Church Status reports can be found
on the Cooperative Parish pages
in the Mission Zone |
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A Note from the Bishop on the Anniversary of Katrina |
THE DISASTER
On the morning of Monday, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Buras, LA and made its way northward ... just east of New Orleans and up through Mississippi. The initial wind and high water decimated hundreds of square miles in southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi. Within 24 hours, several levees in New Orleans broke and inundated most of the city with water. |
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It took days and even weeks to rescue those trapped by the floodwaters. Over 1000 people were killed by the storm and subsequent flooding. Hurricane Katrina knocked New Orleans to its knees. Dozens of United Methodist churches were damaged. Entire communities were decimated. |
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On September 24, southwest Louisiana was the victim of yet another powerful hurricane as Rita hit the Louisiana/Texas border - damaging churches, homes, and communities on that side of the state. |
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THE RECOVERY
Even as the tragedy was happening, actions and plans were taking place by The United Methodist Church to be in mission to the area. Money and volunteers came in from around the country. A Louisiana United Methodist Storm Recovery Center was set up in Baton Rouge to coordinate the efforts. Within months, disaster recover stations were set up around the New Orleans effort and in southwest LA due to Hurricane Rita. |
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In February, Bishop William Hutchinson presented a recovery plan to rebuild the New Orleans area churches. “For now, we are not going to close any churches,” he stated. The focus has been and will continue to be on people, not buildings. The area would be set up as a Mission Zone to serve the communities as they rebuilt. |
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Forty-eight N.O. area churches affected by the disaster were set up in seven mission zones, or cooperative parishes. Another parish is located in southwest LA to serve three churches affected by hurricane Rita. At Annual Conference 2006, each parish was appointed a clergy team leader and two or more additional pastors to serve. |
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WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Though it has been a year, things are far from pre-Katrina conditions. Many churches are still too damaged to be used. Entire communities still lay in tatters without any residents. Some areas are getting better, but many are still waiting to get phone service, natural gas, regular garbage pick-up, electricity, and so on. Even the New Orleans District office only recently became usable, but they are still without phone lines.
Volunteers are coming in from around the country, and some even come from other countries to help. The Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Recovery Ministry is leading the coordination of the efforts. Pastors and laity in the cooperative parishes are working to get communities and churches back on their feet. |
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When the dust settled and water receded after Hurricane Katrina hit last year, 90 churches in three Louisiana parishes were damaged and 80 pastors were displaced.
The widespread devastation left a lot of holes — physically and emotionally — for Louisiana Bishop William Hutchinson and the conference to fill. |
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Living
Hope
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Winds of
Change |
Rita
Report
[Tim Ezell] |
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
The recovery is not over. It has been said that we may be looking at a ten to fifteen year time span for a full recovery. Yet each day we move one step closer. While the lay and clergy inhabitants of the area are working towards a better tomorrow, your help can be so important. Here are few ways in which you can be a part of the recovery effort. |
VOLUNTEER
Whether you are an individual or church group, if you are skilled or unskilled, if you can come for a day or a month .... your help is needed to help clean up (yes, we're still cleaning up) and rebuild our churches and communities. Volunteer teams, coordinated by Rev. Connie Thomas at the Disaster Recovery Ministry, are sent out every day of the week. As Rev. Thomas has said, "Without volunteers, there is no disaster ministry." |
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GIVE
If you cannot come down to volunteer, you can still have a great impact on the recovery effort through financial donations. There are several avenues for giving.
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Donate to the Louisiana Bishop's Appeal - these funds will go to support those churches & ministries affected by Katrina or Rita [Donate Online] |
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Donate to the Bishops' Recovery Appeal - these funds will go to five annual conference affected by the tragedy (#818-001) [Donate Online] |
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UMCOR has given the Recovery Ministry a 3-year grant, though the recovery effort will take much longer; UMCOR donations go towards helping all areas affected by hurricanes [Donate Online] |
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PRAY
We can all play a part in the recovery by offering up our prayers ... prayers for the people - laity & clergy, the churches, and the communities. Please take the time to add our needs to your prayer list today. |
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