Volunteer sees people created in God's image at shelter for tornado victims in Springfield, Mass.

By Susan Lindberg Haley
Zion Lutheran Church, Worcester, Mass.

The email I had been expecting from my local Region 4A Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Unit arrived on June 4, three days after three tornadoes tore through 20 towns in Western and Central Massachusetts, leaving destruction and homeless families in their wake and killing four people. The MRC was looking for volunteers to staff the shelter set up in West Springfield, Mass., at the Big E fairgrounds.

The MRC is a public health program that credentials and trains citizens – with medical and non-medical backgrounds – to be prepared to respond and to assist the community in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency. MRC volunteers are deployed only when requested and authorized by the regional coordinator or local health department.

I have been a member of my town's MRC for several years. I am credentialed, have attended trainings in emergency preparedness and incident command systems, assisted at the Flu Clinics that our MRC runs (as training for operating an Emergency Dispensing Site), and helped staff one of the shelters in Worcester, Mass., following the Ice Storm in December 2008.

When I saw that volunteers were needed in West Springfield, I knew I had to respond. Working in the shelter is, to me, another form of diakonia – serving others in love. I signed up to cover three shifts (3-11 p.m.) and was assigned to be the shelter manager on those shifts.

The people living at the shelter were great – quietly resolute in their efforts to reestablish their lives, making the best of a terrible situation. The shelter has plenty of space but there is no privacy. People sleep in a dormitory, share bathrooms, and eat together in one big hall. Meals are prepared and delivered by the West Springfield School Department. The meals are actually quite good; however, they are not halal and, thus, not permissible according to Islamic law for the folks who are Muslim to eat. Repeated discussions with the officials in charge of the shelter did not seem to solve this dilemma.

People spend their days actively looking for new places to live. Many lost their jobs as a result of the destruction so they are now looking for work. Some folks continue to work; one woman left the shelter at 6 in the morning and returned from work at 5:30 that evening.

Many of the people are immigrants or refugees so there is much diversity in culture and language. Some people spoke little English so we communicated in other ways – smiles and gestures and pantomime. Sometimes the children would help translate; one young man told me it was his responsibility to translate for a family whose child was sick.

The children were wonderful! They were very polite and, I noticed, listened to their parents. They were still kids, however –full of energy, running around, playing, riding their bikes in the hall. One little boy figured out how to use the PA system and took great delight entertaining us by screaming into it and laughing. One boy was eager to show me the ribbons he had won at some school track events and several kids proudly showed us their art work from school (one wanted to hang it up in the play area for all to see). Just kids being kids.

Pr. Andrew Borden and Susan Lindberg Haley distribute communion to a client of Lutheran Social Services at Rejoicing Spirits service at Zion Lutheran Church, Worcester, Mass.Let's face it – I am privileged. I live in a small, mainly white, wealthy suburban town. Part of the joy of serving at this shelter was meeting so many people who are different from me (and I from them!) in many ways and yet we are the same. The creation story in Genesis tells us that "God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." That's what I saw at the shelter – people created in God's image. It was a wonderful experience to serve them.

Note: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  was consecrated in 2009 as a diaconal minister in the ELCA. She recently joined the staff of Zion Lutheran Church, Worcester, Mass., with responsibilities in the areas of outreach, evangelism, passionate spirituality, and ministry with people with disabilities. She serves as worship leader and coordinator for the Rejoicing Spirits ministries at both Zion and Peace Lutheran Church, Wayland, Mass. Rejoicing Spirits is an ecumenical worship service for people with disabilities and their families and friends. Many of those who worship at the Zion services are clients of Lutheran Social Services. Haley also serves as synod advocate for the ELCA's Book of Faith Initiative.