September 4, 2008
By Mary Frances Schjonberg

Officials of the New Orleans-based Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana hope to enter the civil parish of Terrebonne on September 5 to survey damage from Hurricane Gustav and assess people's needs.

"We assume we have significant church damage in Houma and I just don't know about Bayou du Large," Bishop Charles Jenkins reported September 4, speaking from his car as he was making a delivery of gasoline and generators.

The bishop said that police reports indicate that Gustav's winds toppled the steeple of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Houma and damaged the building's roof and windows.

The Rev. Craig Dalferes, St. Matthew's rector and president of the diocesan standing committee, plans to travel to Houma with Jenkins and Nell Bolton, director of the diocese's Office of Disaster Response, to see the church for the first time since the storm, the bishop said.

They also hope to reach St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in the Bayou du Large area, he added.

Meanwhile, Episcopal Relief and Development has sent money to the diocese for help in purchasing relief supplies, according to ERD's Malaika Kamunanwire.

Those supplies will be especially needed in places like Terrebonne Parish, where the power may be out for month and there is no potable water. The parish, which is under a dusk-to-dawn curfew, sustained "the most widespread damage" since Hurricane Betsy in 1965, according to parish president Michael Claudet. It is thought that the power-transmission grid serving the area was severely damaged, thus requiring weeks of repair before power can be restored.

Both hospitals in the parish have been closed, Jenkins said. Episcopal Church-affiliated schools in elsewhere in the diocese are trying to make provisions for children whose schools are closed, he added.

"Gustav has left his mark on us like so many storms before him, but it is obvious to me that the mark of Christ, sealed upon us at our baptism, is far stronger," Canon to the Ordinary Mark Stevenson wrote on the diocesan website late on September 3. "That, of course, should come as no surprise."

Jenkins told ENS he appreciated the messages of prayers and support that have been coming to the diocese from Episcopalians elsewhere.

He said that Episcopalians' emphasis on the baptismal covenant's call to respect the dignity of every human colors how his diocese is seeking to serve people in Gustav's wake. It's "kind of de-humanizing" to simply tote up a performance scorecard of how many bags of ice diocesan people give out or how many ham sandwiches they make, he said.

"Our core belief does not allow us to dehumanize anyone," Jenkins said, adding that he and his colleagues strive for the personal touch and one-to-one recognition of Gustav's survivors as people beloved by God.

The Episcopal Church takes from its Benedictine roots a commitment to the sanctity of place, Jenkins continued. "We're here and we're not going anywhere," he said. "After all the bags of ice have melted and all the ham sandwiches have been eaten, we'll still be here."

Stevenson's website message stressed the balance between people and infrastructure. "More important than our properties, however, are our human resources," he wrote.

"While we are still waiting to hear from a few priests and deacons, we are pleased to know that most of our family came through the storm okay," he said. "We rejoice in that, even as we recognize and mourn the several tragedies that Gustav did leave in his wake."

Stevenson reported that he met with a team from Church Insurance Co. on September 3 to review the status of each congregation. The company's team dispatched repair crews to Plaquemine and Gonzales to mitigate roof damage, and they are working to get supplies such as tarps to other places. He said that adjusters from Church Mutual, a non-Episcopal Church company which insures some Louisiana congregations, are making contact with their clients.

Bolton said that the diocese's Gustav recovery efforts were "beginning to take shape with a focus on ministries of hospitality, particularly feeding."

"We are especially grateful for Episcopal Relief & Development's rapid response in support of these ministries," she added.

"We are actively working on networking with FEMA on Baton Rouge-area distribution points, as well as with other faith-based and voluntary organizations to ensure that rural areas and smaller towns are adequately served," she reported in her September 3 update.

Bolton said that the diocese had begun to get requests for assistance with the re-entry of people who had been evacuated on public transit to shelters throughout Louisiana and neighboring states.

Jenkins and his wife Louise, who evacuated their home in Slidell on August 31, were able to return September 4. He reported finding roof damage, a common post-Gustav affliction. "We're having a large downpour right now so I'll see if I have any leaks," he added.

Jenkins' home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the bishop said he was one light fixture away from calling the house completely rebuilt when they evacuated in the face of Gustav.

Bolton's September 3 update provides a list of diocesan activities already up and running.

Episcopal News Service
The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is Episcopal Life Media correspondent for Episcopal Church governance, structure, and trends, as well as news of the dioceses of Province II. She is based in Neptune, New Jersey, and New York City.