Billy Graham chaplains supporting PEI residents hit hard by Hurricane Dorian

Our crisis-trained Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (RRT) chaplains have arrived in Prince Edward Island and begun offering emotional and spiritual support to victims of Hurricane Dorian that hit last Saturday.

“We are praying for the people of PEI, and our chaplains are providing Christ’s compassion, care, and love to residents and emergency responders,” says Merle Doherty, manager of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada’s RRT chaplains.

Hurricane Dorian damaged thousands of homes throughout the scenic island. The hurricane’s strong winds tore off roofs, broke windows, flattened fences, and toppled massive century-old trees that sometimes fell on homes, cars, and other property.

Homeowners are trying to cope with the damage that has occurred, while still being traumatized by the sound and power of Dorian’s ferocious winds, Doherty notes.

Some of the hardest hit homeowners are in Summerside, Kensington, and Cavendish in central PEI.

“Many people here are facing a lot of turmoil,” says Kensington Mayor Rowan Caseley. “The chaplains can play an important role in helping them.”

“We are praying for the people of PEI, and our chaplains are providing Christ’s compassion, care, and love to residents and emergency responders,” – Merle Doherty

We have sent our Mobile Ministry Center to the region. It is a large specially equipped truck that offers a quiet place for hurricane victims and emergency responders to rest and receive comfort from RRT chaplains.

“The mobile center provides an exceptional, centralized, visible office for our chaplains that the community can see and walk up to,” Doherty says. “As a result, people receive support, encouragement, and prayer that many of them desperately need.”

The chaplains are working alongside volunteers from the Billy Graham association’s “sister” organization, Samaritan’s Purse, as they clean up properties and prepare damaged homes for repair.