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[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Bishops launch appeal to help gulf churches build anew

Nov. 4, 2005

NOTE: Photographs, related video and additional coverage of the Council
of Bishops meeting are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Tim Tanton*

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Church's bishops are
launching an appeal aimed at helping the denomination's congregations in
Louisiana and Mississippi recover from the devastating impact of
Hurricane Katrina.

The Council of Bishops approved the Katrina Church Recovery Appeal
during its Oct. 30-Nov. 4 fall meeting. The appeal will focus on
building new ministries, rebuilding facilities and addressing a wide
range of other local church and conference needs, such as paying clergy
salaries and covering an untold amount of uninsured losses.

During presentations Nov. 2, Bishops William Hutchinson of Louisiana and
Hope Morgan Ward of Mississippi shared updates and thanked the council
for the support provided by the church since late August.

"You have responded in beautiful and strong, strong ways to an
unheralded kind of disaster on the shores of the United States,"
Hutchinson said. Churches and conferences have helped displaced
congregations worship, sheltered evacuees, operated feeding stations,
assisted with relocation and sent volunteer teams to the affected areas.
"The church has been the church in all of this," he said.

Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina are in every state, Hutchinson said.
"This is the largest diaspora of persons in the history of the United
States." The evacuees have included 1.5 million people from Louisiana
and several hundred thousand from Mississippi and Alabama, he said.
Those evacuees include entire congregations and clergy.

Ward described walking through storm-struck areas and seeing work teams
from different parts of the country. "The connection has worked in a
marvelous way and has been a means of grace to us," she said.

"We've had incredible support in prayers, in love, in concern, in gifts,
in work teams and contributions," she told United Methodist News Service
later. The outpouring has been "astounding," she said.

The appeal is being developed with support from the General Council on
Finance and Administration, United Methodist Communications and the
United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

In its focus on church recovery, the appeal will be distinct from the
work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, which has raised $20
million so far in humanitarian relief related to the hurricanes.

"We know that people have given generously to UMCOR, but we believe
there are many people who want to help rebuild United Methodist ministry
on the Gulf Coast, and we're thankful for every partner in this effort,"
Ward said.

At their closing worship Nov. 4, the bishops raised $25,470 for the
appeal.

Details on how people can support the appeal are still being developed.

The bishops will establish a steering committee for the effort, which
will meet every six months to make decisions about block grants. The
block grants will be awarded in four categories: salaries, property,
connectional ministries and other.

In their discussion, several bishops emphasized the importance of not
simply rebuilding what had already existed on the coast but building
ministry in a new way.

In Louisiana, as many as 30 churches may have to be torn down and
rebuilt, Hutchinson said. In the New Orleans District alone, 78 churches
will need major work, he said. As of the end of October, 58 clergy
families were still on salary support.

"We are looking at a need through May of some $1.3 million to deal with
salary and benefits," Hutchinson said. That doesn't include housing.

There will also be a cost in lost apportionment dollars that would have
been paid by the affected congregations. One of the biggest ways
churches in unaffected areas can help is by paying their apportionments
in full, Hutchinson said.

Seven church-related institutions in Louisiana, including Dillard
University in New Orleans, were damaged, Hutchinson said.

"There is not one inch of the Louisiana coastline ... that is not
impacted by these two storms," he said. Katrina made landfall Aug. 29,
followed by Hurricane Rita Sept. 24.

In Mississippi, six churches are considered destroyed, Ward said. About
300 have filed insurance claims, and of those, 20 probably have extreme
damage, she said. Twenty-seven pastors are living temporarily in
campers, she said.

Other church-related institutions in Mississippi that were affected
included historic Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, which was destroyed,
and Seashore Assembly in Biloxi, which sustained heavy damage.

During the council's discussion, bishops spoke in support of the appeal
and the coastal conferences. Bishop Juan Vera Méndez, who leads the
Methodist Church of Puerto Rico, said his members are ready to support
the recovery with volunteer teams.

Hutchinson said the hurricanes have created "an incredible opportunity
for the church to speak its message in strength with hope and
encouragement."

*Tanton is managing editor for United Methodist News Service.

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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