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Bishop announces plan for rebuilding New Orleans churches
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A UMNS photo by Fran Coode Walsh
A collection box lies among the ruins of Bethany United Methodist Church in New Orleans.
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A
collection box lies among the ruins of Bethany United Methodist Church
in New Orleans. The box had been used for donations to build a new
church in another location before Hurricane Katrina hit. Louisiana
Bishop William W. Hutchinson has presented a mission-based plan for
rebuilding New Orleans' United Methodist churches affected by the storm.
The plan - which does not call for any church closings at this point -
was drafted by the bishop's appointive cabinet with an advisory
committee. A UMNS photo by Fran Coode Walsh. Photo #06221. Accompanies
UMNS story #132. 3/7/06
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March 7, 2006
By Betty Backstrom*
BATON ROUGE, La. (UMNS) — Bishop William W. Hutchinson has presented a
mission-based plan for rebuilding New Orleans’ United Methodist churches
affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The plan was presented at a Feb. 23 meeting of New Orleans District
clergy held at First United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge. It was
subsequently presented to more than 350 district laity March 3 at
Munholland United Methodist Church in New Orleans.
The plan — which does not call for any church closings at this point —
was drafted by the bishop’s appointive cabinet with the help of a
“blue-ribbon” advisory committee. It is based on a system of seven
groups of Mission Zone Cooperative Parishes.
“The United Methodist Church will continue to make disciples for Christ,
even in the most affected areas of the city,” Hutchinson said. “New
Orleans is, in many ways, starting over from scratch. This approach will
treat the devastated areas as a mission field, building on bold,
creative approaches to deliver the Gospel.”
Clergy who want to be part of rebuilding News Orleans churches must have
certain pastoral characteristics, Hutchinson said. “We need team
players who have a passion for reaching people for Christ. Pastors must
be able to work and live in the midst of change and hardship. We need
leaders who are more interested in people than in buildings.”
Hutchinson added that “out of the box” thinking would be critical for
those serving in the mission zones. “Pastors will need to be
self-starters, remain flexible and possess tremendous energy,” he added.
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A UMNS photo by Betty Backstrom
Bishop William Hutchinson presents a plan for rebuilding hurricane-ravaged New Orleans area churches.
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William Hutchinson presents a plan for the rebuilding of
hurricane-ravaged New Orleans area United Methodist churches. The plan
is based on a system of seven groups of Mission Zone Cooperative
Parishes. Bishop Hutchinson emphasized that the United Methodist Church
"will continue to make disciples for Christ, even in the most affected
areas of the city." A UMNS photo by Betty Backstrom. Photo #06219.
Accompanies UMNS story #132. 3/7/06 |
A key requirement set forth by Hutchinson is that clergy families must
be supportive of living within the Mission Zone. “There will be no
commuters,” he stressed. “We must demonstrate by our presence that
United Methodists believe in the city and its future.”
Thirty-eight New Orleans area churches have been identified for the
seven Mission Zones. Each zone will be directed by a clergy team, headed
by a designated team leader. The team will develop creative ways to
bring church ministry to the areas served by the churches in the group.
“Together, with the help of the district superintendent and the cabinet,
the team will eventually make recommendations on the direction churches
should go. Under this plan, every church has the opportunity to
determine its future,” Hutchinson said.
“For now, we are not going to close any churches,” he stated.
The financial side of the plan is in development.
The zones
The Mission Zone plan targets churches primarily in Plaquemine, St. Bernard, Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
Appointments for clergy positions under this plan will be made in June
and will take effect immediately following the Louisiana Annual
(regional) Conference’s yearly gathering.
A Mission Zone director will be hired or appointed to manage and work
directly with the cooperative parish teams. This key individual, who may
be clergy or a lay person, will be selected for his or her special
ability to lead the clergy teams through challenging times, situations
and decisions. The director will work in cooperation with the New
Orleans District superintendent, who must also provide leadership to
those churches in the New Orleans District that are fully functioning.
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A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose
The Rev. Darryl Tate views the ruined sanctuary of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in New Orleans.
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Rev. Darryl Tate views the ruined sanctuary of St. Luke's United
Methodist Church in New Orleans for the first time since he fled
Hurricane Katrina Aug. 27. Hurricane Katrina damaged many United
Methodist churches in New Orleans, and a new plan laying out the needed
steps for rebuilding those churches in New Orleans has been presented by
Bishop William Hutchinson to affected clergy and laity. The plan is
based on a system of seven groups of Mission Zone Cooperative Parishes.
Hutchinson emphasized that the United Methodist Church "will continue to
make disciples for Christ, even in the most affected areas of the
city." A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose. Photo #06220. Accompanies UMNS
story #132. 3/7/06 |
Station churches have been assigned to each Mission Zone. These are
churches that have a stable ministry but are geographically connected to
seriously affected areas. Aurora United Methodist Church and St.
Matthews United Methodist Church, two of the station churches, are also
serving as hosts for Storm Relief/Recovery Stations funded by the United
Methodist Committee on Relief and managed by the Louisiana Conference.
“The station churches can provide physical and spiritual support to each
team as they take on the challenging task of re-establishing ministry
in the affected areas,” Hutchinson said.
In addition to Aurora and St. Matthews, station churches include El
Mesias, Gretna, Korean, Munholland and Rayne United Methodist churches.
Churches in their respective Mission Zones include:
Group one: First, Grace, St. Mark’s, LaHarpe, St. Phillip’s, Thompson,
Shaw Temple and John Wesley; group two: Carrollton, Haven Trinity,
Phillip’s Memorial, Parker, Williams and Jefferson, along with Tulane’s
Wesley Foundation; group three: Mt. Zion, Peck, Wesley, Felicity,
People’s, First Street, and Napoleon Avenue; group four: Kenner First,
Thomas (Kenner), First (Metairie), Ross, St. Paul’s (Harahan); group
five: Asbury (Algiers), St. Matthew (Algiers), First (Algiers) and
Boynton; group six, Hartzel, Arabi, Covenant (Chalmette) and
Cornerstone; and group seven, Lake Vista, St. Luke’s, Brooks and
Trinity-Gentilly.
Churches with a specialized focus include Bethany United Methodist
Church in New Orleans and Sweet Lake, Cameron and Grand Chenier
churches, which were destroyed by Hurricane Rita.
“It is felt that Bethany UMC, which was moving to a new location prior
to the hurricane, has a solid core group that is ready to grow the
church’s ministry to a special level,” Hutchinson added.
Also under special consideration are El Mesias and Korean United
Methodist churches, serving the Hispanic and Korean ministries of the
Louisiana Conference, respectively.
Addressing the New Orleans clergy, Hutchinson emphasized, “The power is
in your hands. We must continue to win disciples for Jesus Christ.”
Last fall, the United Methodist Council of Bishops launched the Katrina
Church Recovery Appeal to restore damaged church facilities, pay clergy
salaries and cover other needs related to rebuilding or building new
ministries in the hurricane-affected areas. Donations can be designated
for “Bishops’ Appeal #818-001” and placed in local church offerings or
made online at http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=21&mid=10253.
*Backstrom is editor of Louisiana Now!, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church’s Louisiana Annual Conference.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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