I made it to Main St. Missionary Baptist Church in Biloxi Sunday morning and saw Patricia K. at the main worship at 11 (she didn't preach at the Praise service at 8, as I had hoped, but it was good to be at both services anyway). At the 11:00 worship there were probably 80-90 in attendance. The choir is wonderful, and I felt very much at home there. During the offering (which individuals bring forward), Patricia came over to me and led me up the center aisle to the pastor. He asked if I was a minister, I said yes, and he invited me to sit up front with him, the deacons and the guest preacher. I spent the rest of the service up there (a first for me) and I took the second picture from the top during the altar call. I'm sorry that the picture didn't turn out well. Patricia's title there is 'evangelist,' and during the altar call she goes out into the aisles to invite people to come forward for prayer.

After the sermon, the choir sang one more time, and Pastor Haynes passed me the microphone and asked me to do a closing prayer. I led a prayer and finished up the prayer by singing 'God is so Good.' Afterward, Pastor Haynes asked me if I wanted to say anything, and I said a few words of thanks for being there and about what we of CCLC have been a part of at Bethel.

When I was done at the microphone, Patricia came forward and gave thanks to God for everyone from Cross and Crown who worked on her house last summer. I told her that I would pass that on. Quite a morning, all in all.

In the afternoon, I made one pastoral counseling visit to a lady who lives on the back bay in Biloxi and is still living in a camper in her driveway. I went from there to Sam and Evelyn's house. I visited with them and also went over with them and saw Sam's sister Mary P.'s house (you may have seen updates about that in the Bethel newsletter-that's Mary in the picture with Evelyn- Mary is hoping to move into the house sometime in March). Sam played some songs on guitar, harmonica and violin. I played 'Make me a Pallet on Your Floor.' I mostly wanted to know how they are doing, and we had a good visit. My assignment from Sam is to learn to play "Amazing Grace" on harmonica by the time I return to MS. We'll see.

Sam and Evelyn told me where their son and daughter in law are buried. It's something like 10 miles north and east of where they live. On Monday morning I went up there and found it-there's a picture of the cemetery with their gravesite in the foreground, just above the picture of Sam and Evelyn on their front porch. Sam and Evelyn also told me where Jerry and Collette lived and died in Waveland, and I went back there also. I found my way to Coleman Ave., but I didn't have a street address. I asked a couple of people if they knew of an apartment building anywhere on Coleman, and neither knew. The last pictures are all on Coleman Ave. in Waveland, MS. The flag is part of a war memorial at the end of the Ave.

It is good to remember that these hurricanes took much more than property from people. Through death, but also through the scattering across the country that has happened, and also in ways large and small, so many connections were broken. People came out of the storm, some with more resources than others, everyone stressed all day long, just about everyone very brittle, everyone busy just trying to get through the day, many people living with other families in small spaces. Friendships, family relationships, broken just about everywhere you might look. I look forward to being there in July and possibly to being part of a building project, but I've been looking for people who are doing heart-healing kind of work. I've been so blessed to have found some and to have been welcomed so graciously. I invite you to be thinking about and praying for anyone that you've seen in this blog. Peace

Glen A.

I had seen a tv show that described the desegregation of the New Orleans Schools in 1960. The first school to be integrated was Frantz public school, pictured above (9). The tenth picture shows the school from the other side, and the eleventh is a look up the same street. Frantz school is closed now, but is apparently not going to be closed for all time (for the time being). Driving there from downtown on Galvez St, I saw the house in the last picture. There are lots of spray painted references to animals left in homes during the flood, references to dog food and water having been dropped off for them. This one is just more detailed than many others.

After I heard on the radio that the thunderstorm concerns (and tornado watch) would not be an issue until dinnertime, I drove southeast from the city to Plaquemines Parish, where Hurricane Katrina officially made landfall. I do not know how to pronounce the name of the town where the hurricane officially came ashore. It's spelled B-U-R-A-S. Above (5-8) are some pictures from the town of Buras. There is a center serving three meals a day, there was a sign that said "now have gas" at a service station. It looked very much like the south side of the railroad tracks on the Mississippi Coast in Oct 05.

I returned to Biloxi via 90 and enjoyed dinner with Marie M. - Fried green tomatoes and crawfish etoufee. I took pictures of Marie's living room and backyard in 05. At the top are pictures from her home today, along with one of her cat, Missy, a hurricane survivor (like her two co-cats- and Marie herself - the four of them spent the storm hours together in a bedroom of that house).

Went out to deliver lunches this morning with Theresa, Margaret and Olivia (Margaret's granddaughter) of Trinity Episcopal Church (Garden District). We made sandwiches and then drove off to the 9th Ward in the Mobile Loaves and Fishes Van. All of the lunches went out, but the challenge is to find people on those blocks. Lunches went to people working on homes, to kids, elderly people, spanish-speaking men doing landscape work... The lunches were appreciated, and I had a good time serving iced tea and lemonade and meeting people.

In the picture second from the top, T. is speaking to a man from St. Bernard Parish (east of where we were) and trying to find out whether he knows any details about the death in the storm of an acquaintance of hers who lived a few blocks from him. He called a couple of people to ask if anyone knew.

We finished our route around lunchtime, and I went with Pastor Davenport to lunch at the restaurant you see in the third picture. Catfish, macaroni, peas, potato salad, cornbread.

He showed me some other parts of town, including the block where he was born and raised (very near St. John #5 Faith). While I was waiting for him, I took the fourth picture from the top, which shows a unit of the St. Bernard housing project directly across the street from the house where Pastor Davenport's daughter and a friend waded away from their home when the area flooded. You can see someone's possessions tossed out of the building. It is closed now, and when I flip channels on the radio while driving I hear many comments about what ought to be done with the dozen or so housing projects around the city. Pastor Davenport showed me two more large projects- Lafitte (also closed now, near the Two Sisters Restaurant) and Iberville (closer to downtown, with residents still there).

Afterward I drove over the bridge called 'Crescent City Connection' to look at the neighborhood of Love Lutheran Church. I had hoped to meet with the Pastor there, but he was sick on Thursday. You might remember the bridge as the scene of a confrontation after Katrina when some who had taken refuge in the Convention Center walked across the bridge (a very long walk) and were stopped at the other end of the bridge and told to go back.

I saw no damage in the area immediately around Love Lutheran Church. I believe there was quite a lot of wind damage from Katrina and Rita, but no flooding there. I did, however, see the church in picture #5 with its steeple off. There were several tornadoes in the area last week. I don't know whether the steeple fell recently or not.

I had a treat this evening as I got to hear Ellis Marsalis play at a place called 'Snug Harbor' on the other side of the French Quarter from where I am at. I had a good seat, about ten feet from the piano (picture 1).

I left Bethel later than I had planned today, but wound up able to visit Pastor Bruce Davenport and the people of St. John #5 Faith Church in New Orleans. The top picture shows the Pastor Bruce inside the church building, the second shows a woman named Coma who lives two doors down and whose house has been substantially restored, the third shows St. John Faith Church from the outside, and the next two show buildings of the St. Bernard Housing Project across the street. No one lives there now. In my short drives around the neighborhood with members of Bruce's family I have seen hundreds and hundreds of homes that need gutting, whose roofs are caved in and falling down. It is very, very quiet in that neighborhood and in the parts of ninth ward that I drove through Monday morning.

The next picture shows a site of the major levee breach in the area, now repaired (the lighter part). Pastor Bruce's daughter Tamasha told me of wading from her front porch to the curb and then being unable to keep her head above water once she stepped off the curb to head several blocks south to an elevated highway to wait for help. I heard other things I'm not prepared to write about here.

Finally, there is one more picture of the interior of the church.

St. John #5 Faith Church has been working in the neighborhood for many years. Prior to the storms they provided safe haven housing for pregnant teenagers, did a variety of HIV/AIDS prevention and care work, and provided GED prep classes and after school programs for kids. Most of those served by their programs lived in the projects across the street. All of the homes used by the church for these programs have been severely damaged, including the church building itself, but the AIDS outreach goes on, as well the providing of shelter for people who are attempting to return to the neighborhood and individuals at risk for various reasons.

It will take some time to have any proper words for what I was shown in the neighborhood. I've been humbled since my first time in the region- humbled by what I've seen and then again and again by trying to describe what I've seen and heard.

I was invited back for Bible Study. I made it- and had three hours of really good witness by a series of leaders including the Pastor Davenport, Deborah Davenport (they are spouses) and daughter Tamasha. I was invited to say a word at the end, and I read from Isaiah 43 and asked them to accept six quilts from Cross and Crown if they could think of some people who could use the quilts and what the quilts communicate- warmth and love. I mentioned CCLC quilters by first name, and so they were prayed for at the meeting.

One woman told me that she was taking a quilt to a member of St. John Faith who is in her 90s and still sings in the choir. That was a wonderful evening. I would love to have pictures of the church with the study going on, but it didn't feel right to do that. It was one of those things that it just more right to be a part of rather than a spectator. Tomorrow, after I go out with Mobile Loaves and Fishes I will try to get together with Pastor Bruce for lunch and more guided trips around neighborhoods.

I spent the afternoon with Otis H. today and met his spouse, Wynella, and two children (Tanya and Tori). I ate well at their home (smoked turkey and fresh blackeyed peas) and heard from Otis regarding the status of homes in Moss Point, concerns that I had regarding Community of Christ and scripture(which resulted in some relief for me), some of the needs of people in the neighborhood (for whom hurricane relief and rebuilding is really just part of the picture- this becomes clearer all the time (see previous post). I still would like to see the house repairs and rebuilds done- yesterday.

Otis and Wynella pointed out that the water in their neighborhood is not safe to drink and ruins clothes in washers. People there have to buy water. Some can afford to do that, many can't. In the middle picture you see a building that Otis and his group are thinking of buying. In the top picture he is speaking with a man who lives across the street from that building. I enjoyed hearing from George and hearing him and Otis talk about some of the needs of those in the neighborhood.

Moss Point Community of Christ is using space in an old glove factory/warehouse for their meetings and worship. I joined them tonight for prayer and scripture. I then zipped back to Bethel for the last 20 minutes of Ash Wednesday worship. I got there in time for Communion, during which Sam R. led "The Old Rugged Cross" on his guitar. I am planning to see him and Evelyn on Sunday afternoon. I also plan to have dinner out with Marie M. when I return from New Orleans on Saturday. There should be many more pictures to share tomorrow.

I met with Bill this morning. The building in the picture at top (not changed much since July of last year) will come down sometime this summer. We discussed that situation, Biloxi and the coast in general, Bill's time serving on lightships more than 60 years ago, and many other things. The paintings on the wall behind him in the third picture were painted on pieces of salvaged Jack Daniels barrels. I asked him what species of fish he has carved and painted. He calls them "Piscesonia Johnsonianis," suggesting that I not worry too much about the species
as long as I recognize a fish when I see one.
I took some pictures of his artwork to pass along (with his blessing) to a couple of galleries that have been suggested to me by acquaintances in Seattle. I don't know what will come of that. I am just thankful to see him again. I left about 1/2 hour before a Biloxi Mardi Gras parade was to start, and it took a while to find a way around the barricades and parade route. I've just about successfully dodged Mardi Gras. Just a few hours to go.
I didn't take pictures of my other visit today. It would not have felt right. We talk at Bethel about 'the face of God' as we go about working. Jesus says that we will see him whenever we see someone weak, sick, in prison, etc. I sat for two hours today with two people who are weak, sick, and whose home (repaired pretty quickly after Katrina) is more of a prison these days. They apologized for not having anything to offer me (in the way of food, I imagine). They gave me a lot, though. They not only told me the story of how their cat (whom they had to leave in the house when Katrina came through) had moved into their home (along with four kittens) about seven years ago. They also told me in detail about a number of challenges and issues that are really out of their control and out of my power to fix. We spent some time in a humble place telling the truth about that. It is a gift, and it is what brings me here.
Tomorrow I will meet with Otis H. and people in Moss Point, as well as seeing Bill again to drop off copies of the pictures of artwork. Ash Wednesday either in Moss Point or at Bethel, Thursday in New Orleans.

I'll add these pictures of David and Patricia's home. If you look closely at the side of the house in the picture at the top of this post, you'll see the rooster who joined them at some point after the storms (I don't remember hearing about this bird last year- maybe someone at Cross and Crown remembers). I look forward to seeing Bill and maybe Marie M. of Bethel tomorrow, as well as John and Virginia T (whom Isaac, Ashley, Emily and Sue met last summer).