Of all the congregations
that sent people to help after Hurricane Katrina, the power
of the Spirit working through a handful of people is exemplified
by the Presbyterian Church of Laurelhurst in Portland, Oregon.
Laurelhurst partnered with another small congregation, the Mission
of the Atonement Lutheran Catholic Community, to send twenty-seven
workers to Gautier, a small town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
To travel 5,000 miles, the two needed to raise more funds than
either congregation had ever raised before and to coordinate
extensively with relief agencies. Was such a mission even possible?
Through prayer, determination, ingenuity, and effort, they
raised $20,000 from two hundred supportive “shareholders.”
Participants were trained for disaster relief and prepared to
encounter cultural diversity.
Working with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and the Presbytery
of Mississippi Disaster Recovery Office, the planners learned
that because they had youth as young as twelve on their team
they were ineligible for some projects. On their eventual assignment,
they helped to restore four homes and the appropriately named
Restoration Apostolic Church.
Laboring in circumstances many Northwesterners would find
extreme, with temperatures and humidity in the 90s, they accomplished
an amazing amount of work. Before they returned home, the Restoration
congregation held a potluck feast for them. As he brought in
catfish and a deep fryer, the pastor of the church said, “I
just want to be a blessing like you have been a blessing to
us.”
The Presbytery of the Cascades has 122 churches, 1 new church
development, and 25,906 members.
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