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Retreat gives Louisiana pastors strength for challenges ahead

Dec. 21, 2005	 News media contact:   Fran  Coode Walsh * (615)
742-5458*  Nashville {710}

NOTE: Photographs are available with this report at http://umns.umc.org
<http://umns.umc.org/> .

By John Gordon

NEW ORLEANS (UMNS) - The Rev. Connie Thomas was not prepared for what
she saw when she walked into her two New Orleans churches that were
flooded during Hurricane Katrina.

"Oh, Lord, no, look at the pews," Thomas exclaimed as she entered Peck
United Methodist Church.

The wooden pews, which had been bolted to the floor, were scattered and
overturned inside the sanctuary. A piano, once used to play hymns,
leaned over after being soaked by floodwaters. Mold was creeping up the
walls.

"A part of me had been feeling like, I don't want to see it," said
Thomas. "But at the same time, I realize that there's work that has to
be done, and it's time to roll our sleeves up and start doing what we
can to make it a church again."

Thomas has been unable to hold services at Peck or her second church,
Napoleon Avenue United Methodist Church, because of the extensive
damage.

She had a chance to discuss the challenges ahead with other pastors
affected by Katrina.  She was among 60 United Methodist pastors from
Louisiana and Mississippi attending a Nov. 30-Dec. 2 retreat, "Staying
Connected and Being Renewed," at the denomination's Louisiana Conference
Center near Alexandria.

There is much uncertainty as the rebuilding process begins, but the Rev.
Jerry Hilbun, pastor of First United Methodist Church in the hard-hit
city of Slidell, said residents are encouraged by even the smallest
signs of progress.

"There is a group of people in the church who are determined to rebuild
and fix the buildings that we have, and they are a source of
inspiration," said Hilbun, whose home and church were heavily damaged.

"I heard a Hindu proverb that we've been using in our church, and folks
seem to have latched on to this," he said. "And the proverb teaches that
if you have to eat an elephant, you can only do it one bite at a time."

As Hilbun tries to bring life back to normal for his own family, he has
been called on to comfort others. In the weeks and months following the
hurricane, there are signs that depression is growing among families
struggling to cope with loss.

"A seminar teacher told us that we could expect a much higher suicide,
rate maybe 80 percent, and an increased rate of family separations and
divorces, as high as 50 percent more than in a normal time," says
Hilbun. Coping with depression is proving to be a long process.

Hilbun said his church is important to its community, hosting youth
events, Mother's Day Out and a program for dyslexic youth, drawing
students from up to 100 miles away. The larger body of the church has
also been crucial to the community's recovery, "People from all over the
country, in fact all over the world, have come to help. It may be the
church's finest hour that we are coming together to overcome this
disaster."

Another pastor attending the conference, the Rev. Ellen Alston, said the
hurricane flooded her home and church, Covenant United Methodist Church
in Chalmette.

"There's a lot of pain," she said.

"And I think sometimes, that's even deepening as people realize that as
time goes on, how permanent the losses are, and that's even more than
house and belongings," she said. "I think it's the loss of access to
those relationships being right there that you built your life around."

Alston has tried to keep in touch with members of her congregation,
though some have still not returned to the area. "Hope is definitely
challenged," she said, by the destruction and the relocation of many
families.

"I think there's a sense of growing into now, what is this real
situation that we're facing, what are all the ramifications," she said.
"And how do we live those questions with hope and trust, which may not
be immediately apparent, how it's all going to work out and unfold."

Still, many Gulf Coast residents are showing a determination to rebuild
their churches - and their lives.

Ford Willoughby met Pastor Thomas to survey the damage at Napoleon
United Methodist. Willoughby has been a member of the church since 1955.

"The church was struggling, but we have never given up our desire for
this church to remain open," Willoughby said. "And we don't intend to do
so now."

Napoleon offered a Christian academy and other youth and community
programs before Katrina hit.

Thomas has relocated to Baton Rouge while her home in New Orleans is
being repaired.  She is heading up the assignment of volunteer work
teams coming to Louisiana to help hurricane victims rebuild.

"The city has a long road to recovery," she said.  "A lot of work to be
done."

But Peck United Methodist Church member John W. Johnson is undaunted.
He and others see the rebuilding as a chance to tailor church-sponsored
programs to the specific needs of their neighborhoods and communities.

"That's right," Johnson declared.  "The best is yet to come."

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas.

News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458
or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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

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

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