A publication of the Shenandoah District Church of the Brethren

April 10, 2024

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 NKJV

Above: Jerry Ruff in the pulpit at Staunton;

Below: Jerry Ruff at the Kit Depot at the District Office with clean-up buckets

Shenandoah District Brethren Disaster Ministries Chair Jerry Ruff has been responding to natural disasters since he was four and a half years old. One of his early memories is standing in line at the school in Bridgewater to receive a shot after the June 17, 1949 flood in northwestern Augusta County and southern Rockingham County. The flood washed away virtually everything except the community church in the small town of Stokesville. The swift-moving waters also annihilated a tiny African-American community on the North River called Strothertown, and flooding affected a wide swath of homes in and around Bridgewater. Ruff's grandparents, the Gardners, lived in Bridgewater and were among the families faced with cleaning up after the historic flooding.

Ruff received his inoculation to resist disease while providing the assistance he could to his family. Indelible in his mind's eye, Ruff remembers opening a closed refrigerator door and finding silt and sand deposited inside. He was amazed at the power of the flood waters that caused this. These and other images gave him poignant memories of the devastation natural disasters can inflict.

As a young man, Ruff served with Brethren

Volunteer Service, or BVS, in Puerto Rico from 1965-67. He unwittingly became involved with the Church of the Brethren's response to Hurricane Cleo, which had hit Haiti a year earlier. A team of volunteers from the states was traveling to Jacmel, Haiti, to assist with ongoing recovery from the hurricane. He was the closest deployed asset, so he was asked to hop over to Haiti and help coordinate the recovery efforts. This is where he said he first "got the bug" for disaster ministry.

Ruff was not the only one to be bitten by the disaster ministry bug. His parents, Carlton and Hilda Ruff, and others in their circle had been assisting local families who needed help, so they naturally gravitated to serving with the District. Ruff recalls one story where Mary Cline and Hilda Ruff fed 14 people three meals a day using a one-burner hotplate on a project in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Ruffs became active in the District's growing disaster response ministry in the 1970s and worked to help establish the annual Brethren Disaster Auction in the early 1990s.

After completing his time with Brethren Volunteer Service, Ruff returned to the Shenandoah Valley shortly before Virginia’s deadliest natural disaster on record. In August 1969, Hurricane Camille dumped nearly three feet of water in eight hours during the night on Nelson County, killing 153 people, destroying roads, and causing 3,730 landslides. Ruff was with a group from the District that went over to Lovingston to help with the cleanup. Experiencing the aftermath of a massive natural disaster so close to home inspired the District to explore ways to become more actively involved in disaster ministry.

In 1972, flooding from a dam break in southern West Virginia along Buffalo Creek gave interested individuals in the District another opportunity to bear another's burden. Among the volunteers responding to this disaster was Harold Wampler, who would step into the role of disaster ministry coordinator for the Shenandoah District three years later.

The District responded to the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood of 1977, in which 128 million gallons of water breached several dams and left six feet of water standing in Johnstown. Moved by compassion, the District's fledgling disaster ministry volunteers traveled to Pennsylvania in their own pickup trucks to assist. This was just one example of volunteer transportation issues. Wampler later highlighted that the transportation of volunteers was a pressing need for the District. Over time, he worked with 14 couples to fund the first van dedicated to use for teams traveling to project locations.

Eventually, the Shenandoah District's Disaster Ministry became better organized, enabling them to respond more effectively to subsequent disasters. In 1985, flooding in Grant, Pendelton and Pocahontas counties in West Virginia affected portions of the District. Countless volunteers from throughout the District went to work, helping with clearing mud and cleaning up.

When tornadoes hit Pulaski, which lies within the Virlina District, the ministry found its strength. When they met with community members there, it was determined that the Brethren could provide assistance in tearing down and repairing damaged homes on the mountain. Many of these older homes had no deeds, and they had been in bad repair for some time. Volunteers from the Shenandoah District stayed for a month and requested assistance from the denomination's Brethren Disaster Ministry.

While working in Pulaski, hospitality was extended to the Church of the Brethren by the Methodist Church. They opened their church fellowship hall to the Brethren for the entire two-year period. When the project wrapped up, the Methodist Church where they had stayed invited former Brethren Disaster Ministry Associate Director Zach Wolgemuth to attend a final Sunday service. The Methodist pastor noted they had taken a leap of faith to offer their building for an extended period, but they had found that the care the Brethren volunteers had provided for the individuals who had lost so much, their commitment to craftsmanship in the rebuilding, along with the care for their building was an inspiration. The congregation handed Wolgemuth a check for $10,000 to support future service projects.

Hurricane Andrew, 1992, was the most destructive storm to hit Florida in terms of the number of structures damaged. Volunteers on the rebuilding project in Homestead, Florida, took the extra step of adding straps as they replaced the rafters and roofs. These were dubbed "hurricane straps," and they caught on, as other organizations began to incorporate them into their projects, as well. Each disaster over the past 50 years has helped the ministry hone its skills and learn important lessons.

Ruff said the primary areas to be addressed after an emergency are hygiene, food, lodging and defining the work area. He described the evolution of the District's disaster response from these initial challenges, such as providing meals for displaced families and helping people get the debris cleared, to a “focused vision on long-term rebuilding to provide housing for those who fall between the cracks." In Virginia, representatives from the District's Disaster Ministry have met regularly with Voluntary Organizations Acting in Disaster, or VOAD, and other denominations. The results of these dialogues have enabled each organization to provide services according to its strengths.

Volunteer Ruth Stump serving in Waverly, Tennessee, June 2019.

(File photo)

Shenandoah District volunteers with the new bus serving in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, on April 10, 2024.

(Photo courtesy of Edwin Johnson)

Ruff has seen Disaster Ministry come full circle in that it started as neighbors helping neighbors in the local area, then expanded to participating with work project sites around the nation and beyond. Today, the Shenandoah District has added local needs back into the equation, providing the best of both types of ministry focus. Within the past year, partnerships with Renewing Homes of Greater Augusta County and Habitat For Humanity in Rockingham County have opened the door for short-term, local ministry projects. Each group provides necessary critical care and infrastructure for those with health or mobility issues and a limited income.

As of February, congregations working with Renewing Homes of Greater Augusta have volunteered for 350 hours, completing 12 projects. They have constructed handicap accessibility ramps, installed flooring and windows, repaired cracks in a foundation, and more. With Habitat For Humanity’s critical care response in Rockingham County, congregations have built handicap-accessible ramps and rebuilt a bathroom to allow access. The volunteer commitment for various projects is between a half day to several weeks for rebuilding. They have also responded locally to a home when a tree came through the roof and repaired flooring after water pipes burst.

These ministry opportunities have been undertaken within the District while maintaining the existing relationship with the denomination on weeklong rebuilding projects, usually out of state. In fact, a team from the Shenandoah District is serving this week in Dawson Springs, Kentucky.

In the event of a natural disaster, Ruff says swinging a hammer is not the only way to serve. He noted that the Children’s Disaster Services program emerged from the need to care for children while parents fill out paperwork for assistance and try to find shelter for their families. When Hurricane Katrina descended on Louisana, cancer patients could no longer access local hospitals for treatment. Pilots, including Ruff’s son Matthew, volunteered to fly them to other localities to continue treatment. Children’s Advocates are also needed after a disaster when the courts are making decisions about minors whose parents or guardians have died or are incapacitated. Ruff’s daughter Virginia volunteered with CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, to serve children in this manner. Having ready access to supplies is also imperative for all disaster projects. The creation of buckets and bags filled with clean-up materials, school supplies and hygiene items is another way to serve. “You don’t have to serve in any one particular way or with an organization; you just have to serve,” Ruff said.

There is more to disaster ministry than organizing supplies, completing projects and restoring the lives of those who are hurting. Volunteers realize a range of benefits from serving, too. The humility of service deepens and transforms one’s faith and understanding, and serving shoulder-to-shoulder with others opens doors to developing new friendships. Ruff reflected that, as a pastor, “I want to get to know and appreciate parishioners, and I can’t think of any place I can get to know a parishioner faster than working with them for a week on a project.” He said working together allows him to “... see the goodness in them and really get to know people.”

Ruff is winding down his time as coordinator of the District’s Disaster Ministry program. Although no date has been set for his official retirement, he is working towards handing the reigns to others. Looking back, he can see the hand of God preparing him for his unique pastoral and disaster response ministry. After high school, he did not want to go to college but chose to prepare for the workforce by becoming a second-class machinist. He also learned stonework and construction skills and worked in maintenance at a hospital for two years. These experiences gave him technical skills to be able to address a myriad of challenges while volunteering on a project site.

Before entering the Brethren Volunteer Service, Ruff’s pastor, Wilmer Hurst, and former District Executive Stanley Wampler encouraged Ruff to enter the ministry Still, the idea did not connect with him until a few years later. After he gave it some thought, he enrolled at Blue Ridge Community College and later transferred to EMU. While continuing his education, Ruff spent Sundays in West Virginia serving the Friends Run and Smith Creek congregations. He was licensed and ordained in 1973 in the Summit church and was called as pastor for several local congregations. Currently, he serves occasionally as an interim pastor.

Ruff and his wife, Bernice, have worked on many Disaster Ministry projects, and he considers this service a glorious gift. “I am glad I have been given the opportunity to see all the good things that I have seen through the Disaster Ministry.”

Anyone interested in finding ways to serve may email Ruff or call the Shenandoah District Office at 540-234-8555. Donations to the District Disaster Ministry program may be made by clicking the Donate Now button at the top right corner of the District's webpage at www.shencob.org.

This article was developed through consultation with the following resources:

Personal interviews with Jerry Ruff on April 4 and 8, 2024.

"The Flood of 1949,” Friends of Shenandoah Mountain website, https://www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org/flood-of-1949.html

“Hurricane Camille,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Camille

“The Buffalo Creek Disaster: 50 Years From Flooding,” https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a2f1ea2c8ba9494b821d76458b15b41c

“Harold Wampler: Faith in action,” Messenger, March 1982, p. 2.

“Johnstown Flood of 1977,” Wikipedia, accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_flood_of_1977

“Flood of 1985," The West Virginia Encyclopedia, accessed at: https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2197#:~:text=In%20West%20Virginia%2C%2047%20people,and%20Moorefield%20were%20severely%20damaged.

“Tornado That Hit Pulaski Virginia April 8, 2011 Photo Slideshow,” 2 ATVS and Our Life, accessed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-y63A_Kbgo

“Hurricane Andrew,” Wikipedia, accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Andrew

If you have questions or comments about this article, please Contact Director of Communications Brenda Diehl at brendadiehl@shencog.org or call 540-234-8555.