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Saturday, July 29, 2006, is exactly eleven months after Katrina. As various groups in the city plan their one-year commemoration of the Hurricane-that-changed-life-forever-in-New-Orleans, some are complaining that these events reek of celebrating, and why have a party to honor the storm that destroyed our city. In most cases, however, plans call for prayer meetings and worship services and for tributes to those who died.
This is wedding anniversary time in our family. Son Marty and wonderful daughter-in-law Misha in Charlotte celebrate number 17 today. Tuesday, August 1, son Neil and terrific daughter-in-law Julie in Metairie celebrate number 14. (Margaret and I are working on number 45 next April, and my parents go for number 73 next March. Just for perspective.)
Headline on Saturday's front page: "Experts excoriate recovery leaders." I looked up the word. "Excoriate: to denounce scathingly." Leaders of the Urban Land Institute are coming down hard on the absence of real leadership from our mayor and city council. Scroll back to late last year on this website and you will read of the work of the ULI, a group of professional urban planners across America who were invited to study New Orleans and make recommendations for the rebuilding. As far as I can tell, not a single insight or suggestion from their report has been followed, and now the group is taking off the kid gloves.
"It's virtually a city without a city administration and it's worse than ever," said John McIlwain of the ULI. "New Orleans needs Huey Long. You need a politician, a leader that is willing to make tough decisions and articulate to the people why these decisions are made, which means everyone is not going to be happy."
ULI's Tom Murphy, former mayor of Pittsburgh, said this city does not have a citywide plan and a single, powerful authority handling the rebuilding of homes and neighborhoods. "Given the extraordinary circumstances of what happened to your city, you cannot solve this incrementally." Which is precisely how the city is coming back at this very moment--a street here, a house there, a store across the way. Piecemeal.
Murphy said, "You need to create an agency or an authority that has people who wake up every day and their job is simply to make development happen. You need to build on a scale that in the best of times most cities wouldn't be able to do. You don't need 200 houses a year. You need to do 10,000 houses a year."
For perspective: First Baptist-New Orleans is nearing the 1,000th house gutted out. Disaster pastor Travis Scruggs who oversees church groups coming to assist has a list of every one helped and a long waiting list of those wanting houses cleaned out for rebuilding. Meanwhile, NAMB's Operation NOAH Rebuild is shooting for 1,000 houses to be redone in the next two years. Since they will be mobilizing volunteers all across the country, I expect they'll end up doing far more than that number.
The headline in Thursday morning's Times-Picayune read: "Mayor finally breaks post-election silence." Most of what he said in a two-hour press conference was variations of: "The city is moving forward. We're on track." In other cities, he has proudly proclaimed that we are ahead of schedule in rebuilding the city. Locals want to ask, "Who says we are? By what measurement? Ahead of what schedule?"
Sorry. I'm not as objective on this subject as I wish I were. Mayor Nagin is predicting the population of the city proper will be 300,000 by the end of the year. On what basis? Because he wants that to be the case.
The mayor explained his optimism: "We as New Orleanians are resilient people. We are proving it. We are creative people. We will not take no for an answer. And I don't care what anybody says, on the limited resources that we have, we're going to figure out a way to bring this city back bigger, better and stronger."
Pardon my skepticism, but he reminds me of a Baptist Student Union president at a state university I once knew. He was a good-looking kid and in the times I spoke at the BSU center, I came to like him. One day, I bumped into his BSU director in an airport on the other side of the country. "We're going to have to replace him," he said, referring to the young president. "He's all talk. He keeps saying, 'We're going to get right on that' and 'Yes sir, we'll do that,' but he never does anything." It sounds so familiar.
A sign of the continued unsettled state of things in New Orleans is that every day of the year, the newspaper runs a full page of fine-print announcements on how to get in touch with important offices and departments. Fair housing, environmental concerns, FEMA, general resources, law enforcement, legal assistance, Louisiana Recovery Authority, missing people, missing records, municipal and parish governments, nonprofit groups, people with disabilities, post office, schools, SBA, social security, social services, tax assistance, transportation, and veterans affairs--these are some of the headings, with each one having half a dozen numbers and email addresses under it. Under FEMA, you can find numbers on how to get a trailer, how to get maintenance for your trailer, where to call to return a trailer, and a dozen other bits of information.
My wife is halfway through Doug Brinkley's book on the New Orleans catastrophe, "The Great Deluge." To her utter surprise, she is fascinated by the narrative and totally engrossed in it. "He has nothing good to say about Mayor Nagin," she told me Thursday morning. "He faults Governor Blanco sometimes, then he'll turn around and give her credit when she gets it right."
In Thursday's paper, the editor has this in tiny print at the bottom of the editorial page: "Douglas Brinkley took a couple of potshots at Louisiana in a USA Today story about Mississippi's recovery efforts. The Tulane history professor said that morale about the future is higher in Mississippi. He praised that state's 'can-do spirit' and said that it 'transcends what you'll find in New Orleans.' He could improve morale here by canning the trash talk."
Thursday night, the board of Global Maritime Ministries met at the new port ministry center on Tchoupitoulas Street in the warehouse district of New Orleans. We've spoken of this world-outreach ministry before on these pages, but I need to tell you about tonight's meeting. They started with supper at 6:30, with perhaps 25 or 30 in attendance. Scott Smith of Highland Baptist Church chairs the board and Freddie Arnold chairs the building committee which is erecting this impressive structure. I'm not a board member, but am invited to the meetings in my role as director of missions for the local Baptist churches. I love these folks, believe in the work they are doing, and support them financially and other ways.
(NOTE: I'm preaching this Sunday night, July 30 at 6 pm, at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria, LA. If you're nearby, we'd love to have you worship with us. Pastor David Brooks asked me to update everyone on the New Orleans situation.)
We're finding two groups of church volunteer teams coming to our city. The vast majority are dedicated, hard-working, and here to serve the Lord. But there's another kind showing up in some of our churches.
"We had the church group from hell," one of the pastors said. Everyone laughed at the obvious exaggeration, but he said, "I'm serious. They let the teenagers run wild, they knocked holes in the walls of the church, they were completely unrestrained." He added, "I think someone told them it was all right to destroy things." The 45 pastors and guests in Wednesday's final meeting at Oak Park Baptist Church sat there stunned, until another pastor agreed with him.
"We did, too," he said. He told how he walked into the sanctuary one night and found that the visiting youth group had taken over the sanctuary--a large one, too-- and had turned on every light and opened up the sound board and were having a party. Teenagers were running wild throughout the building.
I had not heard any reports of this kind of behavior. Then, to my utter surprise, a third pastor admitted to having the same experience with undisciplined, uncontrolled youth groups.
"I think we need to have training for our people on how to host church groups," a preacher said, "and possibly there ought to be training for groups coming here." When several nodded in agreement, Jim Burton who heads volunteer mobilization for the North American Mission Board said, "We have that training available and can do it for you anytime you're ready." Not many people ask for it, he said, and mentioned that the NAMB website has a 65 page booklet available to be downloaded and printed and handed out any time we choose.
Jim said, "Can you 'fire' a church group? Absolutely, you can. In fact, I've terminated a couple of church groups in World Changers this summer. They knew what the rules were, they violated them, and we sent them home." He looked out at the pastors and said, "You can, too."
Suzy and Gary Lazarus are committed to New Orleans. He works in his family's construction business and she's earning a master's in social work at Tulane University. During the hurricane-enforced evacuation of last fall, they spent two months in Baton Rouge. "Never once did (we) entertain the thought of not returning to New Orleans," she says in Sunday's paper.
Dr. Chris Hasney was elated when he received word in March that his residency will be at Tulane Medical Center. "I can get my education and contribute to the rebuilding of New Orleans." He says, "New Orleans is home for me, and I felt that after Katrina, if (the local) people didn't come back, no one else would."
Triplets Sasha, Amonie, and Frederick Johnson moved from here five years ago when their parents were looking for work. They settled in Fall River, Massachusetts, where the three have just graduated from high school. They had their choices of colleges throughout the country, yet this fall they will all begin pre-med classes at UNO. Why are they returning? They missed many things, they said, especially, the "big three"--family, food, and the fun atmosphere of this city.
Miles Granderson is a 26-year-old who had just received his law degree at American University in Washington, D.C. and was planning to see the world when Katrina hit. He returned home to New Orleans to help his grandparents whose home was located near the ill-fated London Avenue Canal in Gentilly. He's been here ever since. "I wanted to be a part of preserving the soul of New Orleans." He adds, "I want to be a part of this new beginning."
Sunday morning, in spite of the deluge which went on for hours, turning the parking lot into a wading pool, Riverside Church in River Ridge was packed. The day camp children had worked up a musical program called "American Ideal," and were given the 10:30 worship hour. I pulled the huge black umbrella from the trunk of my car and spent 20 minutes doing my best deacon imitation, helping people out of their cars and into the buildings. Lightning was popping all around, and with my umbrella the highest object around, I felt vulnerable.
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that as of June 30, some 130,000 students from our part of the world are enrolling in schools in other places. Hurricane Katrina is primarily to blame, of course, and to a lesser degree, Hurricane Rita. The largest number of the relocated displaced students--47,862--are in other parts of our own state of Louisiana.
Texas--God bless 'em!--has taken in 37,168 students, followed by Mississippi with 15,890 and Georgia with 7,691. Alabama shows 5,065 students, Florida shows 3,198, Tennessee 2,687, Arkansas 1,937, and North Carolina 1,040. After that, the numbers drop quickly. Several hundred each now reside in California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Arizona, Michigan, New York, Maryland, and South Carolina. States with the fewest include West Virginia with 12, Montana 13, Idaho 7, and North Dakota 1. Hawaii shows zero. Even Alaska has 36 students.
A headline for the lengthy newspaper article covering this relocation reads: "Even some star N.O. pupils struggle elsewhere." I think it's safe to say there's a whole lot of struggling going on, as school districts throughout the nation work to find ways to make room for our students. If it is indeed true that our schools were among the poorest in the nation, it doesn't take much imagination to realize our students will have trouble adjusting in better districts.
Anyone who ever moved as a child and had to adjust to another school with all that implies--new teachers, subjects, books, classmates, neighborhoods, social structure--knows how difficult such a transition can be under the best of circumstances. Children are so vulnerable at these times, and other children can ease the pain or make it unbearable. When I was 7, we moved from rural Alabama to the coal fields of West Virginia, then four years later reversed the process. Each move was as traumatic as the other. My heart goes out to these children, and we extend our deep appreciation for teachers, principals, and school boards throughout the nation who are receiving these kids and trying to make this transition work.
The City of New Orleans is limping along with a partial staff. Five years ago, the Department of Public Works showed 346 employees; today, they have 86. At that time, the city had 129 street maintenance workers; today 14. The cost to repair the streets in this city today is pegged at $1.7 billion, of which only $60 million is available.
The lack of city income means fewer staff numbers in some very crucial areas. This week a panel of business leaders gave the city an ultimatum. Get more employees in the Departments for City Planning and Safety and Permits or risk losing some major construction projects. Donald Trump himself is planning a Poydras Street hotel and a condominium tower, yet it is being delayed as a result of understaffing in various city departments. Forty employees are required in the City Planning Commission, yet only nine work there now, down from 25 before Katrina. "At this rate, the city cannot be rebuilt," said an architect. City Council members seem properly concerned and committed to solving the problem, yet are having difficulty finding money to fund the positions.
It's the old "chicken versus the egg" question: which comes first? If we had the money, we could hire these workers and issue those permits and build those buildings. If we do, the money will come in. If we do not hire the workers and issue the permits, the construction will go away and we will never dig ourselves out of this hole.
In the wonderful old radio program of my childhood, whenever this kind of quandry appeared, Clark Kent would assess the situation, then muse out loud, "Hmmm. This looks like a case for Superman!" The music would pump up and the whishing sound of the man of steel cutting through the air would signal that all was about to be set straight. In our situation, New Orleans looks like a case for leadership. Mayor Nagin, where are you?
"Good news," someone on the levee said this morning before sunup. "Today is July 21. That means one month of summer gone. Only six more left." In New Orleans, that is only a slight exaggeration.
"We're from Rayville, Louisiana," Suzette said today in the seminary's Hardin Student Center. "We've been gutting out houses, and we're headed home in a few minutes." I was waiting for my 2 o'clock appointment in the student lounge, so I invited the Rayvillians over and drew their pictures. "We'll be praying for you all," they assured us. The Lord alone knows all the church groups in this city at any given time. We are so blessed.
Freddie Arnold said, "Did you hear about our visitors? Some folks from the University of New Orleans came by. Wanted to buy our building." Buy our building? "I told them it isn't for sale. They're trying to buy up property around here. In fact they bought the Lutheran headquarters next door, I understand. Going to use it to house people."
Freddie was not on staff here a few years ago when UNO approached the association about purchasing our property then. They wanted to give us a building in another part of the city and a little cash. I was chairing the finance committee and took the negotiations a little further than DOM Fred Dyess, my immediate predecessor, wanted to go. When we told them we'd trade for no less than one million dollars, that ended the discussion. Today, having come through the hurricane high and dry, my guess is the building and location make it worth a lot more than that. But Freddie is right; it's not on the market.
I drove the length of Elysian Fields Avenue today, retracing my route of some six months ago when I recorded here the conditions of life on this wide street that stretches from the Mississippi River behind the French Quarter to the lakefront, a block west of our offices.
At the northern end of Elysian Fields used to sit the Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park, a favorite spot for generations of families. In the late 60's they tore it down and a research and development center now occupies the site. The only holdover from the old days is the Civil War-era lighthouse, now buried in the sand one-third of its height, as a result of the land-creation project of the 1920s which gave us the ground we now rest on. Just west of the R&D center is UNO, also a creation of the 1960s. From all appearances, the university is doing well. The buildings gleam, the grass is green, students come and go.
A few blocks south to Robert E. Lee Boulevard--the original shoreline for Lake Pontchartrain--everything is green and the houses lining Elysian Fields appear bright and lived in. This was an expensive neighborhood and seems to be still.
The medical doctor charged with euthanizing several critically ill patients at Memorial Hospital after Katrina is the lead story in all of today's local news. Dr. Anna Pou, pronounced "poe," is an ear-nose-throat doctor who specializes in cancer treatments. Her supporters are coming out of the woodwork. Thursday's front page headline reads: "Doctor's colleagues rush to her defense." One local television station gave five minutes Thursday night to Pou's sister and brother to defend her.
Supporters tell how Dr. Pou is so devoted to her patients she gives each one her cell phone number. A doctor tells how she was called in the middle of the night due to the hemorrhaging of a patient. She rushed to the hospital and called in a battery of specialists who worked for hours doing intricate surgery to staunch the blood flow and repair the damage. "That's just the kind of doctor she is," they say. A devout Catholic, "one of the greatest doctors I've ever worked with," and "one of those rare people who has devoted her life to the care of her patients and the practice of medicine."
Dr. Pou and two nurses, Lori Budo and Cheri Landry, were arrested Monday night and booked with four counts of second-degree murder. I don't follow the legalities here very well, because the same reports state that the three women were released without being formally charged. From here, the attorney general gives his information to the Orleans Parish District Attorney, Eddie Jordan, who will presumably present this to a grand jury and they will decide whether to indict the medical workers.
The story is this. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Dr. Pou decided to stay at the hospital with the patients. We hear reports--I know nothing of this personally--of other doctors leaving. The area around the hospital flooded, shutting down the electrical power, the hospital's emergency generator, and the sanitation system. Meanwhile, temperatures soared to 100 outside and to critical levels inside the closed buildings. In all 45 patients died at Memorial, including 34 who died during or just after the storm. Dr. Pou and the nurses seem to have been there all the way, going to extraordinary lengths to provide what comfort they could.
My mother asked me to thank everyone who sent birthday cards for her 90th, which we all celebrated last Friday. I think she ended up with 41 cards. She laughs at those of you who wrote that "you must be a wonderful person to have raised such a nice son." She says, "I have four sons; which one do you think they mean?" A few weeks back after I put a note about her impending birthday in this blog and bragged on her a little, she teasingly said she was thinking of showing it to the other children and saying, "That's what Joe says about me; what do you say?"
We do thank you very much. Wish you could have had one of the terrific fried pies she made for the occasion. Since my sister Patricia grows blueberries in the field across the road, Mom decided to vary the content of her turnovers from the traditional apples and make some with peaches and blueberries. Saturday morning, when I left to drive toward Knoxville, she sent four pies along. Before preaching Sunday morning, my breakfast was a Chilton County peach, a blueberry pie, and a cup of hotel-room coffee.
"Pastor, take a look at our parking lot." Pastor Kwan Song of the First Korean Baptist Mission in Metairie called to tell me they are experiencing the strangest effects of Hurricane Katrina of any of our churches. The ground under their building and parking lot is sinking. Sure enough, it is. Cracks are appearing under the building and under the sidewalks and concrete parking area. The pastor is applying for some of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund money to correct the problem.
I asked Pastor Kwan if he had lost members due to the upheaval Katrina brought to our world. "Oh yes," he said. "We had 36 last Sunday. Before Katrina, we were running 60 and 70. The weekly offerings have dropped by 50 percent." A new Korean family has just joined their church. "But they're construction people," he said, "and probably will not be with us permanently."
Freddie Arnold told me, "Gentilly Baptist still does not have electricity." Which means the Arkansas volunteers sleeping in their educational building are still sweating through the nights. And the members of Elysian Fields Avenue Baptist Church, which has moved over to worship in Gentilly, is continuing to hold their services on the front sidewalk due to the heat. "Tourists stop to take their picture," he said. "It's a good witness."
Monday, Frank Page came to town and made the front of Tuesday's Times-Picayune. Frank, the pastor of Taylors, SC, First Baptist Church, is the newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was invited to speak Monday night at FBC of Covington and then Tuesday morning to our pastors meeting at Oak Park Baptist Church. But Monday, they gave him a tour of the New Orleans he has only seen in the newsreels.
"The new leader of the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention toured New Orleans' vast flood zone Monday and, astonished at what he saw, promised to point more volunteers toward the region where tens of thousands of Baptist church members have toiled since the second day after Hurricane Katrina."
"In a neighborhood off Elysian Fields Avenue, the Rev. Frank Page chatted with nearly two dozen sweat-soaked Missouri teens gutting a house along with a few adult chaperones. Later, he visited more than 200 volunteers helping build 40 homes in the Baptist Crossroads Project, a 9th Ward effort co-sponsored by local Southern Baptists and Habitat for Humanity."
"Flanking those visits were tours of Lakeview and the Lower 9th Ward. 'My reaction is...incredulity,' Page said later. 'It's almost unbelievable. I've seen the pictures, but they cannot capture the widespread devastation. Mile after mile. It looks like something after a nuclear bomb.'"
Religion writer (and all-around good guy) Bruce Nolan explained to readers that the convention's North American Mission Board estimated its volunteers have contributed more than 43,000 days of Katrina relief work this year. Bruce frequently attends our Wednesday pastors meeting--it met on Tuesday this week in order to accommodate Dr. Page's schedule--and has a good understanding of who we are and what we're about. That is a rarity in today's media.
I missed Frank Page's visit, unfortunately. Sunday, I spoke four times at the Central Baptist Church of Bearden in Knoxville, TN, and Monday night at Green Valley Baptist Church in Birmingham, then drove home Tuesday. Several people I talked to, however, gave glowing reports of Frank's visit with the pastors. "We had about a hundred," David Crosby said. He reported that Page brought a good Bible study to the group on our mission, then fielded questions for a half hour. David asked him why he had run for president of the SBC and what he hoped to accomplish.
He ran, he said, because he felt that the Cooperative Program needed to receive a greater focus in Southern Baptist life. And he hopes to enlarge the tent of cooperation, to include far more people in the work and decision-making role of this denomination.
I'm normally the optimist, but today's attendance at the Wednesday pastors meeting was a good 30 or 35 more than I had expected. We counted 125 present. Not all were pastors, of course. In addition to the staff members whom we generally refer to as pastors also, a number of ministers' wives were in attendance along with lay leaders and collegians who are serving our churches as summer missionaries. Host Joe Kay had to order more fried chicken for lunch.
"We have boxes of free books up here," Joe Kay said. The front pew was lined with cartons filled to capacity with volumes to beef up pastors' libraries. Later, Brantley, the manager of Lifeway Christian Stores, brought more boxes. When we broke up at 11:35, many of the pastors were loading themselves down with the gifts of books.
Mike Canady from the Louisiana Baptist Convention introduced the subject that brought everyone out today. "We're talking about how to revitalize and rebuild our churches, and how to put in place strategies to reach people. It's not enough to build a house or rebuild a church. This is about people, the people in your neighborhood."
In essence, the LBC and the North American Mission Board (NAMB) are working with our association (BAGNO) to divide the metropolitan area into 27 zones, each with one or more Southern Baptist church. Soon, Mike Canady and Wayne Jenkins will meet with their counterparts in the other state conventions and offer churches, associations, and state conventions the opportunity to partner with one of our 27 zones. A large church might take a zone by itself; in some cases, an entire state may be assigned one zone. What happens then is up to the churches and pastors in that zone and the entity (church/association/convention) that takes responsibility for it. Whether the task is gutting out and rebuilding homes and churches, or doing ministry and evangelism in the neighborhoods, or a hundred other approaches, will be strictly up to the participating churches.
If it was mentioned once today, it was said ten times: "Each church is autonomous. Self-governing. You decide what you will do, and what you want done in your neighborhood." We were not giving anyone their work assignment. We work for the churches. That's Southern Baptist polity. It's not always the most efficient, but it's our way and it has served us well for 160 years.
At Jim Nason's funeral in Montgomery last Monday afternoon, his former wife gave the eulogy. "This is a first," I told Anne. "Oh? Maybe I shouldn't do it," she said. "Oh no," I reassured her. "I'm just saying I've never preached a funeral where the ex-wife paid tribute. I think it's just fine." And it was. She and her former sister-in-law had wonderful things to say about his life and character.
Back in the early to mid-80s, Jim Nason had served as our maintenance supervisor at the First Baptist Church of Columbus, Mississippi, where I pastored. If ever a man was over-qualified for a position, he was that one. At various stages in his life, he worked as a commercial pilot and flight instructor and any number of other jobs. "He was a perfectionist," Anne said, and told of the time he was teaching her to fly.
"He reached over and shut off the engine," she said, "while we were taking off. It was so frightening. Later, he explained that he was trying to prepare me for emergencies. I said, 'Well, the least you could have done was warn me.' Jim said, 'Emergencies never come with a warning. They happen when you least expect them.'" Anne considered it one of the best lessons she ever learned.
While Margaret and I were in Alabama Sunday through Tuesday, I was interested to see that New Orleans' plight is still being kept before the readers of the Birmingham News and USA Today. The only time I read the latter paper is when I'm out of town, it seems. Among other things, the Birmingham paper had articles on restaurants that have reopened and those that haven't, while USA Today was running an editorial page invitation for residents in our part of the world to write a letter with their Katrina story; several letters were run. I'm considering sending mine.
Tuesday night back at home, I sat at the table with a bowl of my favorite food and read the Times-Picayunes I had missed Monday and Tuesday. Whereas the papers I had read in Alabama had a little Katrina-type/New Orleans coverage, the local paper was saturated with post-hurricane-rebuilding stories. Welcome home. It's the major fact of our existence down here. One feature was calling on residents to be prepared for the next hurricane.
They used to tell us that hurricane preparedness meant stocking up on canned foods such as vienna sausage and potted meat, jugs of water, and such. Occasionally, someone would add, "My daddy always told us to keep a hatchet in the attic." In case they were stranded inside and had to hack their way out to the roof. Like there's a likelihood of that happening, most of us know-it-alls thought, back then in the antediluvian days.
These days, hurricane preparedness is not about staying, but leaving.
Chris Rose writes a column in the local paper which used to be funny. Since Katrina, he has become deeper, more serious, and a lot more insightful. Recently, in this blog, I mentioned that locals are wondering where Mayor Nagin is, that he seems to be more interested in the celebrity aspect of the mayor's office than actually running the city. That he seems to think, like a lazy preacher, if he speaks on a subject he has done something about it. In Sunday morning's paper (which arrives at my house Saturday night), Chris Rose said it like this....
"(At his inauguration, Nagin) stood with the two men (Congressman William Jefferson and State Sen. Cleo Fields) made infamous by their wads of suspect cash, which they both told us they would one day explain how they got--but...did I miss that news conference? No doubt, with billions of federal dollars ready to roll into this city, we can all be confident of its proper use."
"And then (Nagin) disappeared. Back to Neverland. His Isle of Denial. City Hall is on Perdido Street and perdido is Spanish for 'lost' and isn't it fitting?"
People are wearing pins on their lapels, a large crescent on which are the words "I know what it means," underwhich is a heart with a fleur de lis inside, underneath that is "New Orleans." It's a song, you no doubt remember: "I Know What It Means to Love New Orleans."
Love is something you do, Scripture teaches. When David Crosby came as pastor of the FBC of N.O. 10 years ago last month, he led the congregation to post banners up and down St. Charles Avenue with their theme: "Love This City." These days that church is leading out in a hundred ways toward the rebuilding of this city, particularly in the Baptist Crossroads project of erecting 40 new Habitat homes in the Upper 9th Ward. Thousands of our friends from all over the country are giving much of their summer to make this a reality.
Meanwhile, other churches are on the front line doing all they can. Keith Maddox at West St. Charles Church in Boutte wants you to know that they have facilities for housing groups up to 50 with showers and everything. After the present group leaves, they'll be ready for your team. Boutte is some 20 miles west of New Orleans on U.S. Highway 90; that was my seminary pastorate 40 years ago and I do love this church. Churches like Oak Park, Metairie, and Highland are also capable of housing groups. Anyone needing contact information on these churches may call our associational offices at 504/282-1428.
Today, Saturday, is the kickoff for the Volunteer Village, a wonderful site for housing groups of church workers coming to help. We've spoken of this before (www.joemckeever.com; scroll down a couple of days), and continue to be excited about their capacity to put up 500 people at a time, three meals a day, etc. Maybe the most attractive thing about the VV is that it's at the foot of Canal Street, right on the river, meaning that when volunteers come in and get their showers, they are close to great restaurants, the Riverwalk shopping center, the Aquarium of the Americas, a movie theater, and some great antique shops.
A fellow named Ricky Graham is tickling the funny bones of locals, teasing us about our accents and mannerisms. Anyone knowing this city and enjoying it for any reason will get a kick out of some of his insights.
"We've been through hurricanes, floods, fire, Kimberly Williamson-Butler--what else can we take? Locustses?"
We told you about the cars donated by DaimlerChrysler to the City of New Orleans sometime after the hurricane, and how some of the cars were diverted to personal use by city council members. Now the FBI is getting involved.
DaimlerChrysler AG gave the city 40 vehicles and Ford Motor Company donated another 15. Some were trucks and the rest were sport utility vehicles. All were designated for the use of public agencies and government units such as police and fire departments. Dave Elshoff, a spokesman for DaimlerChrysler, said those instructions were given in writing and were stressed verbally to Renee Gill Pratt, city councilwoman who signed for 20 of the cars when they were delivered to Baton Rouge. She kept four for her own use, and gave two each to the remaining council members.
Now, eight months later, it comes to light that Gill Pratt arranged for her four vehicles to be donated to two charities with whom she has close ties, Care Unlimited and the Orleans Metropolitan Housing. The other council members say they scattered theirs around, too. Jay Batt gave one to the Audubon Nature Institute and one to the Lakeview Crime Prevention District. Jacquelyn Clarkson gave one each to St. Paul Lutheran Church and Greater St. Mary Baptist Church, saying both churches were deeply involved in disaster relief. Eddie Sapir gave his cars to Citizens Against Crime and Friends of NORD, both charities. The other councilmembers have kept control of their vehicles, saying they're used for running errands and such. One of the pastors who received a car said he could never get the title transferred, so the expensive vehicle sits in the church yard unused.
What happened to the other trucks and SUVs? Most are being used as the donors intended, by police and fire departments, parish officers, and the like.
The New Orleans City Council--several members are brand new on the job and were not recipients of those vehicles--have called for the cars to be returned and for the local FBI to take a look. In Friday's paper, the FBI admitted it is indeed getting involved. Jim Bernazzani, special agent in charge, said normally they would not make a public comment, but in this case the public interest has been aroused to the point he wants everyone to know they are investigating. However, he pointed out, "Being incredibly selfish is not a criminal act in itself."
Thursday, I ran into Jeffery Friend in the lounge of the seminary's Hardin Student Center. Wife Stephanie is working at the Lifeway Christian Store just on the other side of the glass, and he seemed to be studying. "I'm working with Jeff Box at Suburban Baptist Church," he said. East New Orleans. Chef Menteur Highway. "Three blocks away, the flooding started," he said.
They alternate preaching and leading in the worship services. "We both are used to running the show," he smiled, "so it's a learning experience for each of us." Two pastors, an African-American and an Anglo, leading a damaged church in its rebuilding and restoration. Big task.
What percentage of people in that area have not even touched their homes yet? "Maybe 60 percent." Lots of FEMA trailers? "All over the place." Suburban is running 50 or so in attendance. "None of them attended this church before the storm. They're all new." A few are members of Jeffery's flooded church, Hopeview in St. Bernard Parish, who drive in from out of the area.
In the Lifeway Christian Store, manager Brantley quickly agreed to my request to set the stack of cards on "How to Pray for New Orleans" by the cash register for customers to take. He led me into the back of the store where he has stacks of books ready to give to our pastors. "Lifeway sent these to professors who lost their libraries," he said, "and these were left over." I assured him if he will bring them to Oak Park Baptist Church next Wednesday at 10 am, not one of those books will be left behind. Many of our pastors lost their libraries and are eager to build new ones.
Recently when talking with New Salem's Warren Jones, I asked what all the volunteer groups coming to his church were doing. "Rebuilding this church, working in the neighborhood," he said. I said, "Where are you living?" In a little room near the church, his family still in Texas. I said, "Warren, ask the next group to work on your house. Believe me, friend, these good folks will count it a privilege to bring back your home. They will do it like they were building Jesus' home." And they are.
Ask a local what "potpourri" (pronounced PO - purree) means and he or she will say, "A little of this, a little of that." Which is a good description of our Wednesday pastors meetings at Oak Park Baptist Church.
Beginning, I told the pastors and guests of a preacher who had declared bankruptcy recently and how upsetting that was to his members. "Anyone can have money problems," I assured them, then backed it up with my own tales from the early years of our marriage when neither Margaret nor I wanted to pay the bills because there was never enough money in the bank. "You need help. Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs, because He knew each one needs a buddy. You cannot do this by yourself. You need a friend, a counselor, someone to help you in a crisis." Pastors are often isolated and bear both their burdens and their joys alone. Then wonder why they get into trouble.
Freddie Arnold presented information on how churches can start home Bible studies, taking advantage of the receptive climate God has given us. He promoted the September 9 "Ridgecrest on the River" when New York's Gary Frost will be the keynote speaker.
Rudy and Rose French have returned from six weeks in Canada, seeing to some medical needs. "We were shuttled from doctor to doctor," Rudy said. "It was enough to make you think FEMA had been managing Canadian Health programs." One result of the runaway heartbeat he's dealing with these days, Rudy says, is facing his own mortality. "I'm 57, and at the most, I may have 30 more years left. What to do with the rest of my life is a great question."
Tobey Pitman, project director of Operation NOAH Rebuild, said, "God is so good. Last week I mentioned we need a volunteer to coordinate our food services for the next two years. And Cherry Blackwell stepped up and volunteered." This Saturday, they are opening Volunteer Village in the World Trade Center downtown, floors 3, 4, and 5 with full accommodations. "We have 400 guests already lined up for next week," he said, "making this a baptism of fire." They still have to get the kitchen up and running. It has not been used in five years and needs work. "We need an ice machine," Tobey said. "Time is of the essence." He added, "We need a volunteer who can take over the renovation of that kitchen, and getting it inspected and licensed."
Once everything in Volunteer Village is operational, the cost will be $20 per night per volunteer. This covers 3 meals, badges, supplemental insurance, and parking.
The French Quarter merchants say their business is off 70% from pre-Katrina. When they re-opened following the storm, construction workers filled the gap. Months later, tourists came. Now that that's slacking off, they're turning toward the community, asking residents to help them stay afloat. For those who do not know, only a small portion of the French Quarter businesses are the sleazy joints you hear so much of. Most are restaurants, antique shops, t-shirt and souvenir sites, that sort of thing.
One store-owner said, "This summer will tell the tale as to how many businesses down here survive."
The mayor and city leaders keep saying the city is able to host conventions now, and urge tourists to come in large numbers. I asked a friend who attended a convention in our city recently to tell me her experience. I'm editing it a little.
"The city was in better shape than when we saw it 6 months ago, but it's plain to see there are still years of work to do here.
"Our room at the Hilton Riverside was $189 per night. We paid $22 per night to self park, leaving us a great distance to walk to the elevator, then even farther through the garage to find our car. The breakfast buffet was $19. The shops in the hotel were closed most of the time while we were there.
"A breakfast meeting where I spoke at the Hilton Garden Inn charged $12.50 for a continental breakfast, all pastries, no meat or eggs.
"The convention printed up a nice map marked with area hotels, restaurants, etc., for all of us. The restaurant list was very short!
"One night after supper, we decided to go to Cafe Du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets. We waited 45 minutes for the trolley and were pleasantly surprised to find it was free. As we walked back to the Hilton Riverside through some of the French Quarter area, we noted the many, many empty or closed businesses. I prayed that Christians would move into that area and put in wholesome stores. We stopped at the Jax Shopping area for the restrooms. Even though it was only 6 pm on a Monday night, the businesses were all closed and the restrooms were locked.
Our friend Cathy Pate is visiting, making her annual "Fourth of July" trek to New Orleans. Cathy was in medical school in the late '80s when I became her pastor in Charlotte, NC. She loves to travel, loves New Orleans, and we enjoy her company. After her arrival Saturday, we gave her the obligatory tour of the devastation of the city, then bought po-boys at Mother's (that's a famous restaurant) on Poydras and brought them home. Sunday morning, we worshiped with FBC of New Orleans. Franklin Avenue Baptist Church was just ending their twice-a-month worship service there when we arrived, with members standing in groups, hugging, saying their goodbyes.
Pastor David Crosby introduced two large groups of youth who are spending a week in our city helping to build the houses of the Baptist Crossroads. The worship service was warm and joyful, David's sermon on "Rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" was first-class, and we all were blessed. "I'd join this church in a minute," Cathy said.
We ate lunch at the Bourbon House, a nice restaurant one block off Canal Street downtown. Just after we were seated, the bottom dropped out of the heavens and we were treated to a downpour accompanied by all the sound effects of lightning, thunder, and heavy rain. Planted before a large plate glass window, we New Orleanians who have been suffering a drought, enjoyed watching the rain fall, curbs overflow, and tourists scamper up and down the streets, running in and out of cover. Alas, when we arrived home in River Ridge, not a drop had fallen.
Monday morning, David Crosby pulled together several pastors to plan a Prayer Rally for Tuesday evening, August 29, the one-year-anniversary of Katrina's fateful visit to this part of the world. As the program firms up, we'll pass along the plans. Right now, we want everyone to calendar this date, for the 7 pm rally at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans on Canal Boulevard.
It's hot. Outsiders who take their long weekend to come to New Orleans to help gut out and rebuilt homes are our heroes.
Saturday's "above the fold" front page headline was "New doctors follow their hearts to N.O." With Tenet Healthcare putting four of their New Orleans hospitals on the market--the Lindy Boggs and Memorial (Baptist) centers have never reopened since Katrina--doctors who have lived here for decades are departing for greener pastures. But, wonder of wonders, other doctors are coming to town and filling the void. Nicole Giambrone, an LSU resident in pediatrics, says, "It's an adventure. How many people can say they were here when the city was rebuilt? How many people can say they helped rebuild the health system infrastructure?" Good for you, Dr. Giambrone!
Something similar is happening, I'm confident, with our seminary students. Some are not returning because they have no investment in this city and no reason to want to live in an island of green surrounded by miles of deadness and vacancy. But others are taking the challenge, recognizing that this is the place where God is at work, He never said it would be easy, and by spending two or three years of their seminary training here, nothing about their future ministry will ever be the same. To those churches and parents watching their "children" move to New Orleans to begin their ministerial preparation, we say: encourage them; brag on them; pray for them; support them.
Visitors to our city driving on Interstate 10 in East New Orleans notice off to the South a massive amusement park. Six Flags New Orleans has been lying there vacant and unrepaired since Katrina drowned it in 12 feet of floodwater, creating a big question mark about its future. Saturday, the owners have announced plans to shut it down permanently, in spite of their 75 year lease with the city.