Devastation & Discipleship
Rich Berry
Director of African American Ministries
"I'll admit it, I am bitter," said the young woman as she pointed to her once vibrant, tree-lined neighborhood. It is now impassable with downed trees, flattened homes, and hardening, thick, black sludge over cars, lawns and in living rooms. Her home, full of antique furniture, is gone. If Katrina didn't take it, Rita did. One house was literally carried by the raging waters across the street and down the block. Three hundred and fifty thousand homes were destroyed or damaged. Just over one million people are displaced and the disaster covers 90,000 square miles.
The Devastation
At the end of September, I traveled with eight ministers from the Evangelical Covenant Church to survey the devastation in the New Orleans area and Gulf Shores, Mississippi. The goal was to identify how the African American ministry of The Navigators and the Evangelical Covenant Church World Relief could partner in helping to resettle people caught up in this unspeakable misfortune.
The eerie silence and the lingering smells of whole neighborhoods stripped of life is something CNN and FOX could not portray. Sheets and window treatments hung in the tops of trees; debris was everywhere; houses are reduced to toothpick-like rubble. Cars are shrouded in dark grey clay and pushed up onto trees.
The middle class neighborhood we walked through was ground zero. It was the 17th street levee, the first area to be impacted. I stood on the levy and watched the calm waters under the 90-degree sun. Just the day before, the levee was inaccessible.
From New Orleans, we traveled to Slidell, Louisiana, north of Lake Ponchitrain, and then on to Gulf Shores, Mississippi. We were strategically linked up with pastors and city officials who escorted us through the ravaged neighborhoods. While floods devastated New Orleans, in these other cities the homes were piled up like matchsticks by the powerful wind and rain.
"We have identified 200 bodies, and 600 are unidentified," said the young deputy sheriff as he drove us through the Gulf Port military checkpoints.
"Everyone's emotions have been frayed," one
minister insisted. "New Orleans needs to repent, not just rebuild.
Katrina means 'purge.' She came upon us just two days before Southern
Decadence (an annual homosexual celebration) was to be held."
It is the opinion of many ministers who live with the effects of broken lives in "The Big Easy" and the world of Mardi Gras that the hurricane was God's judgment.
The constable of Gonzales, Louisiana, told us that they stopped talking and started acting. People of faith and people of conscience worked together to assemble a shelter for 1,500 evacuees and operated it for a week before the Red Cross arrived. "We did it ourselves," he said.
The faith and non-faith communities are coming from all over the country to help. And they're coming by the busload, carload, and planeload. There are no hotel or motel rooms. Our team of eight bedded down on the pews and floor of Greater Tabernacle of Faith Church.
Discipleship
The problem, according Pastor Bill Shanks (a disaster relief official), is not as much in the utter material loss, but in the utter loss of hope. "Many are angry," he said, "they are angry at Katrina, Rita, and God." He is working around the clock to meet the needs of destitute people who are emotionally and spiritually drained.
After our whirlwind visit, we sat down to talk about how we can help. Jim Sundholm, a team member and director of the Evangelical Covenant World Relief reminded us that that there are several stages of disaster relief:
* Emergency-saving people from their roofs or the toxic flood waters
* Relief-getting people fed and into shelters
* Cleanup-disinfecting and carting away the "mountains" of debris and sludge
* Reconstruction and rehabilitation-working on homes that can be salvaged and rebuilding ones that cannot.
* Resettling-helping people to restart their lives. Finding them jobs and housing; helping them to return or to resettle in another city.
We must now help our ministry constituencies to determine what contribution they are best able to make. People can cut trees from houses or they can help people sort out their lives.
We can offer hope. Most of the social organizations are best at helping with human needs. We can specialize in evangelism and discipleship. Pastor Bill told us that his group held a service at one of the shelters and 700 people came forward to commit themselves to Christ. What a testimony of the grace of God during such hard times. We can make a difference.
Below are some things I learned:
* Coming along side of local grassroots organizations and churches is the best way to help.
* Determining in advance exactly the contribution you want to make is vital.
* Only persons who have signed on to the Red Cross website can enter a shelter.
* Shelters are overloaded with clothing. They are consolidating as people are getting resettled. FEMA and the Red Cross will only provide shelters for a period of time.
* Local businesses want to re-open, but many of their employees are in shelters in other cities. "Help Wanted" signs are all over the city.
* Check with your health department for necessary shots if you are led to volunteer.
* You cannot drive into the most devastated areas without permission.
* There are remote areas of the four affected states that are still in need of help from FEMA and the Red Cross.
* Cell phones work occasionally.
* Pastors and whole churches are displaced. Yet, without buildings or income, they volunteer to help resettle people. Churches and Christian groups are very visible.
* Strict care should be taken in bringing strangers into your home.
There is unprecedented opportunity to share Christ and disciple people. This tragedy is bringing out the good in people and they are very open to the good news of the Gospel.
For other articles on hurricane relief efforts The Navigators are involved in, click on the links below:
* Serving Katrina Victims
* Storm's Destruction Creates Prison Crisis
"I'll admit it, I am bitter," said the young woman as she pointed to her once vibrant, tree-lined neighborhood. It is now impassable with downed trees, flattened homes, and hardening, thick, black sludge over cars, lawns and in living rooms. Her home, full of antique furniture, is gone. If Katrina didn't take it, Rita did. One house was literally carried by the raging waters across the street and down the block. Three hundred and fifty thousand homes were destroyed or damaged. Just over one million people are displaced and the disaster covers 90,000 square miles.
The Devastation
At the end of September, I traveled with eight ministers from the Evangelical Covenant Church to survey the devastation in the New Orleans area and Gulf Shores, Mississippi. The goal was to identify how the African American ministry of The Navigators and the Evangelical Covenant Church World Relief could partner in helping to resettle people caught up in this unspeakable misfortune.
The eerie silence and the lingering smells of whole neighborhoods stripped of life is something CNN and FOX could not portray. Sheets and window treatments hung in the tops of trees; debris was everywhere; houses are reduced to toothpick-like rubble. Cars are shrouded in dark grey clay and pushed up onto trees.
The middle class neighborhood we walked through was ground zero. It was the 17th street levee, the first area to be impacted. I stood on the levy and watched the calm waters under the 90-degree sun. Just the day before, the levee was inaccessible.
From New Orleans, we traveled to Slidell, Louisiana, north of Lake Ponchitrain, and then on to Gulf Shores, Mississippi. We were strategically linked up with pastors and city officials who escorted us through the ravaged neighborhoods. While floods devastated New Orleans, in these other cities the homes were piled up like matchsticks by the powerful wind and rain.
"We have identified 200 bodies, and 600 are unidentified," said the young deputy sheriff as he drove us through the Gulf Port military checkpoints.
"Everyone's emotions have been frayed," one
minister insisted. "New Orleans needs to repent, not just rebuild.
Katrina means 'purge.' She came upon us just two days before Southern
Decadence (an annual homosexual celebration) was to be held."It is the opinion of many ministers who live with the effects of broken lives in "The Big Easy" and the world of Mardi Gras that the hurricane was God's judgment.
The constable of Gonzales, Louisiana, told us that they stopped talking and started acting. People of faith and people of conscience worked together to assemble a shelter for 1,500 evacuees and operated it for a week before the Red Cross arrived. "We did it ourselves," he said.
The faith and non-faith communities are coming from all over the country to help. And they're coming by the busload, carload, and planeload. There are no hotel or motel rooms. Our team of eight bedded down on the pews and floor of Greater Tabernacle of Faith Church.
Discipleship
The problem, according Pastor Bill Shanks (a disaster relief official), is not as much in the utter material loss, but in the utter loss of hope. "Many are angry," he said, "they are angry at Katrina, Rita, and God." He is working around the clock to meet the needs of destitute people who are emotionally and spiritually drained.
After our whirlwind visit, we sat down to talk about how we can help. Jim Sundholm, a team member and director of the Evangelical Covenant World Relief reminded us that that there are several stages of disaster relief:
* Emergency-saving people from their roofs or the toxic flood waters
* Relief-getting people fed and into shelters
* Cleanup-disinfecting and carting away the "mountains" of debris and sludge
* Reconstruction and rehabilitation-working on homes that can be salvaged and rebuilding ones that cannot.
* Resettling-helping people to restart their lives. Finding them jobs and housing; helping them to return or to resettle in another city.
We must now help our ministry constituencies to determine what contribution they are best able to make. People can cut trees from houses or they can help people sort out their lives.
We can offer hope. Most of the social organizations are best at helping with human needs. We can specialize in evangelism and discipleship. Pastor Bill told us that his group held a service at one of the shelters and 700 people came forward to commit themselves to Christ. What a testimony of the grace of God during such hard times. We can make a difference.
Below are some things I learned:
* Coming along side of local grassroots organizations and churches is the best way to help.
* Determining in advance exactly the contribution you want to make is vital.
* Only persons who have signed on to the Red Cross website can enter a shelter.
* Shelters are overloaded with clothing. They are consolidating as people are getting resettled. FEMA and the Red Cross will only provide shelters for a period of time.
* Local businesses want to re-open, but many of their employees are in shelters in other cities. "Help Wanted" signs are all over the city.
* Check with your health department for necessary shots if you are led to volunteer.
* You cannot drive into the most devastated areas without permission.
* There are remote areas of the four affected states that are still in need of help from FEMA and the Red Cross.
* Cell phones work occasionally.
* Pastors and whole churches are displaced. Yet, without buildings or income, they volunteer to help resettle people. Churches and Christian groups are very visible.
* Strict care should be taken in bringing strangers into your home.
There is unprecedented opportunity to share Christ and disciple people. This tragedy is bringing out the good in people and they are very open to the good news of the Gospel.
For other articles on hurricane relief efforts The Navigators are involved in, click on the links below:
* Serving Katrina Victims
* Storm's Destruction Creates Prison Crisis