Local Baptist churches will also be making quilts to be sent out with the feeding and cleanup units when they leave Utah, he said. Donations are being requested to help fund the local relief efforts and can be made by calling Norma Fox at 801-572-5350. Checks may also be mailed to the Southern Baptist Utah-Idaho Convention, 12401 S. 450 East #G1, Draper, UT 84020, made out to that organization.

Local Baptist churches will also be praying for those who have been affected, Gaylor said. "Right now they just need a lot of prayer. People are seriously in chaos out there right now and need a lot of prayer."

Pastor Greg Johnson, director of a group of local evangelical churches called Standing Together, said many of them are calling on their members to donate money for relief through the Christian Emergency Network (CEN) — www.christianemergencynetwork.com — or the local Salvation Army. On Wednesday, he e-mailed members of the group, encouraging them to pray for the victims and their challenges and to take a special offering that would be channeled either through their own denominational channels or through CEN or the local Salvation Army.

As of Wednesday afternoon, First Church of the Nazarene and Valley Assembly of God were planning to seek donations and offer prayers. Standing Together will also be making a donation through CEN in the name of local Utah evangelical churches, Johnson said, and everyone interested is encouraged to participate with the World Prayer Team in praying for relief. See www.worldprayerteam.org.

The Rev. Dan Webster, spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, said donations are being solicited through the national Episcopal Relief and Development organization, and a link to that organization can be reached through the diocesan Web site at www.episcopal-ut.org.

"They've been preparing for several days to work with the outreach ministries of Episcopal dioceses along the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and they're ready to move forward." He said Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold of the the Episcopal Church USA is forwarding a letter to be read in all parishes on Sunday talking about the relief effort and asking for help.

Planning is under way for a local diocesan response, which may include a call for prayer for those in the affected areas, and could include fund-raising. In other areas of the country, the Episcopal Foundation of Texas voted to send an emergency grant of $50,000 to both the Dioceses of Louisiana and Mississippi, and the Diocese of Texas hopes to raise $100,000 this Sunday from its 158 congregations.

Rabbi Tracee Rosen of Congregation Kol Ami said Utah's Jewish community will try to come up with some type of response in the coming days once assessment has been done and they are able to determine the most appropriate way to respond.