Just Back from New Orleans 11/9/08

A week ago I took a small group from my church down to New Orleans to work with Habitat through an organization called RHINO to rebuild a block’s worth of homes. It’s almost impossible to describe just how much building remains to be done in and around New Orleans. Entire neighborhoods are still completely gone, nothing but concrete slabs and perhaps a few steps leading nowhere. The stories of those who remain homeless more than 3 years after the storm are too gut-wrenching and frustrating to convey.

My questions abound: Why is it taking so long? Why can’t more resources be brought to bear on this tragic situation? Why aren’t more corporations pouring their profits and foundation dollars into the rebuilding effort like Barnes and Noble is? I’ve always been an independent bookstore shopper, myself, but I must admit that what B&N is doing in New Orleans makes me want to send a little business their way.

But the story I shared with my congregation at worship this morning is the story of a man named George, who lost his Lower 9th home and his entire extended family in Katrina. George is spending all his time rebuilding other people’s homes with Habitat and RHINO clear across town, while he, himself, remains homeless, at the bottom of some huge waiting list and bureaucratic nightmare. I got to work alongside him last week and I simply couldn’t believe his commitment to the big picture of bringing his beloved city back, even as the work progresses at a snail’s pace. He has so much to be bitter about, so many reasons to have completely lost patience. But he works with a painstaking diligence and attention to detail that would make his favorite carpenter from Nazareth proud.

In my ongoing efforts to reshape this thing we call the Church as we move further into the 21st century, I can’t help but think that future communities of Christ’s followers will put a much bigger priority on disaster relief than has been done in the years following Katrina. And I don’t say that intending any disrespect for the terrific and constant efforts of groups like Presbyterian Disaster Assistance who have been in the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans from Day One and will continue to be. I simply mean that it makes less and less sense to me that millions of American Christians (including me!) can go about the business of holding Sunday worship services and Advent Wreath workshops while people like George still have nowhere to call home. I wonder if more “liquid,” less building-bound communities might be more flexible and readily able to suspend their day to day operations in exchange for being the church to those who need it most?

Whatever we followers of Jesus do, I hope we will not forget the victims of Katrina, most of whom are still without a place to live. Contact RHINO through the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans if you’d like to help.