In times of long-term disaster recovery, tending the spirit is a must

In 2024, the Rev. Angela Wells-Bean sensed a growing anxiety among the Floridan congregants she was called to serve.

Hurricane season, which starts June 1, was approaching and Pass-A-Grille Beach Community Church in St. Pete Beach, Florida, knew what that meant: Pray for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Not wanting to see her new flock in a state of anxiousness, Wells-Bean turned to the Emotional and Spiritual Care team of the United Church of Christ’s Disaster Ministries for help.

“She was looking for resources that would provide a space for people to lift their concerns and fears as well as their hopes and dreams,” said the Rev. Dr. Martha Jacobs.

Jacobs, retired UCC pastor who was on the spiritual care frontlines after 9/11, is a member of the Emotional and Spiritual Care Team, a network of volunteers located across the country, who work alongside the UCC’s Conference Disaster and Response Coordinators. Together, they provide the support — grants, printed resources and volunteer networks — needed for the long-term work that is crucial to recovery after a disaster.

Through several Zoom listening sessions, the pastor and the Emotional and Spiritual Care members brainstormed solutions. In the end, a prayer-writing activity for all ages of the congregation was created. Jacob noted it was important to the pastor to include the youth of the church. The activity was embraced, and Wells-Bean was overwhelmed with how many people freely named their anxiety.

The prayers were collected in a box that stayed on the Pass-A-Grille chancel throughout hurricane season, which ends in November. It was a reminder to the congregation of the power of prayer and the power of an ever-abiding God.  

Expanding spiritual resources

Jacobs shared the story of Pass-A-Grille in a recent Disasters Ministries webinar entitled, “Emotional & Spiritual Care Resources, Post Disasters” to highlight the restorative power of support in times of need.

Jacobs was accompanied by Katie Howe, Minister for Disaster Response and Recovery and the Rev. Jackie Thornton, member of the Emotional and Spiritual Care team, as the team’s larger vision to expand its resources, creating an online library of go-to spiritual care prayers, hymns and liturgies was shared.

The resources, which are still in the early stages of developments, will be arranged in easy-to-find categories with tentative classifications such as “In the Midst” and “Working Through.”

“It’s a huge vision and the team is excited to provide these resources so that spiritual leaders can find them quickly as they are going through the emotional life cycle of disaster,” said Jacobs.

Howe noted that the disaster emotional life cycle — modeled after Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ pioneering stages of grief — involves stages such as heroism, honeymoon, disillusionment and reconstruction. And like Kübler-Ross’ grief stages, the emotional life cycle of disasters is not linear, but fluid, and requires tending one’s soul not just the body.

“Caring for the long-term [disaster] caregivers is what the Emotional and Spiritual Care Team specializes in. Spirituality helps people find meaning and hope,” said Howe

Looking at disaster recovery through a spiritual lens also led to the team’s development of the acronym, ANCHOR: A — Attend and be present; N — Name the experience; C — Clarify and offer light reframing as necessary; H — Help identify next steps; O — Observe limits; and R — Restore connections.

The team hopes for ANCHOR to be shared with all those involved in disaster spiritual care.

“A lot of what is out there is very clinical. We wanted ANCHOR to be more spiritual,” said Thornton.

As UCC Disaster Ministries braces for the start of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had some hopeful statistics, citing a 55% chance of below-average activity.

To learn more about the work of the Emotional and Spiritual Care team, contact Katie Howe at howek@ucc.org.

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.