wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 487-Katrina objected,

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Katrina objected, but couple tied knot in church shelter

Sep. 2, 2005

NOTE: Photographs and related coverage are available at
http://umns.umc.org.

By Meredyth Earnest*

ANDALUSIA, Ala. (UMNS) - It wasn't how they imagined spending their
honeymoon.

Nickie and Maria Simmons of Gulfport, Miss., had planned on getting
married during the week of Aug. 29, when Hurricane Katrina intervened,
forcing the couple to flee with five of their six children. They ended
up at Whitfield United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Ala., which was
offering shelter to evacuees.

They arrived on the evening of Aug. 28 with their kids, ranging in age
from 7 months to 14 years old.

"God was with us and we made it," Nickie said. "We've seen the reports.
... The whole coast was wiped out. There's nothing left."

Upon their arrival, the church learned about the couple's marriage
plans. The couple asked the Rev. Judd Stinson, pastor, if he would marry
them.

They had evacuated so quickly they didn't have enough money to buy a
marriage license. When news of their plight spread, other residents of
the shelter collected the necessary $40 to buy the license. Whitfield
members also arranged for clothing for the wedding, bouquets and a
wedding cake for the couple.

As victims of Hurricane Katrina evacuated throughout the Southeast, many
of them made their way into Alabama and West Florida. United Methodist
churches throughout the Alabama-West Florida Annual (regional)
Conference provided shelter and emotional support to victims, even as
church members suffered alongside them.

The church's Mobile District sustained the most damage within the
conference. In hard-hit Bayou La Batre, reports indicate that of the
2,300 inhabitants, 2,000 were flooded out of their homes, and those
homes were likely lost. In addition, the town's shrimp industry - the
area's main industry - suffered a catastrophic blow that could take
years to recover from.

Bayou La Batre First United Methodist Church suffered damage to the
church roof, and the new parsonage sustained major damage. Despite that,
the church is operating as a local headquarters for the Federal
Emergency Management Agency and a distribution point for resources from
the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Congregations from around the
conference and throughout the connection were delivering supplies to the
church to reach the desperate residents.

Headland (Ala.) United Methodist Church delivered a truckload of 500
pounds of ice, tarps and a generator to Bayou La Batre First Church
Sept. 1. Members of the southeast Alabama church collected supplies and
asked for community support to make the donation possible.

Not far from Bayou La Batre, the small town of Coden was devastated.
Coden United Methodist Church was all but destroyed by the rain, wind,
flood water and mud. The sanctuary was a soaking mess of mud and water
with pews and other items piled on top of one another. Entire walls of
the fellowship hall and Sunday school building are gone.

Outside of the areas directly affected by Katrina, churches were serving
as refuges for those displaced by the storm.

More than 100 evacuees arrived at Whitfield United Methodist Church
before Katrina made landfall. Church volunteers assisted the Red Cross
in providing meals, showers, a children's nursery, and other services
for those seeking assistance. The church was holding prayer services in
the chapel to pray for all those affected by the storm.

Other churches across the conference are also doing their part in the
relief efforts for not only Alabama, but Mississippi and Louisiana as
well.

Gulf Breeze (Fla.) United Methodist Church was severely affected by
Hurricane Ivan, which devastated the conference less than a year ago. In
response to Katrina, the church opened its doors to all those seeking
help. It held a prayer service Aug. 31 and was involving the entire
congregation and community in putting together flood buckets and health
kits for victims.

The church was also offering Stephen Ministers to evacuees at Pensacola,
Fla., and Gulf Breeze-area hotels in need of support. The church was
assembling work teams to go into the community and to call local people
who live on streets impacted by water.

 "Our church volunteers are finding that those they call are very
appreciative of our continued care," said the Rev. June Jernigan, an
associate pastor at Gulf Breeze Church. "They don't feel forgotten."

Richards United Methodist Church in Pensacola was putting together sack
lunches and health kits for distribution to the large number of walk-ups
asking for assistance at the church. "We are also gathering clothing in
conjunction with other area ministries," said the Rev. Gene May, pastor
of Richards Church. The church also offered office space to UMCOR for
Pensacola operations.

Lathram Chapel United Methodist Church in Cantonment, Fla., planned a
trip to Mobile to assist Government Street United Methodist Church with
food, water and clothing needed by residents. "If there is any way we
can help, we will," said the Rev. Pamela Avery, Lathram Chapel pastor.

Even smaller congregations such as Bellview United Methodist Church in
Pensacola were finding ways to be involved in disaster relief ministry.
"We made a commitment to God in our worship service last Sunday to help
in any way we can," said the Rev. Norman Brown. "We are not real big,
but we will do everything we are capable of to help. This isn't just me
talking; this is the heart of the church."

Despite the massive devastation along the Gulf Coast, every church can
find a way to help, a conference official said.

"If every church will make flood buckets - even three would be a great
help - or health kits, that would involve them in working toward
bringing light in the midst of so very much darkness," said the Rev.
Bill Elwell, Mobile District superintendent. "If every person who gets
up in the morning and finds all is OK would simply find a person or a
family who is not OK and find a way, in the name of Christ, to make
someone else's day, we can go a long way in bringing the message that
love is more powerful than the strength of a storm."

Donations to support the United Methodist response to the Hurricane
Katrina tragedy can be made online at www.methodistrelief.org and by
phone at (800) 554-8583. Checks can be written to UMCOR, designated for
"Hurricanes 2005 Global," Advance No. 982523, and left in church
offering plates or mailed directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY
10087-9068.

*Earnest is director of communications for the Unite d Methodist
Church's Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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