June 4, 2007 issue
Partners needed in New Orleans
MC USA promotes aid for churches recovering from Hurricane Katrina
By June Galle Krehbiel Mennonite Church USAPage:
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After Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in September 2005, churches suffered, lacking not only bricks and mortar but emotional unity and stability.
“We need some tangible help from congregations who can put legs under their prayers for the people of New Orleans.” — Steven Brown, peace and social justice coordinator, African-American Mennonite Association
Since then a national working group, Churches Supporting Churches, is seeing to it that congregations get the help they need.
In Mennonite Church USA, the African-American Mennonite Association, with peace and social justice coordinator Steven Brown, is calling the churchwide body to support CSC.
“These churches need help, and we in Mennonite Church USA have resources we can draw on to help them,” Brown said from his office at Calvary Community Church in Hampton, Va.
He travels monthly to New Orleans for CSC, participating in two-day pastors’ institutes that give leadership training in community development, capacity building and advocacy.
“We need to get our Mennonite churches to consider partnering with CSC,” Brown said. “It is a work that we feel can certainly bring peace and calm. New Orleans is in a bad situation, particularly churches in the community.
“Half the residents have not come back to New Orleans. They are still missing over 200,000 residents… . You see homes that have not been gutted, churches not rebuilt, jobs not returned, economy bad.”
The CSC project is assisting African-American congregations in 12 areas of New Orleans where Katrina destroyed or seriously damaged their facilities. The goal is to restart, reopen, repair and rebuild the churches so they can once again serve their communities.
“We feel that if churches aren’t backing the churches, who will?” Brown said.
The initial goal of CSC was to help 36 churches, not just with bricks-and-mortar donations but with spiritual support. CSC hopes to connect these 36 congregations in New Orleans with 360 congregations nationally on a one-to-10 ratio over three years.
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