanced.

CADR began its life with the Rural Chaplain, Julie Grieg but will now be leaving home to be in the capable care of David Riethmuller. Julie has done the ground work of writing the grant and getting the project started out of her experience in dong disaster work in rural areas over the last few years but now it is time to hand over to the next person who will support CADR through the next phase in its life.

May God bless those who serve in this project and those it is intended to benefit.

We wish David and the CADR project all the very best.

Julie, Phill and Sue.