An Episcopal Letter to the Texas Annual Conference Churches

An Episcopal Letter to the Texas Annual Conference Churches
Sunday Morning
September 4, 2005


Dear United Methodist Brothers and Sisters,

Resurrection Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I write to all of you this day to tell you that truly we “have seen the Lord” in caring for our sisters and brothers of New Orleans. A friend commented to me earlier this week, “It is in times like this that one can see the true soul of a people and an institution.” Your souls are surely shining.

Many of you are personally in the thick of caring for displaced citizens. I have the privilege—when I’m not organizing volunteers and caring for folks like the rest of you—the privilege of seeing a larger view of the whole Texas Annual Conference in action. Even my own view is still partial, but I wanted to share with you some of what I know.

Here is a quick picture of the people of the United Methodist Church in action:

* It is my understanding that churches in every district are now directly engaged in caring for displaced citizens. All the churches which were designated Red Cross shelters prior to Hurricane Katrina are at capacity or more. We do not have anything approaching a complete listing, but I am aware that churches small and large have spontaneously opened their doors. Dr. Earl Bledsoe reports that Aldersgate UMC in Bryan has moved out of its Worship Center to fill it with cots; they will worship in their Fellowship Hall today and invite evacuees to join them. Christ UMC is now housing numerous special needs individuals. Dr. Richard Burnham reports that Wesley in Beaumont is housing approximately 50 Hondurans. The list goes on and on. The Conference Office will be working to compile a more complete list by next week.

* St. Luke’s UMC staff and volunteers have been “on the floor” of the Astrodome since before it received it first guest. They are helping to set up the infrastructure to serve a small city. Susan Silvus, director of outreach at St. Luke’s, greeted a young woman carrying a baby when they stepped off a bus. “I asked her how I could help her,” said Silvus. “She handed me a package of diapers and a can of Similac, and that is all she had. All.” My husband Bob reports that more than half the cots seem to be occupied by children.


* Numerous churches are engaged in feeding ministries. Congregation members are working at Red Cross shelters.

* Lakeview Conference Center received 106 special needs displaced citizens of New Orleans. These persons were part of a small group living situation in New Orleans. All require special assistance.

* The Methodist Hospitals are another shining face of the people of the United Methodist Church. Dr. Charles Millikan reported that as of yesterday, the downtown hospital alone had received well over 300 persons. The first 200 arrived beginning at 11pm. Some of the finest doctors, nurses and medical technicians in the world came back to the hospital and worked until every person was properly cared for.

In addition, many individuals and families have been in need of pastoral care. For example, Dr. Millikan told me the heart-breaking story of working with a mother who had gotten separated from her seven children. She believes they might not have survived.

* Methodist Retirement Communities has now received 80 persons into various facilities in the conference. It has been my understanding that they are referrals from The Methodist Hospital. I have no further details here.

* Lon Morris College in Jacksonville has invited displaced students of Dillard University in New Orleans to attend Lon Morris with free room, board and tuition. They are planning to send a bus to Baton Rouge to be able to transport people.

* Volunteers from Houston area congregations are attending training sessions for food service at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Dr. Ed Young reported that 4,870 people from many faith communities attended the first session. They are expecting over 6,000 persons today.

Throughout the Conference, congregations are in the process of raising $1,000,000. I am aware of several congregations dedicating their entire offering today to assist in this relief effort. The people of The United Methodist Church have great hearts. I am absolutely confident that the Texas Annual Conference will reach its goal.

You and I have an opportunity to practice radical hospitality and extravagant generosity in a situation which, God willing, comes only once in a lifetime. We are truly blessed to be called to this time and place to witness to Jesus Christ and to serve our neighbors in Christ’s name.

The words of the Apostle Paul encourage us this day, “Now to [God] who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

God bless you.
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie

John W. Harrington, Beaumont District RJM Coordinator

Demitri Lee Davis, #1301934, Larry Gist State Jail, 3295 FM 3514,
Beaumont, TX 77705.... Release Date Oct. 3, 2005 after released 409
832 8348 or 615 Campus St., Beaumont, TX 77701 He needs job placement aid.
JerMal Williams Sr., 20515 Aldine Westfield #97, Humble, TX 77338 713 991 4279 needs job, trained as a Custodial Technician--Before released
can be reached at: JerMal Williams Sr., Larry Gist Unit, FM 3514,
Beaumont, TX 77705 Ronald Mitchell #1269357,

Larry Gist State Jail, 3295 FM 3514, Beaumont, TX 77705....
Release date Sept. 16, 2005 home address will be 1212 Inwood Ln.,
Pasadena, TX 77502 713 472 8300 Does Sheetrock, Paint and Labor
work(needs job placement).

OTHER CURRENT RELEASEES via Welcome Back and/or Operation Rebound
Jack L. Wood III, 1805 Concord, Vidor, TX 77662 409-779-0065
Thomas Lackey, 1711 Missouri, Orange, TX 77639
Byron "Grace" Bernard, 1105 Cherry St. Orange, TX 77630 409 882 9937
James Walker Jr., 3457 Martin, Orange, TX 77630 409 670 0516 DOB
7/26/81
Phillip Julian, 1105 Burton St., Orange, TX 77630
Lyle H. Allen, 2218 58th St., Port Arthur, TX 77640 409 736 3005
Jerrod Dorrell, 1501 Poole Ave. Apt # 536, Port Arthur, TX 77642
409 960 7292 DOB 8-6-78

Ryan Richie, 1506 Shady Glen, Montgomery, TX 77316 936 447 3588

LADIES BEING RELEASED FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT FACILITIES:
Artie Renee Henry, 2795 Grand St., Beaumont, TX

Sharon Denise Matthews, 1820 East 8th St., Port Arthur, TX 77640 Age 38 attended TAX & NA

Myrna Bolds, 2327 2nd Ave., Port Arthur, TX 77640 409 982 4924
Stella Johnson, 3434 Bluebonnet, Corpus Christi, TX 78408

How is your church helping?

United Methodist Churches across the Texas Annual Conference are doing their part in aiding the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

If your church is an official Red Cross Shelter, we want to add it to our growing list.

If your church has news or photos about the work being done in your area, we want to share it on our Church Response Efforts page.

Send your submissions to: david.mckay@txcumc.org

Clay Whitaker - Here's an urgent update on needs.

Greetings in the name of Christ. Here's an urgent update on needs.

First, many thanks to those who have so quickly responded by bringing bottled water to Vidor. Two deliveries will be made. The first load leaves early Saturday morning for Baton Rouge. The second goes Sunday afternoon and will be taken by our D.S., Dr. Richard Burnham, and me. He felt it important, since we are in this for the long haul, that we establish some face-to-face contact with our UMCOR crew who are already on site.

Here's an update on Astrodome needs, which by now, also includes the George R. Brown Center, and perhaps one or two other sites. The vast majority of these displaced thousands are babies, preschoolers, the elderly, and the disabled. They are desperate for these supplies:

Similac baby, nipples, diapers ,baby wipe,s towels, socks
underwear, bottled water, femine hygiene, supplies adult depends,

Pastors, we need you to publish and call attention to these lists for this Sunday, Sept. 4. Early contributors, please get your supplies to Vidor first by 2 PM Monday afternoon. Dr. Burnham himself will take them to Houston. For those who can't meet that deadline, please help collect these items anyway. Subsequent runs to Houston will gladly be made, and the needs for these items will be ongoing.

One last item: our Bishop is requesting that all communion offerings be given to the Conference for Katrina relief. The Texas Conference has committed, for the period of Sept. 14 - 20, to provide meals and volunteers.

The 5 Houston Districts will each be responsible for one day. The remaining two days will be covered by the congregations of St. Luke's UMC and Windsor Village UMC. The best way for the remaining districts to help is with money...one million dollars ballpark!

May God's blessings by yours in abundance! Clay Whitaker

Pastoral Care Opportunity

For pastors who want to offer pastoral care to those dfisplaced by
Katrina, please note the following:

There will be an organizational meeting at Innerfaith Ministries
(Montrose at Westheimer) from 1 to 2:30 p.m. this Tuesday, September 6.
Training will be offered Thursday afternoon; the site is to be determined.

For additional information, contact Rev. David Meeker-Williams at
713-521-9383.

Bishop Huie recalls hurricanes, calls for helping hands

Growing up on a farm in the coastal bend area of Texas, hurricanes were a part of life. My father kept a sharp eye on the weather in the Gulf of Mexico throughout harvest season. A hurricane at that time could mean no crop at all.

I remember my first big hurricane. Carla hit the coastal area of Texas in 1961, when I was a freshman in high school. It was only a category 3 storm, but it brought lots of wind damage.

Just a couple of years before or after, Celia brought flooding. It dumped 25 to 30 inches of rain in just over 24 hours. Areas that had never flooded in the memory of the oldest residents – and haven’t flooded since then – were covered with water. One of my vivid memories is dead cattle, drowned in the fields where they ordinarily grazed contentedly. The economic loss of those cattle made less impact on me than my sadness at the loss of life.

The human damage was much more significant with Carla. After the storm passed, our family drove into town to check on family and friends. Nearly everyone had lost power and phone service. However, there was a big difference in what had happened to the homes. Although most of the brick homes in town were windblown, they were structurally sound.

The poorest part of town was a totally different story. Poorly-built houses were badly damaged or completely destroyed. The area was a mess — unlivable. I must have queried my Dad about the tremendous difference between what we saw on the east side of town and what we witnessed on the “Westside” as it was called. I remember him saying, “Janice, it is always the poorest people who suffer the most.”

After every storm, I remember how neighbors got together and helped each other clean up the mess, repair their homes and re-build their lives. Those acts of compassion and good work are a big part of who we are as Americans, and, more particularly, as Christians.

I’ve been remembering those flood waters, the dead cows and the destroyed homes as I watch the devastation from Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Katrina, of course, is far more destructive than any storm of my childhood. We see human beings clinging to life on rooftops and in trees, not just animals.

Thousands of homes are flooded all over New Orleans, and people will be unable to return for a long time. The loss of life in Mississippi and Alabama is rising hourly as I write today. The economic loss to individual families without homes, belongings, jobs or even a place to apply for work has yet to be calculated.
All of us want to help. After all, we are next-door neighbors to Louisiana. Begin with prayer for everyone involved here. Pray for creation itself, because the earth, its animals and vegetation have been wounded as well.

Some of us may want to consider opening our homes to a refugee family from Louisiana or we may want to volunteer at one of the shelters here in Houston. Once the clean-up process begins, there will be a tremendous need for flood buckets and other supplies. You can learn how to create those buckets on our Web site at www.txcumc.org.

A tremendous re-building process lies ahead. As soon as the waters recede, and sites are available, you will hear from Kathie Mann, who leads our Partner in Mission teams.

Hygiene Kits needed immediately

Written: 9/1/2005

One of the many ways the Houston faith community is responding to Hurricane Katrina is through Operation Compassion, an interfaith undertaking to meet the immediate needs of refugees.

In addition to serving approximately 75,000 meals daily, Operation Compassion will provide a personal hygiene bag to each of the 25,000 people expected to inhabit the Astrodome.

Your help is needed in supplying these half-gallon sized bags that should include the following:

• Toothbrush
• Regular sized toothpaste
• Deodorant
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Wet wipes (travel pack size)

District collection points will be posted as soon as they are appointed. Kits need to reach the Houston central collection point (Second Baptist Church) by Tuesday, September 6, between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

Please note that the content of the hygiene bags differs slightly from the traditional UMCOR Health Kit.

Update on Operation Compassion (Revised)

Update on Operation Compassion (Revised)

The leaders of the faith communities learned this morning that we need to plan for significant modifications to Operation Compassion. We still need money and we still need people, but the deployment will be changing.

As you may already know, the Fire Marshall has declared that 12,000 is the maximum capacity for the Astrodome. Public officials also decided that since Aramark has an existing contract with the Astrodome, they will handle all food service there.

Thousands of displaced citizens are continuing to arrive by bus in Houston, and other public facilities will be opened up. Those persons will need food, medical care, showers, etc. It is the current expectation that the faith communities will provide food services.

Bottom line: We still need a $1,000,000 to serve displaced citizens in the Texas Annual Conference. We still need to train people for food service. The dates and locations for food service will change.

As Jim Bankston commented when he called me with this news, "Jesus never said it would be this hard to feed hungry people."

Please stay tuned for updates. We will keep this website updated over the weekend.

Grace and peace,
Janice Riggle Huie

There is an urgent need for bottled water

There is an urgent need for bottled water. These victims are desperate for clean, drinking water. Please bring what you can to Vidor U.M.C. by 8 p.m. on Friday, September 2nd. This water will be delivered to Baton Rouge on Saturday morning.

If you have any questions, you can call the Vidor church. If you see that you will be later than 8 p.m., please let the church know or call Rev. Clay Whitaker on his cell, 409-291-0027, so that someone will be there to receive the water.

Subject: Jobs - Hurricane Clean Up - $10/hr

Subject: Jobs - Hurricane Clean Up - $10/hr

Construction company hiring 1000 people to help with hurricane clean up.
$10/hr, 80-90 hrs weekly, food, lodging, transportation to area. Start immediately, could go on for 1-2 yrs. Anyone interested can call directly to LVI Svcs, 713-991-0480, 10500 Telephone Rd.


Nora Vasquez
Weatherford Int'l
Payroll Department
Ph: (713) 693-4745
Fax:(713) 693-4487
nora.vasquez@weatherford.com

Katrina destroys Gulfside Assembly

Katrina destroys Gulfside Assembly

Written: 9/1/2005 5:52:46 PM

Katrina destroys Gulfside Assembly

So many of us have been so concerned about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Gulfside Assembly.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has confirmed what aerial photos indicate: There is little but rubble left at Gulfside.

An aerial view, located by staff of CIM (GBGM unit: Community and Institutional Ministries staff) on the internet, clearly show where buildings once stood. It may be that parts of some structures are still intact. The entire vicinity of Waveland was very hard hit.

Marian Martin, the director of Gulfside Assembly, and Wila Dunbar, a GBGM missionary assigned to Gulfside, are both safe.

Some elderly employees were reportedly reluctant to leave Waveland. We don't yet know anything about them.

The area is still closed off.

Aerial pictures show that the main building of Moore Community Center in Biloxi is still standing.

Pray for those who mourn and who are hurting in the Hurricane area; be prepared to help as you are led in the relief and rehabilitation.

Rev. Dr. John Edward Nuessle
Executive Secretary

General Board of Global Ministries

Bishop cancels Clergy Gathering

Bishop cancels Clergy Gathering

Written: 9/1/2005 5:56:56 PM

Bishop Huie has cancelled the Clergy Gathering planned for September 19-21 at Lakeview Methodist Conference Center.

In lieu of going to Lakeview, the Bishop is asking clergy to come to Houston and help in relief efforts by serving meals and working in shelters.

More information will be forthcoming.