Ministering in the wake of disaster

It was Sunday morning, August 28, 2005; my wife and I were sitting at an airport waiting to catch our flight home. Our conversation about the events of our whirlwind four days in the Washington, DC, area was occasionally interrupted by my cell phone. I had spent much time calling friends in New Orleans, asking them what they were going to do because a hurricane was heading in their direction.

Under normal circumstances, New Orleanians ride out storms. That means they purchase enough nonperishable items to sustain them for several days—then allow the wrath of the storm to pass before they return to life as normal. But I was pleased to hear from each person with whom I spoke that they were either already on a highway leaving New Orleans or were soon to leave.

Why was I so concerned? They were more than friends; they were my church members for seven and a half years (1991–1999).

The last time a major hurricane posed a significant threat to New Orleans was 1998—Hurricane Georges. The residents of the city and its surrounding areas (known as parishes) were so alarmed that they created gridlock on the highways. It took my family and me six hours to travel 90 miles to Baton Rouge, and twelve hours to make what would normally be a six-hour drive to Houston. The good news for New Orleans was that Georges turned in another direction, sparing the city. The bad news for New Orleans was that its residents thought they could take lightly the threat of future potential hurricanes.

Little did many of those who evacuated New Orleans in August of 2005 realize that they would have nothing to return to or that the levees—earthen barriers designed to protect the city from the lakes, river, and canals that surround it—would be breached. The impact on the city and surrounding areas would be immense: more than 1,800 dead, in excess of US$80 billion in damages, buildings flattened, churches uninhabitable, memberships scattered (with those who were left behind unable to do much to help themselves rebuild), and thousands psychologically scarred.

Responses from the nearby region

But this isn’t the story of a hurricane. This is the story of a response, of how a region rebuilds after a catastrophe, and of how they do so with the help of many people unknown to them.

This wasn’t the first time the Gulf Coast of the United States had been impacted by a hurricane. I recall the outpouring of national and international support in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), along with other relief agencies, was pivotal in helping the residents of southern Louisiana put their lives back together.

In regards to Hurricane Katrina, Levita Whitson, the disaster response coordinator and Community Services director for the Seventh-day Adventist churches in Arkansas and Louisiana, told about the activities she oversaw, which included setting up nine distribution sites throughout southern Louisiana and Arkansas. There were also mobile distribution units, small-scale feeding programs, collection sites for donations, and temporary shelters as far away as Camp Yorktown Bay in Arkansas.

Under Whitson’s efforts, about US$10 million in goods were donated, and the 624 volunteers who came throughout the United States and beyond logged more than 1.5 million hours helping victims of this disaster.

Billy E. Wright, the president of the Southwest Region Conference (SWRC) of Seventh-day Adventists—the territory that includes the states of Louisiana and Texas—said that two of their Louisiana churches (Baton Rouge and Alexandria) served both as distribution centers and shelters for evacuees. As those in Arkansas came to the rescue, so did those in Texas. As a large number of people headed for Texas after the storm, many churches in Houston, under the direction of Linda Walker, Community Services director for the SWRC, became feeding centers. Many church members cooperated with other agencies in assisting at the Astrodome where many evacuees were living. The same can be said for church members in Dallas, Fort Worth, and other municipalities.

In addition to these efforts, the Lone Star Camp, a church-owned and operated camp in Athens, Texas, became a home away from home for both Adventists and non-Adventists alike. All in all, the SWRC provided assistance totaling more than US$1 million.

The spirit of volunteerism can best be seen in people like Phyllis Littlefield, who came from California. She cooked and trained people as to how to do inventory as well as how to shrink-wrap a pallet of goods. She even oversaw a facility clean-up crew. Littlefield, by the way, is deaf. Her spirit shows that nothing need keep anyone from helping others if they have that desire.

Impact upon and recovery of the churches

Some of the greatest damage took place in the section of New Orleans known as the Lower Ninth Ward. The Adventist church on Caffin Avenue, the closest to the epicenter of one of the levee breaks, was inundated under eight feet of water and had to be gutted. The Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church was severely damaged but has been restored and is now fully operational. Before the hurricane, there were thousands of Adventists worshiping in the city; the number now stands around three hundred.¹ The SWRC churches numbered seven church structures there; now only two churches are functioning. Before, there were two church schools in operation; now, there is only one: New Orleans Adventist Academy.

Glenn Farinola pastors the New Orleans First Seventh-day Adventist Church in Metairie, Louisiana. He and his family were forced to go to Texas as a result of the mandatory evacuation. Upon returning, he discovered that his church sustained US$500,000 in damages. Not only were repairs to the physical plant in order, but restoring membership was also a priority because half of the attending members relocated.

After much investment²and physical labor, the New Orleans First Seventh-day Adventist Church reopened in 2006 and is on its way to re-establishing its strong presence in the community. But they could not have done it on their own. “We have learned that it is virtually impossible for those living in a disaster-struck community to reach out and help others in that same community. This is where we needed help from the surrounding communities that were not impacted,” Farinola said. 

What does the future hold?

Efforts to restore normalcy for the residents of south Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast will resemble a marathon rather than a sprint. The progress in repairing the damage in the affected communities has been slow. Of importance also are the efforts to rebuild church life and ministry in the churches and affected communities. The Southwest Region Conference, Adventist Community Services, the National Association of Katrina Evacuees, and the Allegheny East Conference³ Community Services are partnering in a project called “Operation Restoration, Restoring Communities One House at a Time.” So far they have effected the restoration of more than ten homes. And in a show of missionary spirit, their labors have principally focused on the neediest within the community, as opposed to church members.

Amidst the media coverage of the devastation in New Orleans and the surrounding communities, we often forget that residents along the Mississippi coast bore the brunt of the storm. Other Adventist entities have also been involved in the rebuilding efforts in those areas. Adventist churches throughout other parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and neighboring states have pooled their resources and energies and rebuilt more than one hundred homes.

However, they do not limit themselves to a here-and-now focus, as critical as that may be. “We are also aggressively evangelizing the area, bringing hope to the hopeless and directing the disheartened to a God who is able to raise their spirits and give them peace in the aftermath of the storm,” Billy E. Wright said.

When disaster strikes your community

This story features just one disaster and the response to it; other communities throughout the world also face major disasters. Indonesia has tsunamis, Peru has earthquakes, European countries have massive flooding, African countries have drought, and the list goes on. What can you do when disaster strikes your community?

Pastors need to know that there are resources at their disposal, for often they may feel overwhelmed with the magnitude of issues when disaster strikes.

One resource is Adventist Community Services (ACS).⁴Their mission reads: “To serve the poor and hurting in Christ’s name.” ACS has existed in various forms since 1879 and has managed to broaden its focus as the Adventist Church grew in developing countries. In 1972, ACS was officially titled as the Adventist Church’s domestic (U.S.A.) humanitarian church agency; and in 1973 the international program of ACS became what we now know as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

ADRA’s work has become broader and more comprehensive than can be addressed here.⁵ According to ADRA’s Web site, “the basis for its existence, its reason for being, is to follow Christ’s example by being a voice for, serving, and partnering with those in need.” A part of their nine-fold mission is to “provide assistance in situations of crisis or chronic distress, and work toward the development of long-term solutions with those affected.”⁶

The bad news for pastors, churches, and their communities: There will always be calamities. The good news is that the Adventist Church has agencies to help when a calamity strikes. Pastors and churches need not feel alone when they face debilitating disasters.