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Gulf-Coast 4
Submitted by
Christine Barnes, Associate Pastor, Brooklyn Presbyterian Church
October 25, 2006
When news of Hurricane Katrina first hit, three
churches in the Jackson area considered how they could respond.
Westminster, Jackson, First, Jackson, and Brooklyn Presbyterian decided their
response would be stronger if they pooled resources. The Jackson tri
–church Gulf Coast relief effort was formed. We have taken four trips to
the Gulf Coast this year making Presbyterian connections all along the way.
Our destinations were First Presbyterian, Slidell, LA, First Presbyterian, Bay
St. Louis, MS (twice), and the PDA Village in Gauthier, MS. We mucked out
houses and yards in Slidell and worked on new homes with the local Habitat for
Humanity affiliate. In Bay St. Louis and Gauthier, we worked with people
on their houses. For some, we did tear out. For others, we were part
of crews that were doing interior reconstruction so that people could return to
living in their homes. There is still a tremendous amount of interior work
that needs to be done.
We added an additional connectional component to
each of these trips. Being a good two day drive from Michigan, we arranged
to stay overnight in Presbyterian churches along our route. We have been
housed in churches in Nashville and Franklin, TN, Bowling Green, KY, and
Decatur, AL. We worshiped with the congregations on Sunday morning to live
out our connectionality as members of the PC (USA). It also allowed us to
express our appreciation for their gifts of hospitality. Hosting church
members commented on how it made them feel part of our mission effort to the
Gulf.
After the service in Kentucky, a person came up to
one of our members and shook her hand profusely. She said, “Thank you,
thank you” for going to help. She had family in Mississippi who had lost
everything during the hurricanes, and she was deeply appreciative of our efforts
and those of all the volunteers who had gone to the Gulf Coast.
We have welcomed friends and members of other
churches into our mission teams. Interest among our congregations remains high
and additional mission trips to the Gulf are being considered for next year.
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