|
|
The Sunday after Hurricane Katrina, 4 September 2005
From the website of the Episcopal Church, these prayers and thoughts, expanded:
Let us pray:
Most Merciful, Most Compassionate God
Hear our prayers for your people affected by Hurricane Katrina, And let their cries come unto You.
O God, the floods have engulfed the land
The storms made a wasteland of water
How can we sing to you
When so many have died or are missing?
Strengthen those who cling to life
Keep their hope and hearts alive;
Revive the weary rescue workers and tired medical teams
Renew the resolve of those who have lost everything.
Quicken all efforts to rush resources and aid
Send our people to help;
Open our hearts to give and give again
That we may be generous bearers of healing and help.
God of the Universe
Pour out your Spirit of mercy and compassion
In Your Name we pray. AMEN.
O God, the floods have engulfed the land
The storms made a wasteland of water
How can we sing to you
When so many have died or are missing?
If we were Revelation watchers, we would have had our calculators out this week, running the numbers over and over again
and again to see if the world might not be ending. We sat, as we did just over four years ago in the aftermath of 9-11, as
we sat mesmerized by Hurricane Katrina's crossing over Florida, gaining new relentless strength in the Gulf of Mexico and
turning toward Louisiana and Mississippi. We breathed a sigh of relief the morning the Category 5 storm weakened as it went
inland. We thought the worst was over. But then the levees broke in New Orleans. We found it impossible that it could get
worse, but it did. Now there was devastation by the deadly floods that raged into this once beautiful city where so many
of our brothers and sisters were trapped. A city which is no more.
O God, the floods have engulfed the land
The storms made a wasteland of water
How can we sing to you
When so many have died or are missing?
Twenty-thousand people did not, until late this week, have a way to get out of the Superdome, which soon became uninhabitable.
Looters ran in and out of ruined stores, grabbing whatever they can carry; one woman holds a package of disposable diapers
over her face as she passes the television camera. Others quickly ransacked the stores for weapons: shotguns, rifles, pistols,
and ammunition. Inside the Superdome thuggish elements begin to rob other victims, even taking their shoes. Relief helicopters
were fired upon and their crews assaulted. Civil disorder reigns when hope seems to be gone and despair takes over the souls
of humankind.
When a ground convoy was finally able to break through on Friday, some were grateful. But many others were not, jeering and
catcalling, “What took you so long.”
O God, the floods have engulfed the land
The storms made a wasteland of water
How can we sing to you
When so many have died or are missing?
How indeed?
Workers still go from house to house, spray-painting black marks on the ones in which the dead remain: there is still no time
to recover them even now, not with so many of the living still being rescued.
In a Baghdad that was already one of the most dangerous places on earth, at least 640 people are dead this past week in the
area around a Shi'a mosque after a false suicide bomber alarm caused a stampede during a spiritual pilgrimage. Men, women
and children, were trampled to death or drowned in the Tigris after the railing of the bridge they were walking on collapsed
and they tumbled into the water.
The devastation from flooding continues in India. The drought continues in Niger. The displaced in Zimbabwe remain homeless
and without food. People in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India remain in camps after last year's tsunami. Christians in the Sudan
continue to be enslaved by their own government. Disasters, natural and otherwise continue to stalk the planet. But these
things were not on our TV screens this week.
O God, How can we sing to you
When so many have died or are missing?
And so the response must also continue. Episcopal Relief and Development will need our help again. If we tire of being asked
to help again and again, we need only think of the exhaustion of the people who need that help and we will remember how blessed
we are to be alive, dry, housed, fed, employed, healthy.
The Men’s Breakfast voted yesterday to empty their treasury by sending $500.00. Bishop Lee has sent $10,000 to each
of the three dioceses in Mississippi and Louisiana. Those dioceses have turned over their camp and coference centers to evacuated
residents of nursing homes and hospitals and are soliciting parishioners to welcome strangers into their homes from the devastated
areas. The response has been overwhelming.
I will empty the parish discretionary fund to send . This is the first Sunday of the month. If there was ever a time to
dig deep into your hearts and souls AND your wallets and checkbooks, this is it.
O God, How can we sing to you
When so many have died or are missing?
This is how we can sing; this is how we can help.
O God, Quicken all efforts to rush resources and aid
Send our people to help;
Open our hearts to give and give again
That we may be generous bearers of healing and help
As some of us already know from a broadside email sent yesterday, in a conference call late Friday afternoon with representatives
of Virginia's faith communities, the Governor of Virginia made several specific requests for help in a coordinated relief
effort between Virginia and the devastated Gulf states.
He asked first for prayer support, specifically for the victims, their families and the rescue workers. Second, he encouraged
us to take up special collections to go toward the relief effort.
Governor Warner also asked the faith communities to help identify shelter/housing and transportation resources (buses) for
those who have been displaced by Katrina. The Diocese of Virginia, institutionally, is examining what resources it may have
along these lines that may be of assistance. The Commonwealth of Virginia is coordinating a statewide effort to assess and
provide housing, shelter, and transportation resources. They are compiling a database of information for follow up action
in the coming weeks.
They have asked that responses to this request come through churches and not from parishioners directly. I ask you to send
me your responses by email or hand me a note.
Finally, the Governor made the request that churches not send unsolicited teams to the affected areas at this point. Likewise,
he asked that churches not send unsolicited trucks with material supplies unless you know where they are going, who will handle
the distribution, and that what you are sending is what is needed.
In the midst of our frustration and feelings of helplessness in the face of a natural disaster of such vast magnitude, these
are signs of hope as government and churches work together to do whatever they – whatever WE can. None of us have a
magic wand to wave to make it go away. But we can help.
If we grow weary of the bad news, sick at heart, we have help for that, too: a God who will strengthen and encourage and invigorate
us for service when we turn to him. A God who loved us all and loves us still. That is always our hope and our joy in the
midst of sorrow.
Let us pray.
A Prayer for Rescue, Recovery, Rebuilding
O gracious God, we will never understand the sorrows of the world, but by your grace we will not turn away from them. Renew
and sustain in us the spirit of love that crosses miles. Cheer and encourage those who labor to help the injured, the homeless,
the hungry and those in despair. Soften the hearts of those who would take advantage of tragedy for their own profit, that
they may come to know where true joy is to be found. Unite us in prayer with all those who look for help, and use us to come
speedily to them with the things that they need. We ask these things in your own most holy Name, and in the Name of Jesus
Christ, Our Lord.
AMEN.
|
|
|