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Hurricane Katrina Response

 

Hurricane Katrina Response

 

This page is a collection of information about the Episcopal response to Hurricane Katrina.

 

In the interest of getting aid to people as quickly as possible, please make donations directly to Episcopal Relief and Development or other chosen agencies. Donations sent to the Office of the Bishop will only delay their being received by the appropriate agency while we sort and process them.

 

 

St. Margaret's, Palm Desert, to offer interfaith memorial service

On September 10, 2005: Saturday, September 10 th, 2005 at 5PM, St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, located at 47535 Highway 74 in Palm Desert, will host a memorial service for those who have died in natural disasters, especially in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami in Asia, and raging weather and earthquakes throughout the world; and for those who died in the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.

 

Join area faith communities as we come together “One Nation Under God” to remember, and pray for, the departed, their families and all who grieve.

 

Letter to Clergy from Bishop Mathes

September 2, 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 

I sense that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina September 11th will hold even greater meaning as an unofficial day of memorial. This will be all the more because it falls on Sunday this year. With the continuing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the remembrance of September 11th, and now this immense crisis created by the hurricane, I sense that it is appropriate to be particularly intentional about next Sunday’s worship.

 

In hopes of providing for the pastoral needs of the community of faith, I have written the attached collect for the day and litany which may be used in place of the prayers of the people or at some other place in the liturgy. In addition, I have suggested alternate propers that you may use. I have attempted to weave together a heart of prayer for those affected in the tragedies that are weighing on our minds.

Please know that I have no pride of authorship and encourage you to use your own creative wisdom in modifying or augmenting these propers. As always, I trust your sensitivities and liturgical planning. Feel free to use any or all of these resources as you see fit.

I would, however, like to designate Sunday, September 11th as a day for a special offering for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, using Episcopal Relief and Development as our vehicle. I encourage you to use the linked bulletin insert; a picture is worth a thousand words: Katrina Bulletin Insert.

 

Blessings to you in your ministry.

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. James R. Mathes
Bishop

 

Statement from Bishop Mathes

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

 

We are all overwhelmed with the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The images in the newspaper and television tell a story of lives tragically ended and others hanging on by a thread. In conversations with Bishop Duncan Gray of Mississippi today, I heard first hand the enormous impact of this storm on that part of the country. He indicated to me that six churches had been totally destroyed and that these losses were emblematic of losses throughout the communities. Far worse stories are making their way out of New Orleans.

This is obviously a time for prayer and action. Please remember the victims as well as those who have mobilized to come to their aid. Now is the time to remember our neighbor. In addition, I encourage to join me in making an immediate gift to Episcopal Relief and Development. It took just a couple of minutes to visit their site and make my gift. Please invite members of your congregation to do the same.

 

Faithfully,

 

The Rt. Rev. James R. Mathes

 

Comunicado del Obispo James Mathes

Queridos hermanos y hermanas:

 

Nos encontramos muy agobiados por los devastadores efectos del huracán Katrina. Las imágenes en los diarios y la televisión hablando sobre las trágicas muertes ocurridas así como de gente prácticamente colgando de un hilo. En mi conversación del dia de hoy con el Obispo Duncan Gray de Mississippi, expreso el enorme impacto causado por la tormenta en esa parte del país. Indico que seis iglesias fueron totalmente destruidas así como danos simbólicos a través de las comunidades. Relatos aun peores siguen saliendo de Nueva Orleans. Adjunto encontraran la carta del Obispo primado, la cual puede ser reproducida.

 

Es tiempo obvio de oración y acción. Por favor recuerden a las víctimas así como a las fuerzas de rescate. Es tiempo de recordar a nuestros hermanos. Además, los invito a unirse conmigo para hacer una contribución al Alivio y Desarrollo Episcopal “ERD”. Me tomo solo un par de minutos entrar a su sitio electrónico y hacer mi contribución. Por favor inviten a los miembros de sus congregaciones a hacer lo mismo.

 

Para su conveniencia, conecte las líneas de ERD para ayuda a las víctimas del huracán, así como la de donaciones.

 

Fielmente,

 

El muy Reverendo James R. Mathes
Obispo de San Diego

 

Statement from the Presiding Bishop

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

 I am sending this message by email to our bishops, clergy and congregations -- insofar as is possible -- so that it might be shared and that we might be a community united in prayer and service duringthis time.

 

 During these past days I have been contacting bishops in the areasaffected by hurricane Katrina and have spoken to the bishops of Alabama, the Central Gulf Coast, Louisiana and Mississippi. As you would imagine, they are ministering to their communities the very best they can under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. 

 

Communication is tenuous, and in some cases impossible. As hour by hour the almost unimaginable ravages of the hurricane become more fully known we are continuing to learn of further losses of life, houses, churches, and other familiar points of reference, includingthe destruction of whole communities.

 

 At this time let us be exceedingly mindful that bearing one another's burdens and sharing one another's suffering is integral to being members of Christ's body. I call upon every member of our church to reach out in prayer and tangible support to our brothers and sistersas they live through these overwhelming days of loss and begin to face the difficult challenges of the future.

 

 Episcopal Relief and Development has been in contact with all the dioceses in the Gulf Coast area touched by the hurricane and will be working with them long after the television cameras have left. Funds have already been sent to the dioceses of Central Gulf Coast, Mississippi and Louisiana. I ask you to donate funds to the work of ERD such that our brothers and sisters in Christ will have the resources needed for the monumental task of reconstruction andrebuilding. Donations to ERD can be made as follows with an indication that they are designated for hurricane relief: via ERD's website at www.er-d.org 24 hours a day; by calling ERD at 800/334-7626, extension 5129 Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard time; by sending a check payable to Episcopal Relief and Development, Box 12043, Newark, New Jersey 07101-5043.

 

 The Rt. Rev. George Packard, Suffragan Bishop for Chaplaincies, has been in contact with bishops in the Gulf Coast area. Bishop Packard is working such that a network of chaplains -- police, fire, civil defense and military chaplains -- is providing information to thebishops about what is happening in areas of their dioceses they have not been able to reach. The next stage of his work will be setting up training for clergy and others in dealing with the trauma so many have experienced.

 

 Episcopal Migration Ministries is also responding and Richard Parkins, the Director of EMM, is investigating the possibilities of resettlement for people who are temporarily homeless.

 

Life affords us very few securities and yet deep within us, often revealed in the midst of profound vulnerability and loss, springs up a hope that contradicts the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Such hope emerges from the depths of despair as pure and unexpectedgift. This is the way in which Christ accompanies us and seeks to share our burdens. May Christ so be with those of us who are enduring the effects of the hurricane, and may each one of us be a minister of hope to others in these dark and tragic days.

 

 May we together pray:

 God of mercy and compassion, be in our midst and bind us together in your Spirit as a community of love and service to bear one another's burdens in these days as we face the ravages of storm and sea. This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord from whom alone comes our hope. Amen.

 The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA

 

Statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has expressed his deep concern for those caught up in the devastation of the Gulf Coast of the United States following the recent hurricane.  I have watched with deep concern the unfolding tragedy in the United States in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Like so many, I feel particularly for those still waiting for news about their loved ones.  

I know that churches in the area have been heavily affected, but I have been heartened to learn of the ministry of the chaplains involved with the emergency and rescue services. It is important to remember and support their vital work.

I hold all those affected in my prayers at this dreadful time.

Dr Williams has written personally to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the USA and to the Bishops of Alabama, the Central Gulf Coast, Louisiana and Mississippi.

A message of solidarity from Archbishop Barahona

The Most Rev'd Martin Barahona, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Central America and Bishop of El Salvador, has sent the following message of solidarity:

 

As Bishop of the Anglican Church of El Salvador, and Primate of the Anglican Church of Central America, and Co-President of the Fundación Cristosal, I want to let all of the church in United States and all of our friends to know that we are in solidarity with those who are deeply affected by the Hurricane Katrina. Please know that you are in our prayers and in our hearts. We ask God to help you survive this tragedy. We know what it means to suffer, and so we are with you in this difficult time. When we have faith, we always have hope.

 

The Most Rev. Martín Barahona

 

Via: Tthe Rev. Lee Alison Crawford
Saint Mary's Parish, Northfield, Vermont
Secretary and Communications Officer
Fundacion Cristosal

               
ERD Responds to Hurricane Katrina

Link to ERD Hurricane Katrina Crisis Center:
www.er-d.org/newsroom_64626_ENG_HTM.htm

 

Episcopal News Service:

Link to ENS Katrina Information Center: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_64712_ENG_HTM.htm

 

Links and communications from others

The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana has a Katrina-specific temporary website up and running. The diocesan staff is working from temporary quarters in Baton Rouge. The web address is http://www.connectedola.org/

 

The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi is updating their website frequently with information. The address is www.dioms.org.

 

The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services has recently forwarded the following message regarding requests for rescue by victims of Katrina.

 

State OES has learned that trapped victims on the Gulf Coast are calling family, friends, loved-ones, or anyone they can get a call out to in California asking for someone to rescue them.  These requests need to go immediately to the US Coast Guard's Rescue Line at 800-323-7233 and immediate assistance will be sent.