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Hurricanes change La. pastor's perspective on disasters

Oct. 3, 2005

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

By Betty Backstrom*

BATON ROUGE, La. (UMNS) - The recent hurricanes that have struck the
U.S. Gulf Coast have changed how the Rev. Doug Ezell views catastrophic
storms.

"What we once would have considered disastrous, we now view as normal
hurricane damage," said Ezell, Lake Charles District superintendent for
the United Methodist Church's Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference.
"The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has made everything seem less
catastrophic."

Hurricane Rita hit Louisiana in the early morning of Sept. 24 with
129-mile-per-hour winds that ripped through the southwest portion of the
state, leaving communities with snapped electrical poles, downed trees
and damaged homes.

Ezell pointed out that the Lake Charles District lost Cameron United
Methodist Church and has likely lost Grand Chenier United Methodist
Church.

"We saw footage of Cameron UMC on the news, and nothing but the A-frame
of the building was standing," he said.

For safety reasons, local officials have restricted travel into the
affected areas. "The entire area is without electrical power, which will
probably not be fully restored for four weeks," Ezell said. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency was setting up a site close to the Cameron
area Sept. 30, he added.

Of the 58 United Methodist churches in the Lake Charles District, about
20 suffered wind damage.

Pecan Island United Methodist Church, in the Acadiana District and only
four miles from the Gulf Coast, has three to four feet of debris inside
the church. "It looks like the church doors blew open and that flood
waters carried in mud and limbs," said the Rev. John Vining, pastor.

The cemetery at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Freetown - close to
the United Methodist Committee on Relief's Sager-Brown Depot in Baldwin
- was hit so hard with flooding that tombs were disturbed and coffins
floated into the nearby road.

The town of Vinton, close to Sabine Pass, Texas, was hit hard by
Hurricane Katrina.
 "Although the church escaped serious injury, the town is completely
devastated. The mayor has asked that all residents stay away so that
power and services can be completely restored," said the Rev. Jerry
Johnson, pastor of Vinton United Methodist Church. Johnson is
temporarily staying in the Wesley Center, the Louisiana Conference
center in Woodworth.

Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church in Dulac, La., had two feet of
floodwater inside the sanctuary, which is built six feet off the ground.
"The area received eight feet of water, the most we've ever gotten,"
said the Rev. Kirby Vining, pastor.

Dulac Community Center, which houses a thriving United Methodist
ministry serving the largely Native American population of the area,
suffered flood damage.

"Fortunately, the dormitory building was all right, since it sits 10
feet off the ground," said the Rev. Roger Lathan, Acadiana District
superintendent. The dormitories are frequently used by Volunteers in
Mission teams that conduct programs for children in the area and assist
with local construction projects.

"Pastors in the Lake Charles and Acadiana districts followed the mayor's
orders by evacuating when asked to do so, leading by example," Ezell
said. "They had to transport people who had evacuated here in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, patiently and carefully moving folks who
had already been displaced. They've done all this efficiently, despite
the effects of tremendous fatigue."

"They've been heroes in the way they've responded."

Donations to support the United Methodist response to Hurricane Katrina
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-Katrina, Advance No. 982523," or "Hurricane Rita, Advance No.
901323," and left in church offering plates or mailed directly to UMCOR,
P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. Contributions may also be
designated for a specific state affected by the hurricanes.

*Backstrom is editor of Louisiana Now!, the newspaper of the United
Methodist Church's Louisiana 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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