Hurricane Help
[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Sun, Sep 4 2005 1:03 PM CDT
KATRINA SHELTER HEALTH KIT
BRING TO CHURCH SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Sponsored by Trinity's Peacemakers and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
The Habitat for Humanity group rebuilding homes in New Orleans has reserved the last week of October and the first week of November of 2008 for another trip down. We stayed in a home in the uptown New Orleans area (owned by St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church and converted into living quarter for volunteers), so the accommodations, at least for what is typical for relief worker volunteers, is pretty plush. I have been there twice and recommend it highly. Anyone interested in joining me on the trip down in 2008? At this point, it looks like the last week in October is the most likely time. Contact Lisa Bernhard: bernhardlm@gmail.com
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After Hurricane Katrina, the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy committed to building a volunteer-housing center in Houma, Louisiana. I have just heard that the "Sheltering Space" in the Houma Good Earth Village is COMPLETE, has passed all necessary state and local inspections, and is open for business. AND. . . all of this done within budget! We are planning to hold a dedication ceremony in Houma and one in St. Louis to commemorate this effort. I will keep you apprised as more details are known. Thanks again to all for your interest and support. |
Has it really been six months since Trinity's Adult Mission team spent a week in New Orleans mucking out houses, meeting new friends, and exploring the ramifications of "mission"? I recently heard about an exhibit at Maryville University that reminds us of our work and of the ongoing needs in storm-ravaged areas. Several members of the team may make a trip to view the exhibit. Would you like to join them? If so, give me a call. Below is a portion of the press release about the exhibit.
ST. LOUIS - Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Gulf Coast, victims of the natural disaster continue to rebuild their damaged homes and shattered lives. Members of the Louisiana chapter of the national Women's Caucus for Art (WCA) have channeled their anger, sadness, frustration and optimism through their paintings, photographs and quilts to create "The Katrina Diaries," an exhibit that has been touring the country for the past year.
"The Katrina Diaries" made its St. Louis debut when the exhibit opened in Maryville University's Morton J. May Foundation Gallery on Thursday, June 14. Hosting the exhibit, which runs through August 3, will be the WCA's St. Louis chapter, whose members will create a "second line" of artwork that will be displayed alongside "The Katrina Diaries" exhibit, said Janice Nesser, president of the WCA's St. Louis chapter. Nesser serves as an assistant professor, photography program coordinator, and gallery director at St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley.
The tradition of a "second line" parade, she remarked, stems from the days when African Americans were not allowed to march in parades in New Orleans. They would dance and form a second parade line on the sides of the streets where the parade was occurring. Also, it refers to a second line of musicians that often follow funeral processions in New Orleans.
Nesser, who also serves as the regional vice president of the WCA's Midwest chapter, said she became aware of "The Katrina Diaries" when the exhibit was on display in California last year. She and other St. Louis chapter members were determined to get the exhibit to St. Louis. "As women artists, we are concerned about the human spirit," Nesser commented. "We hope that those who come see the exhibit will get a sense of how it feels to be disenfranchised, to lose everything and the emotions that go along with that."
Gallery hours are 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday thru Thursday; 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m.-10p.m., Sundays. For more information on "The Katrina Diaries" or the St. Louis chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art, click on www.wca-stl.org. or call Nesser at 314 741-3772.
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The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, of which Trinity is a part, has been helping to build Camp Good Earth, a 90-bed Presbyterian Disaster Assistance volunteer village in Houma, Louisiana. A city of about 70,000 people, Houma was high enough in elevation that it was not directly affected by the 6-10 foot storm surge that resulted from hurricane Rita. Houma volunteers are serving in mostly residential areas found along the five bayous (rivers) just to the south. These bayou areas experienced water up to 10 feet, some of which stayed for up to three weeks. The volunteer village is in the heart of Cajun country. Volunteers who come learn about the environmental and cultural aspects of the area and get a taste of Cajun cuisine and hospitality. Recent volunteers have worked at area sites, have made improvements in the village and have helped construct a permanent building on site, the result of collaboration among PDA, the local Elks lodge, and Giddings-Lovejoy. A recent update reports that this building, the Sheltering Space, is 95% completed and that there will be a dedication service at the end of July in Houma and one at St. Mark Church in St. Louis as well. As of June 2007, the camp's greatest needs were for rebuilding and skilled labor such as roofing, drywall, carpentry, plumbing and electrical work. Less skilled volunteers can be helpful in jobs such as scraping and painting. They can also learn from and work alongside skilled volunteers in jobs such as drywall and roofing. |
The note below is from Dick Glassey, who is in charge of construction of the meeting hall at The Good Earth Village in Houma (the volunteer village that our presbytery is sponsoring with PDA). They still need people to go down and help with construction, and it would be awesome if some people from Trinity could make a trip down to help out. (Contact Lisa for more information: 863-6505; bernhardlm@gmail.com)
I'm a little slow in getting this update out. Thanks to some tremendous help last week, we have approximately 95% of the largest room (dining area) in the building drywalled. The kitchen and one bathroom have some drywall hung. We also framed the building for soffit and fascia and were able to complete the soffit and fascia cover installation on the front wall adjacent to the roadway - 100 feet. Vinyl siding is on site ready for installation as soon as we complete the soffit and fascia cover. The Kitchen appliance quote was firmed up and as soon as our check for the down payment reaches the appliance dealer, appliances will be ordered and the fabrication of the hood for the stoves will start. The flooring has been picked out and paint color is basically picked out. I need to see a quote for the flooring before I can release the order. The floor supplier is working on reducing the cost of the flooring to us.
There was no one in camp this week and no work was done on the building. There will be plenty of people in camp next week and if I can get some direction to them, they should be able to continue hanging drywall. I will be back in Houma the week of March 5 along with a contingent form my church, St. Mark Presbyterian in Ballwin. There will be about 45 other campers in camp that week Our priority will be to first close in the building with soffit and vinyl and then to complete the hanging of the drywall. As soon as the drywall is completely hung, then we can start mudding and taping the drywall.
We still need workers so talk our project up to your people - we can use any skill level!
Yours in Christ,
Dick Glassey
An update and invitation from Lisa Bernhard:
Dick Glassey (the project manager for the construction of the meeting hall in Houma at the PDA volunteer village) will need some help in mid February with drywall installation. It would be wonderful if some people from Trinity could go and help him. The action team that I chair for the presbytery is working with PDA on the volunteer village in Houma.
Here is the note from Dick:
Hi Everyone,
Our small group trim to Houma was very successful. We were able to
button-up all framing needed for the utility wall rough-ins. HVAC people
and plumbers started work last Friday and Monday of this week. Electricians
will be starting today or tomorrow.
The local Elks lodge has offered to help with the insulation and drywall
installations. The Elks may be able to complete the insulation installation
before my next trip down which is planned for Feb. 12- 16, 2007. If the
Elks are successful with the insulation, then we can start drywall that
week. St. Mark Presbyterian in Ballwin is going down that same week Feb
12-16. We will need lots of people to help with the drywall so anyone who
can make it down to Houma this week in Feb. or the next few weeks can help
with the drywall finish and begin the building interior finish work and
exterior vinyl siding.
I have located someone in Houma (thanks to Beulah and Rod Rodrigue of the
Elks) to help us with the vinyl siding installation on a part time basis and
who can loan us the proper equipment for the job.
Dick Glassey
Please contact Lisa Bernhard if you can help. (Lisa Bernhard [bernhardlm@gmail.com], 863-6505)
The devastation wrought on this city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 18 months ago was not a natural disaster, but rather the failure of society and its governments to care for its most vulnerable citizens, a local law professor and anti-poverty activist said yesterday (Jan. 11).
"We did this to ourselves," Bill Quigley, director of the law clinic and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University here, told the opening gathering of about 500 at the 2007 social justice biennial conference sponsored by the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA). "We left 100,000 people behind."
[more]Survivors of Hurricane Katrina continue to rebuild their lives and redefine their understanding of home and community. Members and friends of Trinity are invited to partner with the survivors and others in a mission trip January 1- 6, 2007.
In the wake of Katrina, the historic St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church (SCAPC) created a program called RHINO (Rebuilding Hope In New Orleans). We'll travel to New Orleans on New Year's Day (Monday) to work with RHINO in New Orleans and return on the following Saturday, January 6.
Volunteers will share a house converted to a dormitory adjacent to SCAPC in the historic New Orleans Garden District and will drive to the worksite daily. We're not certain if we'll be doing demolition or construction. If we do construction, the intention is to work with Habitat for Humanity who will teach us the required skills and supply some of the tools. Your cost: approximately $125 per person for transportation, room and board.
Contact me at dobrien@eden.edu or 314-993-0396 if you would like to participate.
Many of us were involved through prayer, financial help and hands-on help with the Adult Mission trip to New Orleans last March. We gutted the house of the Armagnac family who fled to Houston two days before Hurricane Katrina struck. In the storm's wrath, they lost everything except what they carried on the plane. Their home with all its belongings and memories was destroyed. Life in Houston has been less than ideal. Their circle of New Orleans friends is gone, their doctors, their neighborhood - you name it - it is no more.
I have been corresponding with them (we share a wedding anniversary), and Cathy's letters to me have been touching, Her husband Johnny has been in and out of the hospital, suffering from complications of diabetes and breathing problems. Eighteen years ago he was given six months to live, having been diagnosed with lung cancer. She mentioned he's a walking miracle and continues to smile and have a good sense of humor throughout all these trials they're enduring.
I know we could bring them extra cheer this holiday season. While we threw away all of their Christmas decorations, wouldn't it be great if we showered them with Christmas cards? They feel grateful for what we at Trinity were able to do for them, and they most likely will never return to New Orleans. We can show that they remain in our thoughts and prayers by remembering them this Christmas.
Please address cards (and let them know you're from Trinity) to
John and Cathy Armagnac
2811 Teague, Apt. 1331
Houston, TX 77080
I know that they and their daughter Janeen, who worked with us in New Orleans, will continue to feel God's love and God's grace. Thank you in advance for your continuing kindness.
One year later... and survivors of Hurricane Katrina continue to rebuild their lives and redefine their understanding of home and community. Members and friends of Trinity are invited to partner with the survivors and others in this endeavor. We have two trips in the works:
November 4 - 10, 2006 - Joint Mission Trip to New Orleans with Church of the Master, Omaha, Nebraska
Trinity has been invited to join Church of the Master (CMA) from Omaha, Nebraska, on a mission trip to New Orleans. (CMA is the church that former Trinity member Mike Osborn now attends.)
The group from CMA will arrive in St. Louis late on Friday, November 3, and will stay at the church overnight before continuing on to New Orleans on Saturday morning on a bus owned by CMA. In New Orleans, the mission group will be staying at the First Presbyterian Church (FPC) and working from there.
The church has four or five rooms used for dorm rooms, five showers and a fellowship. It has tools aplenty, a nice kitchen and a washer and dryer. Some of you may remember seeing pictures of the FPC New Orleans and its pastor, Cliff Nunn, taken when our group visited there last year.
Your cost: approximately $125 per person for transportation, room and board.
January 1 - 6, 2007 - Trinity Mission Trip to New Orleans
In the wake of Katrina, the historic St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church (SCAPC) created a program called RHINO (Rebuilding Hope In New Orleans). We'll travel to New Orleans on New Year's Day (Monday)to work with RHINO in New Orleans and return on the following Saturday, January 6.
Volunteers will share a house converted to a dormitory adjacent to SCAPC in the historic New Orleans Garden District and will drive to the worksite daily. We're not certain if we'll be doing demolition-yes, amazingly, demolition is still going on-or construction. If we do construction, the intention is to work with Habitat for Humanity who will teach us the required skills and supply some of the tools.
Your cost: approximately $125 per person for transportation, room and board.
Please contact Diane O'Brien at dobrien@eden.edu or 314-993-0396 ASAP if you would like to participate - spaces are going fast!
One year later... and survivors of Hurricane Katrina continue to rebuild their lives and redefine their understanding of home and community. Members and friends of Trinity are invited to partner with the survivors and others in this endeavor. We have two trips in the works:
November 4 - 10, 2006 - Joint Mission Trip to New Orleans with Church of the Master, Omaha, Nebraska
Trinity has been invited to join Church of the Master (CMA) from Omaha, Nebraska, on a mission trip to New Orleans. (CMA is the church that former Trinity member Mike Osborn now attends.)
The group from CMA will arrive in St. Louis late on Friday, November 3, and will stay at the church overnight before continuing on to New Orleans on Saturday morning on a bus owned by CMA. In New Orleans, the mission group will be staying at the First Presbyterian Church (FPC) and working from there.
The church has four or five rooms used for dorm rooms, five showers and a fellowship. It has tools aplenty, a nice kitchen and a washer and dryer. Some of you may remember seeing pictures of the FPC New Orleans and its pastor, Cliff Nunn, taken when our group visited there last year.
Your cost: approximately $125 per person for transportation, room and board.
January 1 - 6, 2007 - Trinity Mission Trip to New Orleans
In the wake of Katrina, the historic St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church (SCAPC) created a program called RHINO (Rebuilding Hope In New Orleans). We'll travel to New Orleans on New Year's Day (Monday)to work with RHINO in New Orleans and return on the following Saturday, January 6.
Volunteers will share a house converted to a dormitory adjacent to SCAPC in the historic New Orleans Garden District and will drive to the worksite daily. We're not certain if we'll be doing demolition-yes, amazingly, demolition is still going on-or construction. If we do construction, the intention is to work with Habitat for Humanity who will teach us the required skills and supply some of the tools.
Your cost: approximately $125 per person for transportation, room and board.
Please contact Diane O'Brien at dobrien@eden.edu or 314-993-0396 ASAP if you would like to participate - spaces are going fast!
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is making a special appeal for work teams to come in July and August to the Volunteer Villages in the New Orleans area.
The City of New Orleans has decreed that all Katrina-affected homes must be in the process of being gutted or rehabilitated by August 29, 2006. If not, they will be demolished.
[more]So important in many disaster situations, an infrastructure is essential to an effective disaster response. This includes people, logistics and money. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Agency of the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PDA) has been providing these services and equipping churches for responding to disasters around the world for many years with the goals of:.
The adult mission trip to New Orleans in March was my second under the auspices of PDA. My first was to Nicaragua after Hurricane Mitch in 2001. That trip was coordinated by PDA, Church World Services, and The Council of Evangelical Churches (CEPAD) in Nicaragua where we helped build homes for displaced people two years after the storm. Also, our daughter, Katie, was part of a PDA-coordinated trip to Kosovo during the Serbian invasion to help refugees' children cope with the effects of the conflict.
PDA's core budget, including staff and administrative costs, is funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing, and its program work is additionally funded through designated gifts. The work in natural disasters is divided into three stages: emergency, relief, and recovery. The current response to Katrina is in the late relief to early recovery stage with the recovery stage currently projected to last anywhere between 7-10 years, a scope underscoring the enormity of the disaster.
PDA has coordinated the US hurricane response of unprecedented financial gifts and volunteer labor by Presbyterian congregations, other governing bodies and institutions, and individuals. For example:
It is through networking that we at Trinity can work with other communities of faith in affirming our role as the primary agent of mission and evangelism, affirming our unity in Christ in times of disaster.
Trinity is planning another work trip to the New Orleans area in January. Consider if you can make the trip or support those who minister in our name through the equipping ministry of PDA.
Eight Indonesian survivors of the 2004 Pacific Basin tsunami disaster are expected to arrive in the United States Friday (March 24) for a two-week tour of Gulf Coast areas devastated by last year's Hurricane Katrina.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) will be the host of the eight, most of whom are from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The visit is intended to allow responders and survivors of both tragedies to work together and share stories of loss, hope and recovery. Rebecca "Becca" Young, PDA's liaison for Indonesia, will accompany the delegation.
[more]The Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery, through the Hurricane Recovery Action Team of the Missional Outreach Ministry Team, is supporting the development of a Volunteer Village in Houma, Louisiana in coordination with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
The Presbytery will provide the start up funds and the personnel for set up and initial operation of a volunteer housing area for up to 100 volunteers from churches around the country. Eventually groups will come to the site and stay for 1-2 weeks and work in the bayous nearby helping residents of the area recover from the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
For more information, please visit the Presbytery web site.
St. Louis Family Church in Chesterfield is taking in 300 people and setting up an Emergency Shelter. I have colleagues who are members there. Here are the items they need:
The shelter is also looking for volunteers to do everything from shelter management and reception to food service and maintenance. Let me know if you want to volunteer and I'll contact them.
Linda Anderson-Little
Independent Sales Director
Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.
4642 Longspur Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63128
314.487.6303 (h); 314.581.6365 (cell)
email: mklinda@sbcglobal.net
Yahoo Site: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/lipsinc
As many of you know, [First's pastor] Kelly Allen is a member of the General Assembly's Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team (PDAT), and has been for several years. Yesterday she was contacted by PDAT and sent "on assignment" to the Gulf shores area. She left this morning for Pensacola, Florida where she will be working with several other PDAT members helping area churches from Pensacola to Biloxi, Mississippi set up relief shelters for those who are now homeless in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The American Red Cross estimates that of over a million people now homeless only around 80,000 have shelter. This is the task that many relief organizations, such as Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, have undertaken...to CREATE shelter for those individuals.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has pledged an immediate $500,000 through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.
The current situation and its long-term effects are a crystal clear example of why we as a denomination collect the One Great Hour of Sharing offering every Easter.
PDA has issued an appeal for $10 million to help in this response work and is committed to working in a coordinated effort with other Christians to extend our response as far as possible.
...
Please pray for those who have lost family members and friends.
Please pray for those whose homes have been damaged or destroyed.
Please pray for those who have lost livelihoods.
Please also join us in prayer for those, like Kelly, who are giving of themselves to minister to those in need.
In peace and hope,
David
tune: Herzliebster Jesu 11.11.11.5 ("Ah, Holy Jesus")
God of creation, We have seen the horror -
Great devastation, Overwhelming sorrow!
Hear now your people - Homes and loved ones taken -
Feeling forsaken.
Christ of compassion, You who calmed the rough sea -
Hurricane crashing, We prayed for your mercy!
Comfort your people! Hold them close, now giving
Hope for their living.
Give to your children Food to end their hunger,
Clean water's blessing, News of those they long for!
And by your Spirit, Use our gifts and labors
To help our neighbors.
As Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Gulf Coast, the Rev. Jean Marie Peacock and her husband, Peter Kulakosky, nailed boards over the windows of their New Orleans home, packed a few belongings and drove out of town.
They didn't know, that Sunday morning, that their hometown was in the path of what now appears to be the most catastrophic natural disaster ever to hit the United States.
The next day, the category-4 hurricane hit the Gulf Coast with 145-mph winds, causing widespread destruction, essentially wiping some cities and towns off the map, and killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people.
Katrina also damaged more than half of the Presbyterian churches in South Louisiana Presbytery, destroyed six in Mississippi Presbytery and wreaked havoc in Tropical Florida Presbytery.