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| A letter from the UUA
and the UU Partner Church Council: |
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| Dear Friends: |
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| Tuesday night August 23, the area
of the Nyiko Valley of Transylvania was hit with an 8-foot wall of
water in a flash flood that swept through the Unitarian villages of
Simenfalva, Kobatfalva and Kadacs (located today in
Romania). Rev. Lajos Lorinczi reports that every household in
Simenfalva, a village of 1000, was impacted. Two women died in
Simenfalva and three more in Kadacs as the waters rushed through
taking livestock, crops, food and wood stockpiles, utensils,
furniture, and in some cases entire houses and barns. |
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| UU John Dale who was there when it
happened emailed us that, "There were torrential rains Tuesday night
which sent walls of water down many of the minor streams in and
around Szekelyudvarhely... The estimate of the damage in
Szekelyudvarhely alone is in the many millions of dollars.
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| The Rev. Lajos Lorinczi and the
Rev.Jozsef Sombatfalvi are helping to lead relief and clean-up crews
with Unitarians from as far away as Kolozsvar and Sepsiszentgyorgy
coming to help. However, the Unitarian village families hardest hit
will need our help over the long haul. "We have the immediate relief
that we need," said Rev. Lorinczi. "But we don't know how we will
help the people rebuild their homes and their lives." |
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| The UUA and the UU Partner Church
Council are asking for your help because no one else is going to
help our Transylvanian Unitarian community to start their lives
anew, to create new hope in a time of despair. The Unitarians are an
ethnic minority in their own land. The government will not help them
to rebuild their lives. They need us now, and we can do this.
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| The UUA and UUPCC are committed to
helping these Unitarians rebuild their lives, their houses, their
barns and their herds of goats and cows. They need to replace all of
these plus feed for stock, seed for new crops, and firewood and food
to get through the winter. |
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| Transylvanian minister Miklos
Szekely wrote in a prayer, "Whatever I have to face, be it joy or
sorrow, give me strength to carry through the new day." With our
partnership in the rebuilding, our brothers and sisters in faith may
find new joy to heal their sorrow. |
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| Unitarian Universalists are a
generous people because we care. And many of us have known the
generosity that Transylvanian Unitarians have given us. We know you
will do what you can. Please send a check today. |
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| Faithfully yours, |
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Rev. William G. Sinkford
President
Unitarian Universalist Association |
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Mrs. Barbara Kres Beach
President
UU Partner Church Council |
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| Checks should be made payable to
the "UU Transylvania Flood Relief" and sent to: |
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Jamie Thompson
UUA Stewardship and Development
UU Transylvania Flood Relief
25 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108-2800 |
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