I'd like to use this space to give you an overview of what All Saints' has been doing to respond to the horrors of Hurricane Katrina. Certainly, we will have much more to do in the coming months, and I am now beginning the plans for ministries that will connect us to our Coast congregations over the next several years.
The effort that has had the largest "face" from All Saints' was a group of 18 parishioners who went to Coast Episcopal School in Long Beach over the period of September 15th -18th. This was organized and led by Albert White, Chair of our Outreach Committee. First, Albert traveled to the Coast to scout things out—what the specific needs were at that time, logistics and arrangements for daily living conditions. Once on the scene, the team was put to use for "general," revolving work (both at the school and in the wider area) including tree removal, distribution of clothing and supplies, and repairs.
Similarly, Albert is our leader for another trip, this time as part of the annual Panama Medical Mission, which has been re-located to the Coast for this year. Several All Saints' parishioners will be participating with the Mission group from throughout Mississippi from October 6th-11th. This effort will bring support not only for medical needs but also a lot of general assistance as well.
Many of us have been responding here on our own home-front. Several households have offered their homes and/or guesthouses for evacuees. Some are hosting for relatively brief times while others are seeing their guests through until such time as some definite resolution can be made for re-location or returning home. We've seen various involvement from All Saints' folk in collecting, organizing, and distributing relief supplies from our area, especially through the Red Cross operations at the Tupelo Furniture Market Building #6. Our Outreach Committee arranged for meals to be delivered to the Red Cross workers until their operation was completed. Gene and I have been providing monetary assistance from our Discretionary Funds to local families who have taken in evacuees who are unable to provide for their own support.
I was pleased to have been asked by the Diocese to be one of Mississippi's "intermediary" contact persons. We will coordinate assistance from some 150 Episcopal congregations across the country that have offered to "adopt" or partner-with our Coast congregations. This is needed because, as you can well imagine, our leaders on the Coast have their hands more than fall with local needs and efforts and they are not able to take on the overwhelming outpouring of response from every direction. I will be assigned to be the contact for one of our Coast churches, and then All Saints' will act as the "funnel" for all of the congregations who have adopted that particular church. For example, if I were assigned St. Mark's, Gulfport, then all of the congregations outside of Mississippi that have adopted St. Mark's would communicate their offers, questions etc. to me. I would then pull all of that together and communicate with the Rev. Bo Roberts'
Rector of St. Mark's, to make things happen at the best time and in the best way for them.
I will be offering All Saints' to be a staging point for these adopting congregations, and you will have opportunities to offer hospitality and other means of support for their people who come to Mississippi. Of course, for the year or so that our new facilities will be under construction we will have to be creative, but I recently talked to one Rector whose church has already planned twice-a-year trips to Mississippi over the next four years' We will also be exploring what possibilities there might be in partnering with one of our Coast congregations ourselves.
Let us all commit to turn Category 4 Hurricane winds into Category 5 Spirit-wind.
In Christ,
Shannon+
