Mission Statement
Hearing God’s call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being, the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania will guide our diocesan community in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
Vision Statement
Guided by the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s people in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania will: Shepherd our churches and parishioners in their journey to become better prepared to overcome the impact of disasters. Become partners with the whole community to help those whose world has been turned upside down by disasters to journey back to a world that is right side up.
Appointment of Diocesan Emergency Disaster Coordinator
Bishop Scanlan has appointed Mr. Edward A. Robertson of St. Andrew’s in the Valley as the Emergency Disaster Coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.
Mr. Robertson has worked as the Director of Emergency Social Services for the Red Cross in the Susquehanna Valley and as an Emergency Management Trainer and Disaster Services Government Liaison. Read his full bio here. His appointment to this position will call for him to interact with the Episcopal Relief and Development organization and to collaborate with colleagues across our General Church. To contact Ed via email, click here.
Disaster Program and Planning Tools
No cost First Aid Training for your Family and friends. The American Red Cross, as its Holiday Gift to the American people, is offering free Family First Aid and CPR courses online. These courses cover a variety of first aid, breathing and cardiac emergency topics. To obtain this training at no cost, you must sign up online. The training is only available through December 31.
Recruiting for Convocation Disaster Coordinators. Do you have experience in emergency management (Fire, police, EMS, CERT)? If not, are you willing to take some free online training? The next step in building our Disaster Program in Central Pennsylvania is to build a Disaster Committee with representatives from each convocation. In addition to participating in the Disaster Committee (generally conference call meetings), Convocation Disaster Coordinators will assist in recruiting parish coordinators, coordinate convocation preparedness, response and recovery programs and assist parish coordinators to develop their local disaster and continuity of operations plans.
Parish Disaster Planning Tools from Episcopal Relief and Development. Episcopal Relief and Development has developed Preparedness Planning Guides for Congregations and Parishes. The Silver Level version includes necessary basic information to protect parishioners and church property in time of disaster, and also lays the foundation for congregations interested in responding to their most vulnerable neighbors. A Bronze Level version that gathers the most basic information needed in times of disaster is available for smaller parishes.
Resources
- Diocesan Asset Map
- Episcopal Relief and Development website
- Silver Level Preparedness Guide
- Bronze Level Preparedness Guide (for smaller parishes)
- Tip Sheets from the National Fire Prevention Association:
