Glen Burnie Evangelical Presbyterian Church

PCA Disaster Relief Trailer

While I was on vacation in Florida this past August, I stopped by my old church, Pinewood Presbyterian in Middleburg, FL..  While I was there, Pastor Rod Whited gave me quick tour of a Mission to North America Disaster Relief Trailer they were storing at Pinewood.  With all of the hurricanes that came through Florida last year, disaster relief became a top priority and so this trailer was built to enable teams of workers to go to stricken areas and provide assistance.  The trailer carries cots and tents for I believe four people, plus supplies of water, fuel, chainsaws and many other items that can be used onsite in a disaster recovery situation.

I haven't talked to the folks at Pinewood since Hurricane Katrina happened, but I would imagine this trailer and a team from the area is on site right now, somewhere in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana or Alabama.

I have included a few pics below of the trailer - this might give some ideas to other groups that would want to construct a similar trailer.

Temporary Housing for Katrina Victims

This just in from Will Hinton at Dignan's 75 Year Plan. The PCA has set up a website to coordinate temporary housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina.  This website will enable those who need housing and those who can offer housing to register.  It will be managed by the deacons at Woodruff Road Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC, who have most graciously volunteered their time to manage the system and will be following up with all of those offering housing and those in need of housing. These men will also be answering a phone 24/7 for those in need of temporary housing at 864-517-9058.

The website is www.pcarelief.org

First Presbyterian Church Biloxi, MS

Batch Batchelder at Simul Justus et Peccator is chronicling the Hurricane Katrina recovery of First Presbyterian Church in Biloxi, MS.  This is a great place to go for daily updates of what one church is doing to minister to the needs of Katrina victims. First Pres is right off the beach in Biloxi and is one of the few structures to have survived.  The pastors home and all of the buildings around them were destroyed, but God seems to have spared First Pres and the church is being used as a center for Hurricane relief.  I would encourage you to go by there for regular updates and pictures.

This past Saturday they posted the following words of encouragement from C. H. Spurgeon.

The Latest from Desire Street Ministries

Prayer Requests (updated Sept 6, '05)
          
Pray for the safe relocation of our staff and the children and families we serve. Pray families that have been separated will be reunited and find their loved ones alive and in good health.    

Pray for our board members and senior staff as they make critical decisions about how best to serve our community, a community now spread across many states.
    
Pray for all our staff members as they cope with and process this tragedy and as they seek God's will for the next stage of their lives.

Pray we are able to find a location to restart Desire Street Academy as a boarding school. This is one of our highest priorities as we move forward beyond immediate recovery. We have a meeting Tuesday, Sept 6th at 1 PM CST with a possible location.    

Pray that the love of Christ will shine through our ministry and that God would bring true hope during this time of great despair.

Updates from the PCA on Hurricane Katrina

For those of you who may be following my reports of what is going on in the PCA regarding Hurricane Katrina here's another e-mail update I received tonight.

Editor's note: As we prepare these reports, please realize that communication out of and into the hardest hit areas has been difficult. Sometime we have received conflicting reports about PCA ministers, members and churches. We make attempts to check reports before posting them; we will make corrections as quickly as possible in future updates.

 

Reports as of Sept. 1, 2005:

Jeffrey Lancaster, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, reports that he and his family have lost everything they own. He states: "Pray for us, these are very bizarre times. My life has wildly changed, but my God has not – I’m thankful for our rock." 

Reports about PCA minister Mo Leverett, Director of Desire Street Ministries (which includes a church as well as a housing project): the buildings are completely under water and one of the hardest hit areas in New Orleans. Mo and his family are safe, are in the Atlanta area, but they have likely lost everything they own, and the ministry of Desire Street will have lost everything it owns as well. Go to the Desire Street site for updates: http://www.desirestreet.org/hurricane.php.

First, We Lament

My favorite seminary prof, Richard Pratt once pointed out that it is curious how often we evangelicals tell each other not to ask "why?" when tragedy strikes, when "why?" is the question most frequently asked of God in the Bible.

There is a bit of a good reason for this - though the question "why?" is often asked in the Bible it is seldom answered, at least in the way we think it should be.  Sometimes it is, but often it isn't.

But the question "why?" gets at a forgotten aspect of godly living, and that is the aspect of sorrow and lamentation.

Desire Street Ministries affected by Hurricane Katrina

I just got the following e-mail from Greg Doles about Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans, a tremendous outreach ministry in one of the poorer sections of town.

Mo Leverett a PCA ordained pastor ministering in New Orleans has evacuated safely with his family and has set up a temporary office in Atlanta. He and his family have lost everything—their home, the ministry facility, and all of their worldly positions. The staff is scattered and in need of financial relief. The administration is reorganizing and is planning on partnering up with other relief organizations to respond to the needs of New Orleans as well as looking for an alternate location for Street Academy.

Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

I am sure that many of you are wondering how you can be involved in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and wanted to share a few things with you in that regard.

Mission to the World, (MTW) our foreign missions agency, and Mission to North American, (MNA)our North American Mission Agency are both accepting donations to help with Hurricane Katrina Relief. You can go here to donate through MTW and here to donate through MNA.

Also, Will Hinton, who blogs at Dignan's 75 Year Plan and who is a member of Intown Community Church in Atlanta is encouraging churches in the Southeast to offer temporary housing for victims of Katrina.

And, for those who don't receive it, I am posting a copy of an e-mail I got yesterday from byFaithOnline detailing how the hurricane has affected PCA folks in the region and giving some preliminary information on PCA relief efforts.