The Rev. Hadley Edwards of Bethany United Methodist Church in New Orleans leads a service of remembrance five years after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. A UMNS photo by Betty Backstrom.
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A cloudy sky and blustery breezes greeted worshippers gathering Aug. 29 at Bethany United Methodist Church, a scene eerily reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina’s approach five years ago.
“Five years ago, we were running for our lives. We were running from a storm on a Sunday morning,” said the Rev. Hadley Edwards, pastor of the New Orleans church that was destroyed by nearly 11 feet of standing floodwater after Katrina struck.
On this Sunday, worshippers at Bethany and in many churches across the region gave thanks for people all over the country who welcomed nearly 1 million evacuees from the Greater New Orleans area.
“We are thankful for those who embraced us, who opened their homes and their arenas to shelter us. We are thankful for every meal, every blanket and every pillow that was given to us by the hands of people who opened their hearts to us,” Edwards said.
Most of all, as they prayed in their renovated worship center, Bethany members praised God.
“We have rebuilt our church, and God truly was the power behind our success,” said Anita Crump.
The connection steps up
The church did not have worship services for seven months after Hurricane Katrina. However, Bible studies and other ministries went on, said Crump, church member and past lay leader for the Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference.
Church member Anita Crump checks the progress of flood repairs in 2006. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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When they resumed worship, Crump said, “We met in the sanctuary which had been gutted. It was very hot due to the lack of electricity, and we used portable toilets because there were no water services. But it was a joyful reunion. A number of people living away came in just for the day.”
Finances were a major obstacle. Insurance coverage was limited, and the buildings were essentially ruined.
“Our members, even those living out of town, really stepped forward. Gifts poured in from members scattered over 23 states. On one special Sunday alone, the collection totaled $11,000,” Crump said.
And they had a lot of help from their friends throughout The United Methodist Church.
“The United Methodist connection really works,” Edwards said. “Churches throughout the United States partnered with us to get the work done. They sent work teams, money, supplies, Bibles, crosses and much more. Our connection provides strength.”
A spiritual anchor
Sharon McNeil, a Bethany member for more than 50 years, was a patient at Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital when Katrina hit.
“We assumed that the hurricane was going to be another one of ‘those storms.’ I wanted to stay at the hospital, but my friend convinced me to leave with her family,” McNeil said. “Twenty-two hours after we left, we arrived in Houston. From New Orleans, that is usually a six-hour drive.”
Life after Katrina hasn’t been easy for McNeil. She lost her home in the flood and struggles with health problems, receiving dialysis twice a week.
Yet the church has never left her side.
A flood-damaged home stands two buildings away from Bethany United Methodist Church (right). A UMNS photo by Betty Backstrom.
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“All of the stress has had a negative effect on my health. I’ve gotten depressed at times. But my Bethany family has gotten me through it all. They mean all the world to me.”
The recovery continues
Life is not the same in the area around Bethany.
“Just a walk down the street reminds us that our neighborhood has changed so much. Many members have not been able to return to their homes, or they died trying to get back home,” Edwards said. “In many ways, Bethany and other United Methodist churches are a light on a darkened pathway. We are serving as an anchor to those still struggling in their own personal storms of rebuilding and restoring.”
As the congregation sang the refrain from “Wade in the Water” at the end of Sunday’s service, Edwards scooped water from a baptismal font to bless them as they came toward the altar.
He reminded worshippers that water was “flowing” as New Orleans flooded, as storm survivors shed tears and as Jesus was baptized by his cousin, John.
“It is with blessed water that we make a witness to a broken world,” he said. “God has troubled the water, and his blessings are flowing full and free.”
*Backstrom is director of communications for the Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Rescue workers who responded to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 listen as the names of those who died in the storm are read during a memorial service in Biloxi, Miss. Photo by Andrew Kavesh for City of Biloxi.
Hurricane Katrina tore a gaping hole in the side of Mississippi City United Methodist Church in Gulfport. The organ was tossed upside down. On top was a worship book open to the “Hymn of Promise.”
That was the hymn the congregation sang in a remembrance service Aug. 29.
The service was one of several throughout the state to give thanks to God and to the nearly 1 million, and counting, volunteers who have come and continue to come to rebuild homes on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
The United Methodist Mississippi Annual (regional) Conference has hosted more than 160,000 volunteers, who have worked on 12,000 homes and built over 100 new homes, saving struggling Gulf Coast homeowners some $100 million in labor costs. Many teams have returned again and again, some making as many as 20 trips.
“Across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, there was a deep sense of gratitude that filled United Methodist churches,” said the Rev. Bill McAlilly, Seashore District superintendent, of the many worship services held on Aug. 29. “Today, we remember Hurricane Katrina and all those who have brought healing and hope.”
Giving thanks together
United Methodists were not alone.
The Katrina Monument, located on Biloxi’s Town Green, memorializes those who were killed. Photo by Andrew Kavesh for City of Biloxi.
Interfaith sunrise services were held in Pass Christian and Ocean Springs, and in Biloxi the rainy skies cleared just as nearly 100 gathered with local and national officials for a memorial service remembering those who died in the storm.
Students from local high schools read each of the 168 names of people who died as friends and family observed in silence. The names of those who lost their lives and those who are still missing are etched in the Katrina Monument located on Biloxi’s Town Green.
The monument was built by the “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” television show. “This monument stands as a quiet reminder of the lost, the found and the moment that changed us forever,” Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway said.
In Gulfport, Gov. Haley Barbour said, “Katrina didn’t change the character and spirit of the people down here, but it let it be seen across the world.”
Hands of faith
Members of Mississippi City United Methodist Church gathered with the community for a Katrina Memorial Celebration on the beach.
The Rev. Denise Donnell said it was important for the congregation to host the event for the community to know the church is here for them.
Mississippi City United Methodist Church in Gulfport awaits repairs in 2006, nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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"The church cannot be confined to four walls,” Donnell said. “It must leave the building and proclaim to the world that God is good all of the time, and all of the time, God is good!"
In D’Iberville, members of Heritage United Methodist Church held a 90-minute service of remembrance, thanksgiving and celebration, moving from darkness into light. The congregation continues to host volunteers at their church.
Their service included a slide presentation of images before, during and after Katrina, followed by a time for personal witness.
Church member Ella Mae Weems closed her story by saying, “those who responded to help were the rod and staff of God."
The Rev. Wayne Napier added: “God had us lie down in green pastures, led us beside still waters, restored our souls and was leading us in paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake. We truly are the rod and the staff of God. We just look like ordinary people.”
*Michiels is director of communications of the United Methodist Mississippi Annual (regional) Conference.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Ella Doyle of Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Slidell, La., stands on the parking lot of her ruined church building in 2005. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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Five years ago, I was on an assignment in Monrovia, Liberia, when Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast. The pain was instantaneous as I watched the fury of the storm unfold on CNN. The shocking images were surreal as I watched in a country a world away from everything that was familiar to me.
I thought my grief was mine alone.
The Sunday after Katrina, my work brought me to a rural Liberian United Methodist Church. That was the beginning of an incredible journey filled with many sad images, but amazing stories of faith.
At Reeves Memorial United Methodist Church, the pastor called me to the front of the church where children surrounded me. They, who know so much about suffering, offered me comfort simply because they knew Louisiana was the place of my birth.
Liberia is not a place of comfort.
At that time, there was no electricity or running water anywhere in the country. The church was filled with children because most were orphans. They lost their parents to a bloody civil war or to AIDS and other life-robbing diseases or to crippling poverty.
Alberta Page, 83, rode out the storm in her historic home in Biloxi, Miss. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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They gave me $20 and a message to take home: “From the children of Reeves Memorial United Methodist Church to the children of Louisiana USA, in solidarity with their plight in the wake of destruction of Hurricane Katrina.” In a country where 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, $20 is a fortune.
I came back to my office at United Methodist Communications with an urgent need to get to Louisiana fast and deliver that gift. That marked the first of many trips I made to the Gulf Coast to report on the remarkable work the church has done and is doing in the wake of Katrina.
Better day coming
I got another lesson in courage and grace from Ella Doyle, a member of Hartzell Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Slidell, La., a few Sundays later. Standing on the parking lot of her ruined church, she told members of her congregation, “God has got a better day coming.”
Doyle survived the terror of Hurricane Katrina aboard a boat with her husband and two sons. At one point, both of her sons disappeared beneath the water and her husband stopped breathing. But all survived.
“I stood up in that boat and prayed,” she said. “I have no desire to walk around telling people I lost this or that; I didn’t lose nothing. The only thing we need to worry about is whether we are going to see heaven.”
Another remarkable woman I think of often is Alberta Page, 83, who rode out the storm in her historic home in Biloxi, Miss. Sitting in her tiny white FEMA trailer six months later, she told me, “Not one time was I afraid.” A lifelong member of Saint Paul United Methodist Church, she was steady in her faith. As volunteers from New York carried out the ruined furniture and memories of her life, she was peaceful.
They cried. She did not.
“I never want to have a closet full of things again,” she said.
No place like home
So many people lost everything in the storm. Some were loaded onto planes or buses not knowing their destination. Many started new lives in those cities and will not return.
In 2005, children in Liberia presented a gift to Kathy Gilbert (right) for the children of Louisiana. A UMNS file photo by Linda Green.
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Earl Heider, 78, ended up in Franklin, Tenn., in a Red Cross shelter. He couldn’t wait to get back home to New Orleans. He spent several days in a tent on a highway overpass before he was rescued, at times watching dead bodies float pass. He told me he came to New Orleans in 1933 and he was going to spend the rest of his life there no matter what kind of storm came along.
My most recent trip to New Orleans was a few weeks ago. People are still grieving and rebuilding. Many are in need of medical care — especially mental-health care. But there are bright spots like Hartzell United Methodist Church that stands like a beacon in the Lower Ninth Ward.
The deep down longing for New Orleans makes no sense. There really is no explaining the love people have for this deeply flawed city hit time and again by crisis.
And yet, I totally understand Earl. There is no place I would rather be.
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter of 18-34 content at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
2:30 P.M. EST August 27, 2010 | NEW ORLEANS (UMNS)
Leona Cousins shares a laugh outside her home with Ken Ward, contractor with the United Methodist Slidell (La.) Disaster Recovery Station in this 2006 photo. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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Leona Cousins, 99, has completely lost her sight, but she has no problems recognizing the voices of angels.
One of her angels is Dale Kimball, director of the United Methodist Slidell (La.) Recovery Station, who saw to it that Cousins’ home was rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina sent a tidal wave over her home in 2005.
In the past five years, volunteers organized through The United Methodist Church have flooded Louisiana and Mississippi and helped thousands of people like Cousins put their homes and lives back together again.
More than 160,000 volunteers have mucked, hammered, wired, installed and painted their way across Mississippi and nearly 90,000 have braved the mosquitoes, heat and humidity in Louisiana to do the same.
Mississippi has supported the repair of 12,320 homes and built 132 from the ground up. Louisiana has closed the files on 67,741 cases from homeowners needing help.
Divine intervention
The homeowners say all the volunteers are God-sent.
“I never thought I would meet so many nice people this late in my life,” said Cousins, a petite woman with a heavy Cajun accent and toasted brown skin.
Her modest white frame house was built for her by her father in the 1950s. A sheriff’s deputy found her crying in the rubble of her home after Katrina because she had no money and no one to help her rebuild.
Photos show Hartzell United Methodist Church in New Orleans after it was hit by the storm and today. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose, left, Ronny Perry, right.
One call to Kimball fixed that.
Kimball stays in touch with many of the people his team has helped in the past five years.
“The last time I saw her (Cousins) she was doing fine, loving her home but has completely lost her sight. She still recognizes our voices, or as she says, the voices of angels.”
Friends for life
The thousands who have come to the Gulf Coast offering help have left with lifelong friendships.
The Rev. Marilyn Roeder has brought mission teams from First United Methodist Church, Victoria, Texas, to New Orleans 11 times. She has driven from Victoria to New Orleans every six weeks since 2005 to work on homes and bring in supplies.
While in New Orleans, her second home is with Elvina and Vince DiBartolo. In 2008 she spent her three-and-a-half-month sabbatical at their home.
The DiBartolo family, devout Catholics, evacuated to the small Texas town to escape the storm and met the effervescent United Methodist pastor at a Red Cross shelter.
“Connections and relationships have continued way beyond anything Katrina did,” Roeder said. “We always say it is not about the project, it is not about the work, it is about the relationship.”
Virginia Tech students Lisa Rubin (left) and Rachel St. John are two of more than 200,000 volunteers that came to the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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Baptized by a storm
Many historic United Methodist churches and institutions were wiped out by the hurricane. Some have been rebuilt, some have closed and some have been born again in new ministries.
After the water receded in New Orleans, 90 churches in three Louisiana parishes were damaged and 80 pastors were displaced.
In 2007, five United Methodist churches — Gentilly, Napoleon Avenue, John Wesley, Felicity and St. Philip — in the New Orleans district were discontinued and abandoned. Jefferson United Methodist closed in 2008.
Ten churches have merged. First Grace, which combined an historically white church with an historically black church, has experienced steady growth since the merger.
Luke’s House, a free medical clinic, operates out of damaged Mount Zion United Methodist Church serving a poor inner-city New Orleans neighborhood.
The hurricane that drowned Louisiana smashed and flattened Mississippi. More than 70,000 homes were destroyed. Five years later, 300 families are still on the waiting list at the Mississippi Katrina Recovery Center. Teams have signed up to come through 2012, said Robert Sharp, center director.
All the damaged churches in Mississippi have been repaired or rebuilt except for Leggett Memorial at the Seashore Mission, a homeless ministry, he said. Leggett was struggling before the storm and has opened a chapel in one of the undamaged buildings.
Three permanent recovery centers have been built to house volunteers and to store supplies for rebuilding.
Atha Brown (right) and Victoria Alfred sing during an outdoor worship service in Slidell, La., in 2005. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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Historic Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, Miss., was washed away. Gulfside was opened in 1923 as a retreat and recreation center for African Americans who were not permitted to use most resorts in the segregated South.
Mollie Stewart, president, said the center is moving in a new direction and soon ground will be broken for an active older adult community that will include independent and assisted-living villas.
“We did a lot of praying and soul searching and came up with this idea because the community needs this type of facility,” Stewart said.
An ecumenical healing service will be held on the grounds of the center Sept. 17. United Methodist Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, Mississippi, and retired Bishop Felton May will be joined by religious leaders from other denominations to pray for the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama, she said.
Love offerings
United Methodists donated more than $64.5 million to the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s hurricane recovery efforts. The final disbursement of funds was released by UMCOR in March. UMCOR also managed another $66 million contributed from foreign governments in a project called Katrina Aid Today.
Because UMCOR funds are restricted to helping people rebuild their homes, the United Methodist Council of Bishops established the Katrina Recovery Appeal to help rebuild churches and assist with other ministry needs. That appeal raised nearly $5 million.
But those are just the official numbers, said the Rev. Chris Cumbest, pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church, Ocean Springs, Miss.
The Rev. Marilyn Roeder, center in stripped shirt, has brought mission teams from Victoria, Texas, to New Orleans 11 times since Hurricane Katrina struck. A UMNS photo by Kathy Gilbert.
“People brought materials, Home Depot cards, gave money to the local churches they were staying in. … What you see on paper is just a small bit of what the response has been over the past five years,” he said.
“Volunteers from England to Costa Rica to the Philippines and all of the United Methodist annual conferences have been to Mississippi,” said Sharp. “The United Methodist connection is fabulous.”
People like Leona Cousins will tell you it was the church that was there to care for their physical and spiritual needs.
“While we are most grateful for our local, state and federal systems, we have been reminded time and again that people need spiritual nurture and personal relationships along with the physical recovery,” said the Rev. Don Cottrill, provost for the Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference.
“There is a need that only the faith community can feed.”
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter of 18-34 content at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Editor's note: This is the second in a series of stories marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
A UMNS Commentary
By Bishop William W. Hutchinson
6:00 P.M. EST August 25, 2010
Bishop William Hutchinson, standing before a cross made of debris salvaged from Hurricane Katrina, thanks United Methodists during the 2008 General Conference. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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On Aug. 29, 2005, my family and I were in Woodward, Okla., participating in the funeral service for my beloved father-in-law. Before and after the service, we watched the television accounts of Hurricane Katrina’s destructive landfall.
But it was the next day that the most devastating news for Louisiana began to fill the newscasts. The levees of New Orleans were weakening and then breaking under the pressure of the storm surge. As the Crescent City and surrounding communities flooded, thousands of people were stranded in a bowl-like, below-sea-level city from which the surging waters would not drain.
Then the nightmare began that still haunts the souls of Louisianans. The Superdome became a shelter in a matter of hours. Helicopters were engaged in rescuing people from their rooftops. Dead bodies floated in canals, while watery graves enveloped others who could not escape their flooding houses. The National Guard was deployed to keep order and stop the looting that was ravaging the inner city. A scene that no one thought possible on United States soil unfolded before the viewing public and sent our hearts into horrific spasms.
Three additional destructive hurricanes followed—Rita (Sept. 23, 2005), Gustav (Sept. 1, 2008) and Ike (Sept. 13, 2008). And this spring and summer, as an unprecedented oil spill has disrupted and destroyed the ecology, environment and economy of an entire region, we stop to remember Katrina. What have we learned from this grande dame of hurricanes, and her sister and brothers?
The connection is amazing and life giving!
Immediately after Katrina encroached upon our lives, the United Methodist Committee on Relief was in Louisiana, helping us respond to the basic needs of the people. UMCOR workers have never left our side. They have shepherded us through five years of response. They are still with us as United Methodists are still fully engaged in recovery—the last of the major denominations “on the ground.”
The outpouring of money, people, prayers, goods and love has been staggering. Without the church, we could not respond as we have. Federal, state and parish governments have depended on the church to do the work of response and recovery.
We went where we never would have gone without Katrina, and God is there!
Disciples are fewer, but discipleship is much stronger. We have come to realize the essence of the gospel: It is not about us. The mission of the church is about reaching out to a hurting society and world with the life-saving message and love of Jesus Christ. We lost church buildings and congregations, but we gained the church.
Several congregations have merged to make sustainable bodies of faith and have forgotten about neighborhoods, race and social class in doing so. More than one church now reflects the face of the population of Louisiana – intergenerational, cross-racial and committed to reaching the lonely and the lost with the good news.
We discovered that wounded lives not only survive; they also become stronger.
The initial aftermath of Katrina brought chaos, blaming, anger, unrealistic expectations and a crippling sense of loss. As days wore into weeks, months and years, however, we came to realize that if we didn’t help ourselves and make something positive out of a devastating situation, we would just sink further into the muck and mire of the destruction.
When we began to “pick up our beds and walk,” we began to be healthy and strong. Today you will find a stronger United Methodist presence than before Katrina. That is because the people of the churches are stronger because of this tragedy.
We know our reliance is on God and God alone!
The various forms of government and even the institutional church cannot save us from destruction and decline. It is God who has formed us, brought us through the waters and will lead us into tomorrow.
We no longer have a sense of bitterness, mistrust and mistreatment among us. Instead, one experiences an atmosphere of celebration that we are here. We celebrate that God is our refuge and our strength. We live by the sentiment of an old hymn, “Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand.”
On Aug. 29, the churches of Louisiana will gather to remember the destruction, deaths and discouragement of Katrina. We also will gather to celebrate that “we have come this far by faith!” And it won’t be surprising if after the moments of silence and remembrance have passed, we break out in a second line, a joy-filled dance expression of happiness that permeates Louisiana culture and that bespeaks our indomitable spirits. And the song that spurs the second line will fill our hearts once again. “Oh Lord, we want to be in that number . . . .” May it be so!
*Hutchinson is bishop of the Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference.
News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
1:00 P.M. EST August 25, 2010 | NEW ORLEANS (UMNS)
Sharon Young talks with Dr. Brent Wallas at Luke’s House, a free medical clinic held every Tuesday evening in Mount Zion United Methodist Church. UMNS photos by Kathy L. Gilbert.
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Sharon Young, 52, sits in the metal folding chair and holds up her arm for Ruby Glenn to strap on the blood-pressure cuff.
Glenn, in teal scrubs, gets busy taking vitals on Young in her small examining room bordered on two sides by white sheets hung on pipes. If she looks up, she has a good view of the altar at Mount Zion United Methodist Church.
Young knows she has been under a lot of stress, but she is shocked to see the high blood pressure numbers. Glenn, a retired nurse, isn’t surprised at all.
Five years after the storm, Hurricane Katrina is still wrecking havoc on people like Young who struggle to rebuild their homes and lives. Most in this low-income neighborhood are living without any medical benefits, and their health suffers, said Glenn.
Glenn and other medical professionals volunteer at Luke’s House, a free community health clinic held every Tuesday night in Mount Zion United Methodist Church. In 2007, Rayne United Methodist Church and Mount Zion started the clinic as residents slowly began to return to New Orleans after Katrina hit the city Aug. 29, 2005.
Spiritual support
In addition to prescriptions and medical advice, the clinic is well stocked with spiritual backup.
Treating physical ailments is critical, but equally important is meeting spiritual needs, said Erica Washington, an epidemiologist with the Louisiana Office of Public Health who serves as the clinic director. A member of Mount Zion United Methodist Church, she has worked with Luke’s House since November 2007.
Lester Bridges has his blood pressure checked by Ruby Glenn, a retired nurse who volunteers at Luke’s House.
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“If you go into the clinic on any night, you’ll see Pastor Callie speaking with patients or Pastor William speaking with our voucher recipients just to hear their story. Sometimes people might not necessarily want to seek psychiatric treatment; but sometimes people just want an ear.”
The Rev. Callie Crawford, Rayne United Methodist Church, and the Rev. William Thiele, Parker United Methodist Church, are two of the regulars at Luke’s House. Pastors and church members from several United Methodist churches, as well as from other denominations, gather here weekly to talk with the homeless men, women and children.
Beth Morgan, a Navy librarian, and her husband Jim, members of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Slidell, La., drive to the inner-city church from their home in Picayune, Miss., with boxes of books.
“I did some study on my own and found out that the homeless community generally has a hard time using their free time. They spend a lot of time just sitting and waiting … just trying to pass the day until the shelter opens at night. So we thought books would be a good way to help them pass the time,” Beth said.
Mount Zion transforms the fellowship hall into a free medical clinic.
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Counting blessings
“Mount Zion is a blessing to the whole community,” said Laverne “Queenie” Lassai, a resident of the neighborhood where the clinic is located.
“I’m not gonna lie to you about it. This … used to be a real rough neighborhood. Across the street was one of the roughest housing developments. But since Katrina, they’ve remodeled it. This is a multicultural, mixed neighborhood now,” said Lassai.
The hurricane that hit the city in 2005 knocked out seven of 11 hospitals, including the large public hospital, and most are still closed in 2010. The others are “limping along,” said Dr. Susan Berry, medical director for Luke’s House. Berry, a member of Rayne, is a pediatrician for Louisiana State University Medical Hospital.
One of the missions of Luke’s House is to connect patients with other resources in the community. Because they operate on donations and volunteers, they can usually only see about 15 patients.
Lester Bridges, 50, a client at the clinic, came recently because he hasn’t had any medical care since he lost his job as a city park employee. He has a plastic bag full of empty prescription bottles, all of them expired in 2007.
Dr. Brent Wallas takes time with each person, listening to everything they have to say.
He gives both Young and Bridges prescriptions they can fill for $4 at a pharmacy that has an arrangement with Luke’s House and a voucher to go to another clinic equipped to treat long-term illnesses.
Many of the people who come for medical help are still homeless five years after Hurricane Katrina.
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Leveled by Katrina
The hurricane brought people together, clergy said.
“I think the big thing to me is that a lot of us that had no contact with our poor neighbors couldn’t just stay separate anymore,” Thiele said. “Everybody was going through the same things. Everybody was kind of leveled by Katrina. … we were all trying to find somebody to fix our broken houses.”
In a way, that is the gift Katrina gave to New Orleans, he said.
“There’s a whole lot of us that in the past would have just avoided homeless people,” he said. “Like for me personally I was a pastor at a church that when a homeless person would show up, even right after Katrina, we had no shelters available. I had no idea how to help people. So I would really rather avoid these people.”
Thiele, who was a pastoral counselor and therapist for 25 years, said he is using his skills to just listen to people, to let them tell their stories.
Kay Renar, a member of Mount Zion since 1974, has been volunteering since the clinic opened.
Her place of worship, Mount Zion, still has a gutted sanctuary. Katrina sent seven feet of water into the historic church. Members worship in the same room that gets converted into a clinic during the week.
Beth Morgan brings a selection of books to Luke’s House to share with the homeless community.
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“It gives me a feeling of helping someone who is less fortunate than I am. But for the grace of God, it could have been me ‘cause we rode Katrina out. We just were fortunate enough to live in Algiers. So we didn’t get much damage,” Renar said.
“The people who come here are genuinely appreciative of what we do. We’ve lost a lot of family members since the flood. They’ve relocated. Some died in their homes. So it makes you feel good to know that you’re doing something good for the community.”
Young said before Katrina she was doing pretty well. Most of her family was evacuated to Texas after the storm, but she couldn’t stay long in that state.
“I tried to live in Texas, but I felt so lonely. I love New Orleans, I love my city.”
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter of 18-34 content at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of stories marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
A UMNS Commentary
By Bishop Hope Morgan Ward
1:00 P.M. EST August 24, 2010
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, left, listens as the Rev. Rachel Benefield-Pfaff shows the high-water mark left by Hurricane Katrina in her home in Gulfport, Miss in this 2005 photo. A UMNS file photo by Woody Woodrick. View in Photo Gallery
We have learned to lament.
“Mama, how much longer will we have to remember Katrina?”
--A child of a United Methodist pastor in Biloxi on Aug. 29, 2006, as his mother left for a first-anniversary service of remembrance.
On the second anniversary of Katrina, I headed for the coast with a sermon ready, a fierce sermon calling for courage and perseverance.
Somewhere in route, God brought to mind Psalm 131—a lament, a song for what has been loved and lost. It seemed right: this was a day for grieving, for naming loss and devastation.
Tomorrow we would pick up the shovels and hammers and go back to work. This was a day to tell the truth: The wind and water had shattered our lives, destroyed our homes, scattered our possessions, shattered our cherished things, devastated our financial security and ravaged our community. We had become ones in need of help, the object of mission. It was our unwelcome task this day to grieve, to cry, to mourn and to move through this day toward tomorrow.
There was no going around it, over it or under it. We were called to go through it to the other side where strong hope abides.
We have learned to recognize signs of the presence and power of God.
“Butterflies flew over my mother’s casket. We see more of them since Katrina.”
--United Methodist layperson describing a sign of resurrection and hope at her mother’s funeral in Gulfport in spring 2008
On the Sunday following Hurricane Katrina, Mike and I worshipped at Mississippi City United Methodist Church in Gulfport. The church was in sight of the Mississippi Sound and ravaged by wind and water. About 25 were present for worship, outside in the parking lot beside the ravaged church. A table was set up, covered with a white cloth, holding the cup and the loaf.
During the service, a child cried out, “Where is the bucket?”
The pastor regularly used the bucket for a children’s story in worship, to distribute treats or to collect offerings. The bucket was gone, and the child was inconsolable. As the pastor led us in The Great Thanksgiving, a butterfly of radiant color fluttered over the bread and cup. It was remarkable, a sign of promise, of divine presence, of living hope.
We have learned that God revives us as we go and give.
“The churches that fully engaged the recovery are stronger than they were before Katrina”.
--District superintendent, Mississippi Annual (regional) Conference, 2009
“We were spared to serve.”
With this mindset and heart song, 30 churches in the Seashore District immediately moved into action following Aug. 29, 2005. They welcomed volunteers, served thousands of meals, worshipped on Sundays with sleeping bags and toolboxes lining their sanctuaries, sought supplies, and visited and encouraged neighbors.
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, left, listens as the Rev. Rachel Benefield-Pfaff shows the high-water mark left by Hurricane Katrina in her home in Gulfport, Miss in this 2005 photo. A UMNS file photo by Woody Woodrick. View in Photo Gallery
“If there were tools and sleeping bags in our sanctuary, it would be big trouble,” one volunteer commented. Later, this same volunteer wrote, “Our experience in mission with you has revived our church back home.”
We find ourselves by losing ourselves. We are revived as we give ourselves away in mission.
We have learned to engage in mission as a productive chaos of giving andreceiving, of helping and hoping.
“This place is God’s workshop.”
--United Methodist volunteer describing Biloxi, Miss., 2007
As we approach the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, we give thanks for more than 160,000 volunteers, countless prayers, remarkable generosity and ongoing work for families yet to be back home. We give thanks for United Methodist gifts through the United Methodist Committee on Relief in rebuilding homes and the Bishops’ Appeal for Church Recovery in rebuilding churches, parsonages and United Methodist mission facilities.
Because of your partnership, 13,000 Mississippi families are back home through the massive effort of rebuilding. One hundred homes have been built, making The United Methodist Church one of the top 10 homebuilders in the state of Mississippi. Three permanent recovery centers have been built to house volunteers and to store supplies for rebuilding.
Through your generosity, the recovery effort will continue with materials supplied and teams working through 2011. Thank you for your prayers, presence and partnership onward!
*Ward is bishop of the Mississippi Annual Conference.
News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Karen Allen, third from left, stands in a prayer circle with the team from First United Methodist Church of Hyattsville, Md. UMNS photos by John Coleman.
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For four years, mission volunteers from First United Methodist Church, Hyattsville, have traveled from Maryland to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.
And, still, the special moments of grace continue.
Like on a recent Wednesday evening when the homeowner they were helping, Karen Allen, led evening prayer.
“Thank you, Lord. I’m so grateful that your blessings rain down on me, on all of us,” she said tearfully in a sweet, lilting voice. “I’m a living witness that with God all things are possible.”
After being pushed out of her home by invading floodwaters when Hurricane Katrina struck her city in August 2005, Allen finally moved back in October 2006. But she did not move into her modest peach-colored house, surrounded by colorful flowers and plants. She lives in a plain, white, tiny, cramped Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer parked in the front yard.
So close but so far from being truly back home.
“But I’m thankful just to have a trailer, and I take nothing for granted,” Allen said. “It’s a blessing that I can stay on my property. I know people who are paying $1,000 a month in rent and still trying to rebuild their homes.”
Ready to dance
Allen and her son, Donald, gutted the flood-damaged house themselves, removing everything—molded walls, ceiling, doors—and leaving only the interior, wooden framework. They paid for electrical and plumbing work, got rid of termite infestation and made other preparations for rebuilding to begin.
Karen Allen, her son, Donald, and the Rev. Joan Carter-Rimbach have worked and prayed together during the rebuilding work on Allen's house.
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But with their limited funds depleted, they had to rely on volunteer labor to do the rebuilding.
That’s where the 27-member First Church Volunteer-in-Mission team came in, with coordination and supplies provided by the United Methodist Committee on Relief recovery operation.
When the team entered the house on Monday, there was just framework with insulation in the walls. They installed drywall on the interior.
More teams from other churches will follow to finish the rebuilding project. But the Maryland volunteers left Allen with new joy and hope.
“It feels sweet to see such progress,” she told the First Church team amid smiles, photographs and tearful hugs. “I’ve waited so long to see some new walls in my home, and now they’re here, thanks to you. I can’t wait to move back in here and do my dance.”
Feel the joy
The happiness is mutual.
Each day’s heartfelt devotions and testimonies, savory meals, lively fellowship, collaboration and cohabitation bonded team members closer to one another. They shared music and memories, wit and wisdom, deep faith and diverse feelings across the spectrum of their varied lives.
“It feels so good to see our men and women living, working and fellowshipping together, helping and teaching each other, all for a common purpose given by God,” said mission coordinator Sharon Milton. She noted that the 13 men on this eighth visit to New Orleans were the most ever.
From left, volunteers Janis Pressley, Mfon Umoren and Sharon Milton prepare a piece of drywall for installation.
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While most team members have come before, there were more than a half-dozen first-timers, and several members from other churches.
“From our first time down here four years ago, the work we’ve done has deeply affected not only those who have come down, but our congregation as well because of the stories we share when we return,” said the Rev. Joan Carter-Rimbach, First Church pastor. “Our experiences have brought new people into this mission, and this has been life changing for us and for the people whose homes we’ve worked on.”
UMCOR is winding down its New Orleans recovery operations this year, including coordination of visiting mission teams like those from First Church. But, according to their pastor, First Church members have caught the spirit of mission and are looking forward to future expeditions.
“Now people are asking, ‘When are we going to Haiti?’ They’re beginning to think in a different way,” Carter-Rimbach said. “As a pastor, it’s humbling to see how much this has changed people’s lives. It’s more than I could have imagined.”
*Coleman is a freelance writer based in Washington.
News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Ken Ward (left) and Dale Kimball of the United Methodist Slidell (La.) Disaster Recovery Station visit with Leona Cousins, 95, during work to rebuild her home following Hurricane Katrina in July 2006. UMNS file photos by Mike DuBose.
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After nearly five years of relief and recovery work in Gulf Coast states affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the United Methodist Committee on Relief has released its final disbursement of funds for the recovery effort.
“Our work in Louisiana and Mississippi, like our work in Haiti (following the Jan. 12 earthquake) is based on our methodology of being there for the long haul,” said the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, an UMCOR executive.
“I am very proud of the fact that here we are in March 2010 and UMCOR is just now making this final disbursement,” the last of nearly five years of quarterly payments, he said. “Most national organizations did so two years ago.”
Since the summer of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast on Aug. 23 and Hurricane Rita struck it again one month later, UMCOR has been working with annual conferences and grassroots organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida.
UMCOR also has supported survivors who fled to other states. More than 1.3 million people left hurricane-soaked hometowns where some 300,000 homes had been wiped out, scattering to all 50 states.
Volunteers, benefactors aid recovery
United Methodists and people of goodwill across the country donated more than $64.5 million to UMCOR’s recovery effort on the Gulf Coast. Funds went to cleanup, reconstruction, family-by-family problem solving and direct assistance to support the survivors.
Members of a team from Christ Church United Methodist in New York repair a Biloxi, Miss. home.
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The remaining funds will continue to support recovery work in Louisiana, where UMCOR has helped the annual conference repair or rebuild more than 9,100 homes so far, and in Mississippi, where it has supported the repair of some 12,320 homes, more than 100 of them from scratch.
In Texas, where Hurricane Rita was strongest, UMCOR helped the conference repair or rebuild 721 homes. More than 8,300 volunteers carried out this work, donating some 268,108 hours, valued at nearly $5.5 million.
“Because of our connectional system, United Methodists are uniquely positioned throughout the country and the world to meet the needs of survivors, including how we rally volunteers,” said Catherine Earl, UMCOR executive secretary for U.S. disaster response.
In Louisiana, nearly 72,000 volunteers have so far logged 3 million hours of donated time, energy and effort, and 160,000 volunteers have participated in recovery efforts in Mississippi.
In the Alabama – West Florida Conference, which was hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina in 2005, more than 5,500 volunteers repaired, rebuilt or removed debris from nearly 2,000 homes.
“It was heartening to see the efforts of so many people from all over the country, who could just as easily have stayed home,” said the Rev. Clyde Pressley, the conference’s disaster recovery executive director. “I have had a rebirth in my heart over the value of the connectional church.”
Disaster case management
UMCOR became a conduit for overseas donations when it was tapped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to administer another $66 million in contributions from foreign governments in a project called Katrina Aid Today.
The project’s objective was to prepare and support the management of individual cases of hurricane survivors. Over 24 months, Katrina Aid Today followed 72,770 cases, representing 193,568 individual survivors who were either living in their homes or relocated.
Although the final disbursement of funds has been made to the Gulf Coast, UMCOR’s work is not done. “We’ll continue to be involved for up to two more years,” Hazelwood said.
“It’s an opportune moment,” he added, “when we’re in the beginning stages of relief and recovery in Haiti, to mark this final disbursement of funds for our Katrina/Rita effort five years after the hurricanes. It really reflects how UMCOR’s ministry unfolds among the people over a period of years.”
*Unger is a staff writer for the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
