wfn.org | FW: [ENS] Hurricane response foremost on bishops', spouses' agendas

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Episcopal News Service

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Hurricane response foremost on bishops', spouses' agendas

Puerto Rico diocese extends warm 'bienvenidos' to assembly

A Collect in Time of Disaster
(Hurricane Katrina, Baton Rouge)

"Lord, God of the Universe, Creator and Sustainer of all life:
	grant us the serenity to respond to disaster in bold faith,
	seeking not certainty, but rather the assurance of your abiding
presence.

"Grant us hope when we spiral into despair and fill our broken hearts
   with the love with which you surround us.

"As we rebuild, guide each hammer and nail with a ring of hope;
  bless each bandage and conversation with the balm of healing
  and strengthen each resolve with the blessed assurance that
  all manner of thing shall be well, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen."

   -- Brother Charles LaFond, n/SSJE, September 6, 2005

by Bob Williams

[ENS, San Juan, Puerto Rico] With this prayer, Presiding Bishop Frank
Griswold led the House of Bishops, convening here September 22, in
response
to the presentations of Gulf Coast bishops who are rallying after
Hurricane
Katrina even as the nation braces for the imminent landfall of Hurricane
Rita.

"I'm aware that several of our meetings have taken place against the
background of something large and disturbing," Griswold told the 120
bishops
assembled with spouses, recalling House of Bishops sessions held shortly
after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001; other environmental
disasters; and the declaration of war on Iraq. "These larger events --
some
natural and some caused by humans -- remind us of the context in which
we
live and move and have our beings."

Outcome of the bishops' sessions included clear beginnings of a
long-term
plan for Episcopal dioceses and congregations to partner effectively
with
dioceses and congregations hardest hit by hurricane damage (related ENS
story to follow).

This inter-agency response coordinates the work of Episcopal Relief and
Development (ERD), the Office of the Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies,
Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), and the offices of program and
communication at the Episcopal Church Center in New York.

As the bishops convened, fellow Episcopalians -- including Texas
Diocesan
Bishop Don Wimberly -- together with other Houston-area residents were
traveling to the diocese's Camp Allen for refuge as Hurricane Rita
forced
evacuation of Galveston and contiguous regions.

Of the work of the church at present, "one can see dimensions of
community
that transcend points of view" politically, theologically and otherwise
defined, said Griswold -- who arrived in San Juan after meeting in
Mississippi and Louisiana for two days prior with Hurricane Katrina
survivors.

Griswold spoke of the "abundance of Christ's presence" as he observed
Louisiana senior warden Elvia James open a ciborium (consecrated vessel
holding Eucharistic wafers) in the flooded but largely intact St. Luke's
Church, New Orleans.

The Presiding Bishop and his wife, Phoebe, joined Louisiana Bishop
Charles
Jenkins and Episcopal Chaplaincies Bishop Suffragan George Packard on a
first post-hurricane visit to St. Luke's, where the group shared in Holy
Communion inside after clearing felled branches to gain entry to the
church
building.

Louisiana's Jenkins, in his remarks to his fellow bishops, spoke of the
"church responding to the immediate needs of the people" and doing
uniquely
the work of the Episcopal Church's baptismal covenant: "to respect the
dignity of every human being."

Thanking fellow bishops for their outpouring of support, Jenkins also
praised the immediate response of Episcopal Relief and Development and
colleagues from the Episcopal Church Center in New York.

Jenkins said that his diocese's offices, now housed at St. James' Church
in
Baton Rouge, are not yet ready to receive volunteers to assist in
relief;
noting that there is no water, housing, food, sewage system and other
infrastructure to support such efforts. "I ask your patience," Jenkins
said,
noting that a future time will be right for hands-on assistance.

Jenkins also pointed to the issue of racism surfaced amid the Katrina
disaster. He said that new awareness has been raised by the issues at
hand,
emphasizing that societal and cultural responses are emerging among
national
priorities.

Jenkins said 27 of his diocese's 51 congregations have been affected by
wind
and water. He said that rebuilding will have to take into account
demographic shifts within the region.

More details about the Louisiana diocesan response can be found online
at
www.connectedola.org.

Mississippi's Bishop Duncan Gray opened the session describing the
virtually
complete destruction of six parish buildings, but emphasizing that the
church is "still standing" given the stalwart dedication of local clergy
and
parishioners. (Please see related ENS reports online.)

Gray pointed to the coalescing impact of an all-diocesan rally -- a
first-ever "tent meeting" held August 20, some nine days before the
hurricane hit. There, the baptismal covenant -- even a sense of
"troubling
the waters" -- was emphasized, Gray said, in sermon texts and
reflections.
The rally had a sense of galvanizing the diocesan mission before
disaster
struck, he noted.

More on the Mississippi response is available at www.dioms.org

Bishop Philip Duncan of the Pensacola, Florida-based Diocese of the
Central
Gulf Coast, told the bishops that his diocese continues to rebuild after
the
devastation of last year's hurricane season. He thanked the bishops for
their support for regional re-building, including his own residence, in
areas of greatest impact.

Duncan said industry, especially fishing, is struggling to make a come
back
under current conditions.

For more diocesan information on the Alabama and Florida congregations,
Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, visit: www.diocgc.org.

Nancy Duvall, wife of retired Central Gulf Coast bishop Charles Duvall,
said
that bishops' spouses were mobilizing practical responses such as gift
cards
to Target and other major retailers. "The gift cards also help keep
business
and jobs in the region," she said.

Duvall was among spouses who heard a lunch-time presentation by Louise
Jenkins, who with her husband, Louisiana's Charles Jenkins, is a New
Orleans
evacuee. Her talk enumerated priorities for practical response.

Meanwhile, presenters addressing the bishops included David Pitts of the
Church Pension Group, who said that Hurricane Rita's landfall could
bring
the area of devastation to some 200,000 square miles.

Pitts said the Church Pension Group is prepared to offer long-term
response
to constituents affected by the disaster.

Echoing the realities of long-term response, presenters addressing the
bishops included ERD President Robert Radtke, EMM director Richard
Parkins,
and chaplaincies suffragan Packard. (An additional, forthcoming ENS
report
will detail their observations.)

Hospitable, pastoral welcome

Welcoming the bishops to San Juan in their opening session was the Rt.
Rev.
David Alvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Puerto Rico, and religious and
civic
leaders including Senate President Kenneth McClintock-Hernandez, an
Episcopalian who attends St. Stephen's Church, Guaynabo. That
congregation's
vicar, the Rev. Emily Morales, was moderator for the diocesan
presentation
to the bishops.

Alvarez's wife, Maryleen, and daughter, Tairis, joined in welcoming
remarks
to the bishops and spouses.

A multimedia presentation outlined the extensive ministries of the
diocese,
based in San Juan -- the oldest city in the United States -- and
composed of
37,000 baptized members in 44 congregations and the largest health-care
system on the island. (A full ENS report on the Diocese of Puerto Rico
will
follow.)

Alvarez and other diocesan leaders will welcome the bishops on Sunday to
Ponce, where Eucharist and a visit to one of the diocese's three major
hospitals is planned.

The House of Bishops' six-day meeting will adjourn September 27.

-- Canon Robert Williams is director of communication for the Episcopal
Church.

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