Bandits No More

An Episcopal Letter to the Texas Annual Conference Churches

Sunday Morning

September 4, 2005

Dear United Methodist Brothers and Sisters,

Resurrection Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I write to all of you this day to tell you that truly we “have seen the Lord” in caring for our sisters and brothers of New Orleans. A friend commented to me earlier this week, “It is in times like this that one can see the true soul of a people and an institution.” Your souls are surely shining.

Many of you are personally in the thick of caring for displaced citizens. I have the privilege-when I’m not organizing volunteers and caring for folks like the rest of you-the privilege of seeing a larger view of the whole Texas Annual Conference in action. Even my own view is still partial, but I wanted to share with you some of what I know.

Here is a quick picture of the people of the United Methodist Church in action:

” It is my understanding that churches in every district are now directly engaged in caring for displaced citizens. All the churches which were designated Red Cross shelters prior to Hurricane Katrina are at capacity or more. We do not have anything approaching a complete listing, but I am aware that churches small and large have spontaneously opened their doors. Dr. Earl Bledsoe reports that Aldersgate UMC in Bryan has moved out of its Worship Center to fill it with cots; they will worship in their Fellowship Hall today and invite evacuees to join them. Christ UMC is now housing numerous special needs individuals. Dr. Richard Burnham reports that Wesley in Beaumont is housing approximately 50 Hondurans. The list goes on and on. The Conference Office will be working to compile a more complete list by next week.

” St. Luke’s UMC staff and volunteers have been “on the floor” of the Astrodome since before it received it first guest. They are helping to set up the infrastructure to serve a small city. Susan Silvus, director of outreach at St. Luke’s, greeted a young woman carrying a baby when they stepped off a bus. “I asked her how I could help her,” said Silvus. “She handed me a package of diapers and a can of Similac, and that is all she had. All.” My husband Bob reports that more than half the cots seem to be occupied by children.

” Numerous churches are engaged in feeding ministries. Congregation members are working at Red Cross shelters.

” Lakeview Conference Center received 106 special needs displaced citizens of New Orleans. These persons were part of a small group living situation in New Orleans. All require special assistance.

” The Methodist Hospitals are another shining face of the people of the United Methodist Church. Dr. Charles Millikan reported that as of yesterday, the downtown hospital alone had received well over 300 persons. The first 200 arrived beginning at 11pm. Some of the finest doctors, nurses and medical technicians in the world came back to the hospital and worked until every person was properly cared for.

In addition, many individuals and families have been in need of pastoral care. For example, Dr. Millikan told me the heart-breaking story of working with a mother who had gotten separated from her seven children. She believes they might not have survived.

” Methodist Retirement Communities has now received 80 persons into various facilities in the conference. It has been my understanding that they are referrals from The Methodist Hospital. I have no further details here.

” Lon Morris College in Jacksonville has invited displaced students of Dillard University in New Orleans to attend Lon Morris with free room, board and tuition. They are planning to send a bus to Baton Rouge to be able to transport people.

” Volunteers from Houston area congregations are attending training sessions for food service at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Dr. Ed Young reported that 4,870 people from many faith communities attended the first session. They are expecting over 6,000 persons today.

Throughout the Conference, congregations are in the process of raising $1,000,000. I am aware of several congregations dedicating their entire offering today to assist in this relief effort. The people of The United Methodist Church have great hearts. I am absolutely confident that the Texas Annual Conference will reach its goal.

You and I have an opportunity to practice radical hospitality and extravagant generosity in a situation which, God willing, comes only once in a lifetime. We are truly blessed to be called to this time and place to witness to Jesus Christ and to serve our neighbors in Christ’s name.

The words of the Apostle Paul encourage us this day, “Now to [God] who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

God bless you.

Bishop Janice Riggle Huie

Hurricane Katrina is putting us all to the test. Some are up to the test, others aren’t. From what I read, the people of Houston are doing exceptionally well. Consider this:

Officials postponed today’s scheduled Labor Day Classic at Reliant Stadium between football rivals Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M. And they canceled Fiestas Patrias, a Mexican independence day celebration that had been expected to draw up to 50,000 to Reliant Center on Sunday.

Mayor Bill White said the situation was so dire in Louisiana and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast that the Houston area needs to do what is necessary to aid that region’s homeless.

“We’re going to kick people out who were planning to do things. This is an emergency,” he said. “If it entails somebody suing us, then OK.”

I’ve just set up a separate blog to disseminate information for the Hurricane Katrina outreach ministry here in Pittsburg. We expect 50 evacuees to arrive within 72 hours.

Katrina has brought out those who are best at complaining and casting blame. I’m several hundred miles away from the scene, but it seems to me that we don’t have the perspective to do much in the way of constructive criticism. (I do realize that the goal isn’t constructive criticism for a lot of the people, it’s winning the next round of elections.)

From what I see we have too much to do to join the gripe & blame chorus.

Here’s a note from a pastor in Biloxi. There are alot more people to pray for than just those from New Orleans:

I wanted to ask your prayers for all us folks on the Gulf Coast and throughout Mississippi who have been affected by the storm. I am one of the lucky ones. Just found out that our church First UMC in Biloxi is in relatively good shape. The parsonage miraculously escaped. Both church and parsonage are in the areas that athorities say were 90% destroyed. There will be MANY dealts before this is all over and all the “experts” are saying this will no doubt be the worst castrophy in modern US history. I still don’t know about the safety of 98% of my congregation. I do know very few will not have major damage to their homes at the very least. One of the wonderful elderly couples (lay coordinators of our older adult ministry) who lived three houses down from me lost EVERYTHING. I feel like I have my own private tsunami. We are going to be trying to find homes for the next several months for literally hundreds of thousands of people. Please pray and encourage your congregations to respond. We have had so many disasters in recent months but the suffering in the midst of this is unbelievable.

God bless you all.
Gary Thompson
Pastor, First United Methodist Church
What used to be Biloxi, MS

Here’s another part of Texas UMs response to Katrina needs:

Lakeview Conference Center [outside Palestine, TX] will be housing 106 special needs adults starting tomorrow (Saturday). They need twin size sheets and blankets or sleeping bags, towels, all toiletries except toothbrush and toothpaste, Kleenex, and feminine hygiene products. Please bring these items to the district office [at FUMC, Texarkana, TX – 903-794-6231] beginning Tuesday. They also need funding for this project (because FEMA doesn’t help outside of major metropolitan areas), so an account has been set up at Region Bank.

Yesterday I posted Bishop Huie’s letter about responding to the need after Katrina. Here’s today’s note from her with more information and specifics about how you can be involved in helping with the refugees in Houston.

Dear Friends

God is good.  Even in a crisis.  God is good.  United Methodists are responding to the relief effort from Hurricane Katrina in an extraordinary way.  We are also beginning to get more organized.  Thanks be to God.

Here is today’s update.  Houston officials are now expecting at least 100,000 refugees to arrive in our area.   Approximately 25,000 people are being evacuated to the Astrodome.   For the most part, these people are the poorest of the poor.   They are arriving with nothing except what they are wearing.  Mayor Bill White, a member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church has asked all the faith communities of the Houston region to unite in one effort to feed the people in the Astrodome for the first 30 days.  

Operation Compassion has been born through the combined efforts of all these religious leaders.  Our combined task will be to prepare, serve and clean up 75,000 meals per day.  It will require 240 trained volunteers per meal.  The cost is approximately $1,000,000 per week.   Each faith group is being asked to provide two things:  people and money.

I have committed the United Methodists to underwrite $1,000,000 for Operation Compassion and provide 240 volunteers for each meal for seven days.  Our week is Sept. 14-20, 2005.  We will be joined by the Hindu faith community and African American evangelicals.

Here is our plan for organizing our people.   Each of the five Houston districts will be responsible for one day.  In addition, two churches will pick up a day each.  The schedule looks like this:
Wednesday, September 14   Houston South
Thursday, September 15   Houston East
Friday, September 16   Houston Northwest
Saturday, September 17   St. Luke UMC
Sunday, September 18   Windsor Village
Monday, September 19   Houston Southwest
Tuesday, September 20   Houston North

State law requires that every volunteer must be trained (2hours) in food handling.  Training dates are as follows:
Saturday September 3  9am
Sunday September 4  2pm
Monday, September 5  1pm
These training events are all at Second Baptist Church (6400 Woodway).   Other training dates may be scheduled later.   However, please try to get as many people trained over the Labor Day Weekend as possible.  

We will staff three daily shifts:  4am-10am/ 10am-4pm/4pm-10pm.   There will be six feeding trailers with each trailer having a team of 40 volunteers per shift.  Each of the trailers will be supervised by 5-6 Disaster Relief members.  Each trailer can serve 20,000 meals per day.   We are not responsible for meal planning and food purchase.  Food service in this way can be provided for about $1.75 per meal.

Volunteers from any United Methodist Church in any part of this conference are welcome to be a part of this effort.  Please email the district office or church for the day you want to serve.  If you can’t work on “your district’s” day, follow the same instructions.

Here is the plan for raising money.  This disaster is beyond the scope of anything we have ever seen.  After Allison, I have been told that Houston and East Texas cared for about 35,000 evacuees for a few days.  With Katrina, we are talking about 100,000 people for months.  At this point we have been told by the Federal Office of Emergency Management that there is no federal money for people arriving in Houston.  Since we do not know if there will be any reconsideration of that decision, it is our responsibility to care for these people who are truly the “least, last and lost.”  People need to give as generously as they can.  

They should make their check out to their local church marked “Katrina.”  Treasurers and pastors need to send in Sunday’s offering as quickly as possible.  Their check should be made out to the Texas Annual Conference marked “Katrina.”   Our $1,000,000 for Operation Compassion needs to be available by September 13, 2005 when we start serving food.

Finally, all the faith communities are being asked to prepare personal hygiene kits.  A total of 25,000 will be needed.  They should be half-gallon size bags and include the following:  
Toothbrush and regular sized toothpaste
Deodorant
Soap
Shampoo
Wet wipes/ Travel pack size
We are asking each congregation to drop off their kits at Second Baptist Church (6400 Woodway) on Tuesday September 6 from 9am until 1pm.  I know this is short notice, but they will be needed in the Astrodome as soon as possible.

Let me say that there is already tremendous United Methodist response to this effort.  Local churches are providing food, clothing and shelter for hundred of people as I write this letter.  Everyone of our institutions are engaged in this effort.  I’ll say more about some of those responses later.

I have never been more proud to be United Methodist than I have been today.  Compassion and mercy is a part of who we are.  God bless you for what you have done and will do.

Grace and peace,

Janice Riggle Huie

Here’s the letter I just received from Bishop Huie:

Dear United Methodist Friends,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am grateful already for your prayers and acts of compassion for all those affected by Hurricane Katrina. United Methodists throughout the Texas Annual Conference are eager to respond. We are receiving many calls in our office. This letter is your first update from me. Others will follow.
Our Conference United Methodist efforts are being coordinated by our Partners in Mission office, Disaster Response leaders and several large United Methodist congregations. National efforts are being coordinated by UMCOR.
Katrina is the largest natural disaster we have ever experienced in the United States. Rescue efforts are under the supervision of the public officials and National Guard, and we have been urged not to send anyone into the area unless it is specifically coordinated with persons in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Our first mission will be to assist refugees in our areas. East Texas and Houston is filling up with refugees. There are more people on the way. Several UM congregations are being opened up as shelters. A list of those churches appears elsewhere. Please feel free to contribute food, bedding and volunteer your time by calling them.
Refugees in the New Orleans Superdome are being transferred to the Astrodome. St. Luke UMC in Houston has been asked to coordinate volunteers to staff the Astrodome. They expect to need hundreds of volunteers willing to work 12 hour shifts for at least a month. Two people can team to work six hours each, but those persons need to volunteer as a pair. If pastors will send lists of volunteers to Susan Silvus (ssilvus@stlukes-hou.org) via email, they will try to coordinate. Volunteers can come directly to the Astrodome. However, please be prepared to be flexible.
We are encouraging people to volunteer at their nearest Red Cross shelter if there is one near you. Every relief organization will be asked to stretch deeper and wider than it ever has done before. They need our help.
This disaster truly invites extravagant generosity. I want to encourage you to give generously through your local church. There are two primary ways to give. If you will mark your check “Katrina,” these funds will first be used locally to assist refugees within the bounds of the Annual Conference. They will be used for food, supplies, bedding, gasoline, etc., as they are needed here. Remaining funds will be sent to UMCOR. The second way to give is to mark your check UMCOR Hurricane Response. Those funds will be used for rebuilding. Finally, you can give directly to Red Cross.
Pastors, we need a quick turn-around on “Katrina” funds to the conference office. Area food banks are already running low on food. They need to purchase in large quantities. We want to be able to disperse funds quickly to local churches and to agencies working directly with refugees.
Once the clean-up process begins, there will be a tremendous need for flood buckets, health kits, bedding and other supplies. You can learn how to create those kits by looking elsewhere on our Web site. Churches can begin collecting supplies and taking them to drop sites for later distribution.
A tremendous rebuilding process lies ahead. As the waters recede, and sites are available, you will hear from Kathie Mann, who leads our Partner in Mission teams.
Please pray for all those people who have been affected by Katrina. They need for us to hold them in the presence of God hourly. They need for us pray for their safety, health, future and much, much more. Through the grace of God, we will help them put their lives back together again, and re-build their homes and cities.
This situation is changing hourly. We will give you the best information we have. Kindly keep checking your email and the Web site for updates.
God bless all of us as we seek to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Grace and peace,
Janice Riggle Huie

UMCOR has a page with information on how to make a variety of disaster relif kits.

By now you’ve seen pictures and heard reports of the destruction in Louisiana and Mississipi (and beyond). WWL reports that “Residents will probably be allowed back in town in a week, with identification only, but only to get essentials and clothing. You will then be asked to leave and not come back for one month.” The monetary cost of being out of your (likely destroyed) home for a month, is high enough. The emotional cost of living in total uncertainty will likely be even greater. What about school? Will the schools where the homeless are staying be able to temporarily absorb the displaced children? What will adults who are used to filling their days with work going to do?

Time to pray and keep on praying.

To me the unimaginable thing is that things like this happen in places like Bangladesh every year. Hundreds killed by Katrina – absolutely horrible. But how often do we hear of a storm or flood somewhere else that kills tens of thousands?