| Churches reach out to passersby, elderly during power outage By Kathy Gilbert and Tim TantonUnited Methodist News Service  When the widespread power outage hit the U.S. Northeast, the Rev. Tom Hazelwood immediately worried about the elderly and the disabled people who might have been stuck in sweltering heat without any way to call for help.
This is where churches should have a disaster plan that allows for a quick way to check on the most vulnerable parishioners, said Hazelwood, executive with the United Methodist Committee on Reliefs Washington office. Many churches in the affected areas did that immediately on Aug. 14 or the following morning, making certain that their elderly members and others were all right. Pastors also responded to the outage with the time-honored plan of throwing open their doors and ministering to passersby by providing water, food and a place to rest. Congregations should reach out to those who depend on life-support machines, who may only have cordless phones, or be stuck in places without ventilation, Hazelwood said. Churches should think about how they would reach out to someone in a 120-degree house or in a place without lifts or elevators for the disabled. The power failure hit about 4:30 p.m., knocking out power from southern Canada through New York and northern New Jersey and westward to Ohio and Michigan. For many people, the outage stirred memories of another crisis the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and people initially feared that the power failure was the result of another attack. Once that fear was dispelled, a general sense of relief took over, United Methodist pastors reported. In New York Citys Upper East Side, the Rev. William Shillady spent four hours on the sidewalk in front of Park Avenue UMC, handing out water to people walking by. People congregated around his radio, and Shillady noted that many of them were skeptical about reports that the outage was not caused by terrorists. Shilladys church also set up chairs on the sidewalk for people to rest and provided flashlights for those needing to use the restroom in the basement. It was a party atmosphere, the pastor said. Like Shillady, the Rev. James K Karpen was at church when the outage occurred. I was at church and everything went dark computers and everything, said Karpen, pastor of the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, United Methodist, on the Upper West Side. My administrator came down out of her office (and) seemed to think I had done something. I wasnt willing to take responsibility for it. When they realized the scope of the problem, Karpen decided to keep the church open. Without subways or buses operating, people filled the streets. The church provided a place for people to rest and use the bathroom. Karpen and his family also welcomed people into the parsonage and prepared a large meal with food including several cartons of ice cream from the church refrigerator. Church members developed a network to call elderly people and others, to ensure that everyone was safe. It was a hot, muggy time too dangerous for the elderly folks in our congregation, Karpen said. In the Villages Washington Square Park, people had a big party, playing music and hanging out, said the Rev. Bryan Hooper, pastor of nearby Washington Square UMC. People were taking it really well. At his church, a play was under way when the power went out. People hung around afterward and others came in from the street, and Hooper kept the church open as long as he could before darkness fell. People came to the church as a natural thing, he said. | 
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