Story by Betty Adams, American Red Cross volunteer

American Red Cross disaster volunteer Rabbi Shira Stern brought a message of hope and biblical context to the Shabbat service at Temple Shalom in Naples.

“If biblical Noah was good at making boats, the Red Cross is good at helping people stay afloat,” she told the congregation.  “We are on the ground..., reunifying families who are desperate to find their loved ones, and providing shelter, food and cleaning supplies to those who have experienced ‘the Big One’ that occurs only once in 100 years – every three or four years or so.”

Stern, who makes her home in Massachusetts, is co-manager of Red Cross disaster spiritual care in Florida, working with an interdenominational team to bring spiritual comfort to survivors of Hurricane Ian. More than 250 trained health, mental health and spiritual care responders have been part of the Red Cross relief operation in shelters and communities across the state. 

Stern said her journey to Red Cross service began when she “failed in retirement.” Her initial deployment was at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in 2001. She has responded to numerous disasters since then.

She talked of the types of service performed by spiritual care providers: Quietly comforting a man who lost his wife to Hurricane Ian; talking in a shelter with a woman whose husband had a heart attack during the storm; walking through devastated neighborhoods to give an open ear to people trying to get their homes repaired; helping to gather prayer books so Temple Bat Yam on storm-battered Sanibel Island can begin to worship again.

In fact, Temple Shalom is harboring one of the sacred Torah scrolls from the Sanibel temple in its Ark, as is another temple in Fort Myers.

Rabbi Adam Miller, senior rabbi at Temple Shalom, said members of the temple family have lost homes and jobs but have come together in hope. “Some lost all; but all of us lost something,” he said.

Miller said Stern’s message – which coincides with Jews around the world reading the story of Noah and the flood – touched his community in many ways. 

“I know it will do so for the people who are here now and for those who have the opportunity to watch her sermon later on our livestream feed,” Miller said.

“Having her here gives hope.  To hear that message of resilience from her, to understand that we all have to take care spiritually, and that the people from Red Cross are here to nurture all of us, is so powerful for our community.

“It was definitely a message and a presence that we needed at this time.”

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