Disaster Relief

Moore, Ok; photo by Alonzo Adams, AP

You can assist those whose lives were devastated by the Oklahoma tornadoes

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ;

As all are aware, the Bishop has asked Archdeacon Bette-Jo Kaufman and me to coordinate our Diocesan efforts in assisting those hit by devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma. As such we have discussed four ways you and your congregations can help, they are:

1. Donate money directly to the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund and designate your check as Oklahoma tornado victims.

2. Collect funds from your congregation through the next two to three weeks and then send a check to our diocesan office designated for the Oklahoma tornado victims. We will then combine our monies and send one check directly to the Bishop of Oklahoma who will then distribute the funds.

3. Volunteer to be a part of a team who will travel to Oklahoma in July to assist people directly with manual and skilled labor.

4. Begin collecting household items such as linens, kitchen items, good clean clothing, toiletries, shoe, socks, etc. Remember these people have lost everything! Please donate either new or really good usable items, do not send things you plan to throw away.

Many of us here in Louisiana know firsthand what it is like to face such devastation. The trip for our team is scheduled in July because we know from experience that a few months from now these people will still be suffering from the loss and destruction but the media will move on. Victims are often forgotten and it is the second and third month that people really begin to need someone to talk to and others to reach out with a helping hand. So please consider being a part of this team effort.

Also as we begin this effort to assist others let's be mindful of our own need to be prepared for such disasters. Hurricane season is just around the corner. Please make sure you and your congregations have plans in place for an emergency.

Thank you for your assistance, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to mothermitzi@hotmail.com or Archdeacon Bette Jo bjkauffman@gmail.com.

In Christ's Service

Mother Mitzi+

-The Rev. Dr. Mitzi George is Priest-in-Charge of St. Andrew's, Moss Bluff and Disaster Relief Officer of the Diocese. 

Mission Trip?

Canterbury@ULM group:

If you read my earlier post from Bishop Jake, you know that I'm helping put together a Mission Team to go to Oklahoma in July or August to help with recovery.

Many details remain to be resolved, but.... At this point in time, are any of you interested and perhaps available to participate in such a trip? E-mail me if so.

All I can tell you right now is that we are probably talking about a week to no more than 10 days before school starts.

Dr. K., Chaplain

   

More Re Oklahoma

Note: The Bishop provides a place to send money below, but another approach will be for a parish to collect funds and send them to the diocese for the Bishop to forward in one large check.

Dear Friends,

Our neighbors in Oklahoma are reeling from the devastation wrought by yesterday's tornado.  First responders are only just beginning the hard work of helping them recover.  For now, those on site ask that we stay away so that those first responders can do what they do so well.

 

In the meantime, there is still much that we can do.  As I mentioned in this morning's email, continue to pray.  If you would like to send a financial donation, write a check to The Diocese of Oklahoma and add "Tornado Relief" to the memo line.  Here is an address:

 

Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma

924 N. Robinson

Oklahoma City, OK  73102

 

I am in discussion with Mtr. Mitzi George (Coordinator for Disaster Relief) and Archdeacon Bette Kauffman about a diocesan mission trip in July or later.  This will allow time for the first responders to do what they need to do and time for us to coordinate with the Diocese of Oklahoma.  Look for more information soon.

 

In addition to our own mission trip, volunteer opportunities are made available for disaster work by Episcopal Relief and Development.  While it is too early to expect coordinated efforts today, here is the link you can use to find volunteer opportunities: ERD Volunteer Opportunities.

 

Bishop Ed Konieczny of Oklahoma reports that they have what they need in the present.  But we also know that this will be a long recovery project.  I know that I speak for all of us when I say to him that they are not alone.

Faithfully in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Jacob W. Owensby, Ph.D., D.D.  

Message from Bishop re Oklahoma

Dear Friends,

News of the devastation in Oklahoma is still coming in.  The loss of life, the suffering, the mourning,  and the destruction of property break my heart and grieve my soul.  My prayers continue to ascend for all those affected, and I ask you to join me in those prayers.

I contacted Bruce and Susan MacPherson, and they assured me that they are safe and well.

At times like this some understandably wonder how a loving God could allow such misery.  Others--misguided in their thinking--point a finger at those suffering loss and insist that God has visited just punishment upon them.  What slander against God! Just look at the Cross.  There we see God immersed in our darkest moments by his own choosing and for the sake of our redemption and healing.

Our universe is infinitely complex.  Chaos theory teaches us that hurricanes (and tornadoes) arise in America from the fluttering of a butterfly's wings in China.  We sort through this infinite sea of data with finite, fallible minds.  We cannot fully grasp why such tragic things happen.  However, we can know that God has promised to redeem all things.  Even the bleakest, most shattered of things.  And there lies our hope and from there we draw our strength to do whatever good we can do.

Among the goods we can do is prayer.  Here is a prayer from Evening Prayer and Compline that I share with you for the people of Oklahoma tonight:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless  the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.

In Christ's Love,

+Jake

Map to Party

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Don't forget Sunday's wrap-it-up party, my house at 5:30 p.m.! Point A above is campus, point B is my house at 79 Quail Ridge Dr. in the Audobon Park Subdivision. Call 318-372-8117 if you get lost.

Celebrate!

So.... it should say "Lulu's Burger & Brew" and the dog should be black! We have a white one two, but her name is Maggie! Anyway....

Come on over to my house this Sunday to celebrate the end of the academic year with some burgers and brewskis.

79 Quail Ridge Dr.

5:30 p.m.

May 12

I'm providing burgers and all the fixings and a selection of beers, and I'll probably also skewer some veggies for the grill. Bring something to share if you wish. Bring a friend if you wish. But be sure to come!

 

 

On Injustice

Another of the meditations I recieve occasionally is from Episcopal priest Barbara Crafton, who hangs out online at geraniumfarm.org. This piece resonated with our last discussion:

THE LARK ASCENDING                   

I have little patience for people who go on about not listening to the news because it's "too upsetting." Like we're not supposed to be upset, ever. I do not hold with that: No, your pyramid of apples at the fruit stand should not be upset.   Neither should the cat upset your good crystal vase so that it crashes to the floor and breaks into a thousand glittering shards.   I hope your toddler doesn't upset his glass of milk when you take him to a restaurant.

But you and me? We should be upset sometimes. We should become angry at injustice and cruelty, angry enough to do something good about it, and we can't do that if we do not allow ourselves even to hear about it.

And yet. And yet...lately even I have found myself hiding from bad news in music. I listen to the news in order to inform my prayer and invoke my conscience. I read the newspaper. Then, when the sorrow and dread of it becomes too heavy for me to bear, I turn to WQXR. There I hear the voices of people who have honed their instruments to perfection for years, performing music by the composers of ages past. And some newer stuff, too - I'm broad-minded where music is concerned.

The night they caught the Boston Marathon bombers, I listened to the radio all night. In and out of a fitful sleep I drifted, as news of the MIT officer's death and the elder brother's death came through my earphones, as the city of Boston shut down, as a desperate young man - Why desperate? What on earth was going on with him? - stumbled wounded through the dark streets looking for - What? A place to hide? Someone else to kill? What?

The next day I knew it had been too much. It was too much like the days following 9/11.   I was haunted by it and the terrible cloak of other memories it gathered around itself, and "haunted" is not a good platform for helpful action of any kind. Mad, sure. Sad, yes. But not haunted.   When I got in the car I ditched NPR and pressed the button for WQXR. Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending" greeted me, and I listened as I drove, arriving at the church before it was over and sitting in the car until it was. I thought I might just get through the day.

An active moral balance is hard for me to achieve - me and a lot of people.   I have no desire to be a puddle of contentment with no goals in life beyond those immediately connected with my own well-being.   But I cannot be of use if I allow myself to be buried alive in the anxieties and sorrows of the world.

So then, music. Morning prayer in a lingering way. A look around the garden, and at the bird feeders. The news, too, and a renewed resolve to be an active part of the good in this beautiful world.

+

Do you know "The Lark Ascending?" It is such a beautiful piece, so soaked in the loveliness of springtime. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbcuteYm-EA

And you can listen to my WQXR online, if you like: www.wqxr.org.

Copyright © 2001-2013 Barbara Crafton - all rights reserved