‘We have to rebuild Gulfside,’ United Methodists say
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A UMNS photo by the Rev. Larry Hollon Most of the historic Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, Miss., lies in ruins after Hurricane Katrina.
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Most
of the historic Gulfside Assembly in Waveland, Miss., lies in ruins
after Hurricane Katrina. Founded in 1923 as a residential school for
African-American boys, the center became a vacation and meeting spot
during segregation in the South. When the United Methodist Church
integrated in the late 1960s, the retreat center still hosted meetings
and conferences. A UMNS photo by the Rev. Larry Hollon. Photo #05H-101.
Accompanies UMNS story #518. 9/19/05 |
Sept. 19, 2005By Ciona Rouse* WAVELAND,
Miss. (UMNS) — Marian Martin searched through the remains of her home
on the Gulfside United Methodist Assembly grounds and found her china
set in the rubble. "The
dishes didn’t break, but the building did," Martin told Mississippi
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, as they looked at the bricks and debris that
have replaced Martin’s home. The
United Methodist Church’s historic Gulfside Assembly retreat center was
washed away when Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast Aug.
29. Martin, director of the assembly, was forced to evacuate. Upon
returning, she found a nearly empty plot of land. Her
possessions were scattered around town by the hurricane. Every building
at the assembly was gone; even the new lodging and meeting facility
named after Bishop Alfred Norris was destroyed. Ward had dedicated
Norris Hall just two weeks before the catastrophic storm.
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A UMNS photo by the Rev. Larry Hollon Mattresses mark the remains of dorm rooms at Gulfside Assembly.
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Mattresses
mark the remains of dorm rooms at Gulfside Assembly after destroyed by
Hurricane Katrina. The United Methodist Church�s historic retreat center
was washed away when the storm made landfall on the Gulf Coast Aug. 29.
A UMNS photo by the Rev. Larry Hollon. Photo #05H-102. Accompanies
UMNS story #518. 9/19/05 |
Martin reflected on
the destruction as she met with Ward, the Rev. Randy Day, top executive
of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, and the Rev. Larry
Hollon, top executive of United Methodist Communications, Sept. 10. Day
and Hollon were visiting church-related sites in Louisiana and
Mississippi affected by the storm.While
the cottages that made up Gulfside’s Ernest T. Dixon Leisure Village
for Older Adults no longer exist, the sign was unharmed. "I
can’t believe Katrina cleaned the sign. It was a little dirty before,"
said Edward Moultrie who helped build the sign in the early 1990s. Moultrie,
retired employee of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries,
and his wife, Paula Milo-Moultrie, had moved to Waveland in the summer.
Their home was damaged but not destroyed. Both mourned the loss of
Gulfside, where they frequently visited and lived for a summer. Milo-Moultrie
said she hoped the denomination will raise enough money to rebuild
Gulfside Assembly. It is needed for families in the future, she said. "We’re going to rebuild. We have to rebuild Gulfside for the next generation," she said.
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A UMNS photo by the Rev. Larry Hollon While
the cottages that made up Gulfside�s Ernest T. Dixon Leisure Village
for Older Adults no longer exist, the sign remains unharmed.
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While
the cottages that made up Gulfside�s Ernest T. Dixon Leisure Village
for Older Adults no longer exist, the sign remain unharmed. The United
Methodist Church�s historic retreat center was washed away when
Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast Aug. 29. A UMNS photo
by the Rev. Larry Hollon. Photo #05H-103. Accompanies UMNS story #518.
9/19/05 |
Her father used to
visit the assembly grounds as a child and would always share memories of
his time there. When Milo-Moultrie made it to Gulfside as a young
adult, she "fell in love with it immediately." She particularly enjoyed
watching the sunset over the ocean from the grounds."Everything looks so different now," she said. Moultrie
walked through the wooded area behind the assembly grounds and found
furniture from Norris Hall that had been picked up and moved by Katrina.
Otherwise, few items were found. Bishop
Robert E. Jones founded Gulfside in 1923 as a residential school for
African-American boys living in rural areas of the country. The center
became a popular vacation and meeting spot during racial segregation in
the South. When the United Methodist Church integrated in the late
1960s, the retreat center declined in usage but still hosted meetings
and conferences. Ward
led the group visiting the grounds in a verse of, "Balm in Gilead" and
said a prayer for restoration before leaving to visit other churches in
the area damaged by the storm. The group then saw Valena C. Jones
Memorial United Methodist Church in nearby Bay St. Louis, which received
water damage and downed trees. A team from a
Presbyterian congregation in Celebration, Fla., was
helping the church clean up the community. Another
Bay St. Louis church, Main Street United Methodist Church, also had
water damage and had lost its steeple. The Rev. Rick Brooks, pastor,
said he cancelled church for the first time Sept. 4, the Sunday
after Katrina hit.
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A UMNS photo by the Rev. Larry Hollon A van from Gulfside Assembly lies in a ravine following Hurricane Katrina.
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A
van from Gulfside Assembly was deposited in a ravine filled with
floodwater during Hurricane Katrina. The United Methodist Church�s
historic retreat center was washed away when Hurricane Katrina made
landfall on the Gulf Coast Aug. 29. A UMNS photo by the Rev. Larry
Hollon. Photo #05H-104. Accompanies UMNS story #518. 9/19/05 |
Mollie M. Stewart,
president of the Gulfside Board of Trustees, said in a news release that
the board would meet in October. Once an assessment is made, she said,
she will be able to determine the next step for the assembly grounds.Under
Martin’s leadership, Gulfside Assembly was experiencing growth and
rebuilding. Now, the concept of rebuilding has taken on a new meaning. Martin
recalled a crocheted copy of the Lord’s Prayer that was framed in the
lobby of the assembly’s dining room. Searching for the prayer after the
storm, she could not remove enough rubble to find it. "We’ve lost stuff that cannot be replaced," Martin said. "It’s just in our memories." 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 Global," Advance No. 982523, and left in church
offering plates or mailed directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY
10087-9068. Gulfside
receives funding in part through the denomination’s Advance for Christ
and His Church. Donations can be designated for "Gulfside Assembly
Program," Advance Special No. 761337-2, or "Gulfside Assembly Capital
Fund," Advance Special No. 760235-1, and sent to the UMCOR address. *Rouse is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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