Seventh-day Adventists coordinate church, nonprofit efforts in wake of natural disasters
By Melissa A. Wabnitz
Transcript Staff Writer
MOORE -- The boxes are lined up, tagged and ready for distribution and organized as efficiently as military provisions. And, like so many times before, Stanley Buckmaster, pastor and director of Adventist Community Services for the State of Oklahoma, is there, clipboard in hand, making sure every box of goods, ranging from kitchen ware to bathroom supplies, will reach the proper recipient.
It's a huge job, divvying up donations and FEMA-purchased goods, but Buckmaster and his crew, including wife Carol (Pelfrey) Buckmaster, have somehow managed to make sense of the Moore multi-agency warehouse, set up specifically to coordinate FEMA and other church and nonprofit organization relief efforts.
"You don't ever think that you're doing this type of stuff entirely by yourself. That's real important. And a mark of leadership, I think, is never let people see your panic, even if it means you have to take some time and clear your head and then step back into the situation," Stanley said.
Since 1978, the Seventh-day Adventist Conference of Oklahoma has contracted with the State of Oklahoma to coordinate disaster relief with the Red Cross and FEMA. And, since 1978, they've partnered with a largely-secular organization, Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD.) The adventists took charge after tornadoes hit Moore in 1999, and no surprise, they took charge again when the hurricanes hit in 2005.
"It's a real good plan we have here in Oklahoma," Stanley said, "Because not all states have things as well coordinated as we have here. We have agreements to be proactive and when there's a major disaster, we all kick in."
When he visited Louisiana to coordinate Seventh-day Adventist Community Services there, Stanley said state efforts "weren't anywhere near what we have here" as the secular and state organizations weren't connected to the extent Oklahoma organizations are.
"Here everyone is really working together," he said, citing the 1999 tornadoes in which the Mennonite, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Latter-day Saints and Seventh-day Adventists worked hand-in-hand, each assigned specific roles.
Retired Salvation Army executive and State Emergency Management official, Alton Gardner, says in so many ways, "churches are the backbone" of all the state's efforts.
"The churches are the ones who know who are really in need and who are trying to work a con game," Gardner said, "The churches know where the real need is ..."
For the Buckmasters, married this past January, need, and reaching out in Christian solidarity, is at the heart of their service.
"What Christ told us, the poor you have amongst you always and anytime you want to help them, you should," Stanley said. "That is the reason?-- it's the work that Christ would have done. We want Christ to work through us and we can be instruments in his hands."
"You're supposed to help people in need," said Carol, "And I love to help people. That's what I live to do..."
Melissa A. Wabnitz 366-3550 mwabnitz@normantranscript.com
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