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EDITOR'S NOTE: his story comes to us from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Lake Charles, LA. In the aftermath of two hurricanes and a tropical storm, one congregation rolls up its sleeves and finds faith in the struggle. Even as we send this story out, another storm (Zeta) is spinning up in the Gulf.
By Deborah Serra
LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA – When 98% of your congregation has been adversely affected by not one, but two hurricanes plus a tropical storm within five weeks what do you do? You pray for many mercies and then you roll up your sleeves and become a disaster aid distribution site. This is not St. Andrew Presbyterian’s first experience with devastation. Fifteen years ago, the church was severely damaged by Hurricane Rita. And now, although history has repeated itself, the congregation has pulled together to distribute a multitude of donations and gift cards from Church World Service, Presbyterian Disaster Aid, churches throughout the Presbytery of South Louisiana, neighboring churches and organizations in Houston, Austin, Beaumont, Florida, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and South Carolina.
Many of those donating are returning the favor from St. Andrew’s past disaster donations while others said the level of devastation they’d seen in the media had prompted them to act.
Southwest Louisiana Presbyterian churches pulled together to answer the many needs of their pummeled neighbors. First Presbyterian Church of DeRidder, Westminster in Sulphur, First and St. Andrew in Lake Charles all worked to ensure supplies and aid quickly headed to those in most need. Challenged by damage to their own churches, Covid-19 restrictions, scattered congregations, and wobbly infrastructure each church was blessed with members able to jump in to help organize, find some hidden pockets of need, and make sure buckets filled with cleaning supplies, totes filled with student supplies and hygiene kits made their way to struggling families. Buckets went to Cameron on the coast where it’s difficult to tell there had once been communities. St. Andrew, working with First Presbyterian Scotlandville, distributed more buckets and hygiene kits to families and seniors in areas of poverty in north Lake Charles where there are more blue tarps than undamaged roofs. Children whose homes are now a soggy memory with large trees crushing living areas shyly accept the totes filled with notebooks and crayons while dazed parents offer thanks and ask if there are any diapers remaining.
While Southwest Louisiana is no stranger to life altering weather, the members of its Presbyterian churches are more accustomed to offering aid rather than accepting help. We are the ones who go on mission trips, rather than having mission workers come to us. The aid distribution is a blessing to be able to provide. But it is important to note that congregation members have lost homes, jobs, face months of rebuilding and each day struggle to find supplies on store shelves, all while circumventing streets choked with trucks and workers restoring services and rebuilding homes
Faith has not been lost in the struggle. The battered live oak trees are budding after their trauma. Flowers are popping up on tomato plants once thought done for the season. The sound of hammers and workers’ chatter resound from rooftops across the region and neighbors cheer when the piles of downed and cut up giant trees are cleared from their streets. Windows and roofs will be replaced in our damaged churches and homes and we will recover. We are forever grateful to the many people and organizations sustaining us with their prayers, their contributions and their notes of care and concern.
The Rev. Matt Curry is in search of Good News from ministries throughout the Synod of the Sun that are making connections with their congregations and communities. Do you have an idea to share? Send Matt an email at cpcwaxpastor@gmail.com.
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