Retreat gives Louisiana pastors strength for challenges ahead
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A UMNS photo by John Gordon The Rev. Connie Thompson surveys storm damage at Napoleon Avenue United Methodist Church in New Orleans.
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The
Rev. Connie Thompson is astounded by the level of storm damage to
Napoleon Avenue United Methodist Church in New Orleans. Thompson is also
the pastor of Peck United Methodist Church in New Orleans, which was
also severely damaged. She is one of about 60 United Methodist pastors
from Louisiana and Mississippi who gathered for a retreat after
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast. Thompson's residence
also lies in ruin. A UMNS photo by John Gordon. Photo #05-898.
Accompanies UMNS story #710. 12/21/05. |
Dec. 21, 2005
By John Gordon*
NEW ORLEANS (UMNS) —
The Rev. Connie Thomas was not prepared for what she saw when she walked
into her two New Orleans churches that were flooded during Hurricane
Katrina.
“Oh, Lord, no, look at the pews,” Thomas exclaimed as she entered Peck United Methodist Church.
The wooden pews, which
had been bolted to the floor, were scattered and overturned inside the
sanctuary. A piano, once used to play hymns, leaned over after being
soaked by floodwaters. Mold was creeping up the walls.
“A
part of me had been feeling like, I don’t want to see it,” said Thomas.
“But at the same time, I realize that there’s work that has to be done,
and it’s time to roll our sleeves up and start doing what we can to
make it a church again.”
Thomas
has been unable to hold services at Peck or her second church, Napoleon
Avenue United Methodist Church, because of the extensive damage.
She
had a chance to discuss the challenges ahead with other pastors
affected by Katrina. She was among 60 United Methodist pastors
from Louisiana and Mississippi attending a Nov. 30-Dec. 2 retreat,
“Staying Connected and Being Renewed,” at the denomination’s Louisiana
Conference Center near Alexandria.
There
is much uncertainty as the rebuilding process begins, but the Rev.
Jerry Hilbun, pastor of First United Methodist Church in the hard-hit
city of Slidell, said residents are encouraged by even the smallest
signs of progress.
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A UMNS photo by John Gordon Pastors from Louisiana and Mississippi meet for a retreat to discuss the effect of Gulf Coast hurricanes this year.
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The
Rev. Jerry Hilbun (2nd from left) of First United Methodist Church in
Slidell, La. leads a group discussion during a retreat for ministers
affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. About 60 pastors from the
affected areas gathered the first week of December to discuss the impact
of the hurricanes on their personal and professional lives. A UMNS
photo by John Gordon. Photo #05-899. Accompanies UMNS story #710.
12/21/05. |
“There is a group of
people in the church who are determined to rebuild and fix the buildings
that we have, and they are a source of inspiration,” said Hilbun, whose
home and church were heavily damaged.
“I heard a Hindu
proverb that we’ve been using in our church, and folks seem to have
latched on to this,” he said. “And the proverb teaches that if you have
to eat an elephant, you can only do it one bite at a time.”
As Hilbun tries to
bring life back to normal for his own family, he has been called on to
comfort others. In the weeks and months following the hurricane, there
are signs that depression is growing among families struggling to cope
with loss.
“A seminar teacher told
us that we could expect a much higher suicide, rate maybe 80 percent,
and an increased rate of family separations and divorces, as high as 50
percent more than in a normal time,” says Hilbun. Coping with depression
is proving to be a long process.
Hilbun said his church
is important to its community, hosting youth events, Mother’s Day Out
and a program for dyslexic youth, drawing students from up to 100 miles
away. The larger body of the church has also been crucial to the
community’s recovery, “People from all over the country, in fact all
over the world, have come to help. It may be the church’s finest hour
that we are coming together to overcome this disaster.”
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A UMNS photo by John Gordon The Rev. Ellen Alston now lives in Shreveport, La., after her church and home were destroyed.
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The
Rev. Ellen Alston attended a United Methodist retreat for ministers
affected by Hurricane Katrina. "There's a lot of pain," she said.
Alston relocated to Shreveport after the parsonage where she lived and
the church where she preached, Covenant United Methodist Church in
Chalmette, La. were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. A UMNS photo by John
Gordon. Photo #05-900. Accompanies UMNS story #710. 12/21/05. |
Another pastor
attending the conference, the Rev. Ellen Alston, said the hurricane
flooded her home and church, Covenant United Methodist Church in
Chalmette.
“There’s a lot of pain,” she said.
“And I think sometimes,
that’s even deepening as people realize that as time goes on, how
permanent the losses are, and that’s even more than house and
belongings,” she said. “I think it’s the loss of access to those
relationships being right there that you built your life around.”
Alston has tried to
keep in touch with members of her congregation, though some have still
not returned to the area. “Hope is definitely challenged,” she said, by
the destruction and the relocation of many families.
“I think there’s a
sense of growing into now, what is this real situation that we’re
facing, what are all the ramifications,” she said. “And how do we live
those questions with hope and trust, which may not be immediately
apparent, how it’s all going to work out and unfold.”
Still, many Gulf Coast residents are showing a determination to rebuild their churches — and their lives.
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A UMNS photo by John Gordon John W. Johnson tells the Rev. Connie Thomas that "the best is yet to come."
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Peck
United Methodist Church member John W. Johnson tells the Rev. Connie
Thomas "the best is yet to come," after the church was heavily damaged
by flood waters following Hurricane Katrina. Johnson is optimistic that
rebuilding will allow the congregation to tailor church-sponsored
programs to the specific needs of the surrounding community. Thomas
says, "The city has a long road to recovery." A UMNS photo by John
Gordon. Photo #05-902. Accompanies UMNS story #710. 12/21/05. |
Ford Willoughby met
Pastor Thomas to survey the damage at Napoleon United Methodist.
Willoughby has been a member of the church since 1955.
“The church was
struggling, but we have never given up our desire for this church to
remain open,” Willoughby said. “And we don’t intend to do so now.”
Napoleon offered a Christian academy and other youth and community programs before Katrina hit.
Thomas has relocated to
Baton Rouge while her home in New Orleans is being repaired. She
is heading up the assignment of volunteer work teams coming to Louisiana
to help hurricane victims rebuild.
“The city has a long road to recovery,” she said. “A lot of work to be done.”
But Peck United
Methodist Church member John W. Johnson is undaunted. He and
others see the rebuilding as a chance to tailor church-sponsored
programs to the specific needs of their neighborhoods and communities.
“That’s right,” Johnson declared. “The best is yet to come.”
*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer based in Marshall, Texas.
News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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