From Long Island to the Gulf
Coast –
One congregation joins in Katrina relief
[2-15-06]
The Rev. Kent Winters-Hazelton, former
president of the Witherspoon Society and Interim Pastor at First
Presbyterian Church in East Hampton, NY, is just back from a week's stay
in Mississippi with a group from his congregation. Here's his
report:
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| Homes by the coast -- 6
months later |
Eleven of us from the East Hampton Church returned last night from a
week’s stay in Gautier (pronounced Go-ché), Mississippi. We were part of the
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance team which has been on the ground since
September, helping people put their lives and homes back together. It was a
remarkable experience for all of us on this team.
With a wide variety of skills (or in my case non skills) we were assigned
varying ranges of tasks, from cooking, to office management, to roofing.
Together, we shingled and insulated one home for a woman with disabilities
who has been living in Memphis since the storm, and mucked out (taking the
debris, wallboard, rugs - everything - out of the house); repaired poorly
constructed boards, insulated and wall boarded another home. In the
meantime, we erected the camp tent, did camp clean up duties, and purchased
supplies for the work teams that would follow us. (There were three other
groups in camp when we left yesterday.) We had a great sense of
accomplishment as we saw tasks being completed.
But our work leaves such a small imprint on such an overwhelming canvas.
The devastation is beyond description and beyond belief. As we drove toward
the coast from the airport in Jackson, we began to point out trees that had
fallen, neon signs that had been blown away in Hattiesburg, some 60 miles
away. Throughout the week we would see little pockets of the damage: homes
with blue tarped roofs, FEMA trailers on the front yards, and debris piled
up near the curb. But as we left yesterday, we drove on Highway 90 along the
coast in Biloxi and Gulfport, and we began to see the enormous task that
lies ahead. Blocks and blocks are still waiting for the rubble to be
removed. There are areas that look like they have been bombed, Businesses
are gone – there is the foundation, but nothing else. These are most likely
the mom-and-pop variety of stores that populate beach communities, and there
is little chance that they will come back. There is construction being done
on the casinos in Biloxi – one is already open for business – and some of
the larger hotels and homes, but everything else is piecemeal. There is no
economy outside of the service industries – the fast food chains are up and
running and feeding the construction workers – and Lowe’s, Home Depot and
Wal-Mart were running at full-speed. Workers are hard to find for these
establishments; they advertise $7.00 an hour wages, but there is no place
for people to live.
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| Most of the
team in the house they insulated and shingled roof |
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance will be on site for two to three years.
Groups are strongly encouraged to plan work camps and mission trips; there
is so much work to do! We are thankful for the nearly $5,000 that was raised
in the East Hampton Community for this trip. We will be offering a report in
worship on March 12, and at other opportunities as they develop.
One final word of encouragement. On Sunday we worshiped at the Gautier
Presbyterian Church, a small church with about 70 members. The church
sustained some damage as did many of its members. But we were all struck by
the powerful spirit of hope that was present in worship that morning. There
were several visiting groups to join the congregation in worship. Every seat
was taken (and they were new, of course, since the old pews were found
floating in a couple feet of water when the doors were opened after the
storm.) They sang with enthusiasm along with the new piano, hymnal and
bibles. In the service there was a service of ordination and installation of
one elder, and when the call came out for all elders to come forward, there
were people representing churches from South Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Michigan, Virginia, Ohio, New York and other states, forming again, an
unbreakable bond of the Body of Christ.
Kent Winters-Hazelton
Interim Pastor
First Presbyterian Church
120 Main Street
East Hampton, NY 11937-2724