Episcopal Life Online Daybook -- Today is Monday, August 20, 2007. The Church calendar remembers Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux (1090-1153).
* Today in Scripture: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On this day in 1965, civil rights worker Jonathan Myrick Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian from New Hampshire, was shot and killed in Alabama.
_____________________
MISSION
In New Orleans, long-term recovery continues two years after Katrina
By Ann Ball
[Episcopal News Service] South Louisianians are keeping their prayer candles burning for a quiet hurricane season as the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina draws near on August 29. The usual summer quietude which is broken by passing streetcars, Saturday night jazz joints, or Sunday church bells is now displaced by the daily noise of hammers, chain saws and power equipment across the metropolitan area as homes and businesses rebuild.
Housing continues to be the city's biggest need. Tourists to the city who come by air, or by car from the west, arrive in New Orleans and see a city that looks fairly recovered from the storm. Indeed, a recent announcement on a local popular radio food show, noted there are more restaurants open in New Orleans now than before Katrina. This seems to be an astonishing fact since the city has lost population. But readers should know that many homes in the area still do not have operational kitchens. Eating out is more a necessity, than a luxury.
Those who come to New Orleans by car approaching from the east have no delusions about the condition of housing in the city. They drive past miles of beautiful homes and shopping malls that lie in ruins. Stores are boarded up. Dead trees and bent lamp posts show the tell-tale signs of the massive destruction -- much of it still untouched two years later.
Hundreds of homeowners are rebuilding but hundreds have abandoned hope and are not returning. The neighborhoods acquire what is referred to as the "jack-o-lantern" effect -- a house here, an abandoned lot there, a house, an abandoned lot.
The jack-o-lantern effect has given "rise" to another problem this summer -- weeds. With so many vacant properties, weeds have become an urban and suburban nightmare for homeowners and for the city leaders.
Homeowners can care for their own property but if they have no neighbors, the weeds next door quickly become shoulder-high, inviting swamp "critters" of every kind. The city, with its reduced budget and reduced manpower, has a difficult job keeping up with the daunting mowing task. It is the ongoing presence of volunteers, who come to this city from all over the world, who are making the difference in New Orleans. Were it not for volunteers and the assistance of church and charitable organizations, the city could not hope to "tame" the wild jungles.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_89184_ENG_HTM.htm
_____________________
Catalyst: "The Episcopal Musician's Handbook, 51st Edition, 2007-2008" from The Living Church Foundation, Inc., edited by Joseph A. Kucharski, 253 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $27
[Source: The Living Church Foundation] This publication provides church musicians with a helpful guide and resource when choosing and implementing various musical selections. Included are hymn selections for use throughout the liturgical year. This book contains entries from both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Prayer Book lectionary.
To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at http://www.episcopalbookstore.org or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org