by Pastor Kathy Haueisen
The storms are ancient history and the world is focused on other events now,
but the clean up and recovery from Katrina and Rita is just beginning. The need
is still enormous, but so is the response of the Lutheran community. Here’s
a small sampling of what’s happening on the recovery front:
14 volunteers from at least four states spent Holy Week doing landscaping
at Grace Lutheran in New Orleans so the people would have fresh flowers and
newly planted shrubs to greet them when they arrived at their gutted out church
Easter morning.
Over 50 Camp Noah events are being planned with teams coming in from all over
the country to give children impacted by the storms a safe place to play and
process what they and their families have been through. The camps will be offered
here in Houston, in the Golden Triangle area, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.
Lutheran Church of Honolulu is doing a benefit concert to raise money for
one of the churches damaged by Hurricane Rita.
Sunday School children in California are sending $500 to Baton Rouge to provide
recreational equipment for the children of over 500 families living in FEMA
trailers in what was an empty field up until it became Renaissance Village following
Hurricane Katrina. These children have no pool, no shade, and no indoor space
other than the cramped trailers they share with their families.
Our own Friday Morning Bible Study group decided to give up their snacks during Lent and instead sent donations to Baton Rouge to buy much needed cleaning supplies.
For more information go to www.afuturewithhope.org, a web page managed by our synod office to keep people updated on the progress.