Sister congregations Jesús de Nazaret and Christ the King in Azalea Park, Orlando, are supporting victims of Hurricane Fiona in Loíza, Puerto Rico, by collecting flashlights, batteries and cash donations.

“Loíza is a resilient community that has faced many challenges caused by the hurricanes, the economic upheaval in Puerto Rico and a history of racial injustice and other inequities,” explained The Rev. José Rodríguez, co-rector of Christ the King and vicar of Jesús de Nazaret. “Homes still need roofs from Hurricane Maria, and Fiona has further impacted a delicate situation.”

The two parishes co-hosted a memorial called “Joy Comes in Mourning” on Sept. 21 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria and the impact of the new Hurricane Fiona and help fund their disaster relief efforts. The nearly hour-long celebration, called Bethlehem, or Belén, an ancient celebration of sorrows, featured the bomba, a Puerto Rican folk dance. The audience included state senators and local politicians and raised $1,000.

Bomba dancers at the Sept. 21 Belén

“Puerto Rican bomba is a folk dance based on the traditions of the formerly enslaved African peoples brought to Puerto Rico,” said Rodríguez. “The dance both protests and draws on the strength of the island’s Afro-Latino population. Loíza is the traditional home of this art, and it only made sense to link an event drawing from the cultural heritage of Loíza with the church there.”

The eight dancers, six percussionists and three singers who performed for the event are from the Kissimmee-based School of Bomba and Plena Tata Cepeda. The two churches sponsor and house the school.

The parishes chose to help hurricane survivors in Loíza because The Rev. Ana Mendez, who oversees disaster response for the Diocese of Puerto Rico, is the rector of the Episcopal Church in Loíza, Iglesia Santiago and San Felipe Apóstoles. “She is an inspiration and an example of how one does disaster readiness and response and resiliency building in the community,” Rodríguez said. “In terms of money, we wanted to bless a ministry that had blessed so many. We had no goal in mind. Anything helps.”

The parishes have collected many flashlights and have already sent them to one of their partners in Puerto Rico. “We typically do not collect objects to send because cash is always the most effective donation,” Rodríguez said. “This request came to a particular partner in the bomba school group.”

Hurricane Ian disrupted fundraising efforts, he added. “We hope to restart our efforts to raise funds for this community soon. Our commitment to disaster relief and Loíza is permanent, and we hope to inaugurate future projects as soon as we fully recover from Hurricane Ian.”

Hurricane Fiona made landfall in the southwest region of Puerto Rico with wind speeds as high as 100 mph. The Category 1 hurricane caused infrastructural damage almost beyond comprehension. The storm left the island without power, destroyed thousands of crops, swept away bridges and placed dozens of citizens in need of rescue from the floods by the Puerto Rico National Guard. Loíza and the territory’s 77 other municipalities have been declared disaster zones by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Hurricane Fiona Relief Effort is not the first program in which Jesús de Nazaret and Christ the King have joined forces. The parishes jointly run many resilience and disaster relief programs, including the Healing Hunger Food Pantry and La Familia Health Equity and Resilience Center.

If you would like to help with the relief efforts, please contact Rodríguez at padre@iglesiaorlando.com.