wfn.org | [ACNS] Mississippi Episcopalians determined to rebuild Gulf

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 4034     |     USA     |	  7 SEPTEMBER 2005

Resilient Mississippi Episcopalians determined to rebuild Gulf Coast
congregations

[ENS: Matthew Davies] Surrounded by scenes of devastation left behind by
Hurricane Katrina, more than 50 parishioners of St. Mark's Church in
Gulfport, Mississippi, were joined by police, military and relief
workers September 4, as they worshipped on the site where their church
once stood -- a testimony to their strength and determination to move
forward.

"You are St. Mark's Church," said the Very Rev James Bo Roberts, rector,
as he addressed the congregation. "You are the spirit of St. Mark's
Church. It's you who have to stand for Jesus. It's you who will bring us
back as we once were."

Built in 1846, St. Mark's is the oldest Episcopal church on the
Mississippi coast and one of six that were completely destroyed after
Katrina hit August 29.

"Although the church is not standing physically," Bishop Duncan Gray III
of Mississippi explained, "spiritually the church continues to stand and
we will continue to do the work that God has called us to do."

Despite the dangers involved, Roberts remained in his Gulfport rectory
as Katrina pounded the coast, "because it's difficult to gain access to
the area afterwards," he said. "I wanted to be where I could check on my
people and be available to them."

Roberts' house in Gulfport is about 20 feet above sea level, yet the
water, he said, came right up to the door.

"It's time for us to reach out to one another; to try and renew our
faith, increase our strength and our relation to God," he added.
"Walking in the presence of Christ, we'll be able to recover from the
ruins that we find ourselves in today."

It is Roberts' second hurricane as rector of St. Mark's. He had lived in
Gulfport for only four months when Hurricane Camille devastated the area
in 1969. Until Katrina, Camille was the worst hurricane on record to hit
the Gulf Coast.

Local needs

The first priority, Gray explained, is to give the local clergy some
stability so that they can return to the area. "We need to make sure
they have a place to live," he said. "We will probably get some motor
scooters for them because gas is so hard to come by. We will get
trailers for two or three clergy to give them temporary space."

The Diocese of Mississippi is helping to set up supply areas for local
needs. Coast Episcopal School in Long Beach has begun to receive goods
and volunteers and is hoping to serve 2,000 hot meals a day. Christus
Victor, a Lutheran church in Ocean Springs, is home to
Lutheran-Episcopal Services of Mississippi, an ecumenical social
ministry organization.

St. Thomas, Diamondhead, will become another distribution point along
the Mississippi coast in the weeks ahead. "Once these are fully
operational, all the people who are eager to help our community will
have a place to come to, a place to send materials and we will begin to
step out into the community," Gray said.

Supplies are being received at several churches throughout Mississippi
and the diocese is organizing these to be transferred to the coastal
operations centers.

Episcopal Relief and Development sent immediate assistance to the
diocese, where some parishes have become disaster shelters. ERD's
support is helping to provide food, water, and other basic needs.

National support

The Rev. Rob Dewey from the Diocese of South Carolina works with the U.S
government's Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. He was
deployed to Mississippi August 29 to support the men and women who make
up the forensic team and to help families find their loved ones. "I
would equate it very much to 9/11," he said. "I think we will all be
here a while to offer assistance and support."

A center has been set up where people can provide information about
family members who are missing. "This is certainly one of the most
devastating things that I have been a part of," Dewey said, "but the
local folks are resilient and we will do all that we can to help them."

After the service, Gray accompanied Dewey to the morgue where the bishop
offered a blessing over the facility.

Looking ahead

Originally from the Diocese of Kentucky, Catherine Gautier has been
youth minister at St. Mark's for just six weeks. She is hoping to
continue her work with the young people in the parish despite the
devastation caused by Katrina.

"I have asked for people to consider getting in touch with organizations
such as Salvation Army or the diocesan offices to offer support," she
said, "but to definitely remember us over the coming months because the
long term is going to be very difficult in moving forward and
reestablishing this area."

Gautier explained that her husband's family lived on Jackson Avenue in
Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where three homes in a row were destroyed by
the hurricane. "Only one home on that street -- my husband's
grandmother's -- is still standing," she said. "It has been really
painful to see how many people have lost their homes."

"It's not about the past, but looking to the future," said Diane Hayes,
a St. Mark's parishioner since 1982. "St. Mark's is not the church, it's
the people, and with everyone pulling together we will go forward."

Hayes, who is still living in her house by the sea despite it being five
feet deep in water and without doors, windows and electricity, described
people's generosity as staggering. "Not only have people been bringing
water and food; two days ago someone came by with a case of fresh
bananas," she said. "I didn't think we'd see fresh fruit for a very long
time."

Asked whether the church would rebuild, Hayes explained that it is
important for the coast that it does. "We don't want to not have a
community here," she said. "I know the first reaction is maybe it's time
to move away, but if everybody did that then the coast could not
rebuild. So we have to stay and slowly put it back together and to make
it our community again."

Photographs accompanying this article can be found online at:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_64854_ENG_HTM.htm.

Further information and updates about the Diocese of Mississippi's
relief operations can be found online at: http://www.dioms.org/home.html

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