Hurricane
Katrina Response
PHOTO
UPDATE (Friday,
9 SEP 2005)
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Bishop
Packard with a displaced New Orleans
family at the large River Center Evacuee
Shelter in Baton Rouge, Tuesday, September
6, 2005. |
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Bishop
Packard with Muslim leader Jehad Mahmoud
(center) speaking with a Muslim doctor
(left) at the Islamic Center of Baton
Rouge Evacuee Shelter. This center provides
homes for over 100 Muslim families from
New Orleans. |
 |
Visit
to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Evacuee Shelter in Baton Rouge. (Left
to right) Bishop Packard, Mary Sutton
(new Director of Disaster Relief for
the Diocese of Louisiana), Canon Chad
Jones, Father Riggs (Associate at St.
Luke’s), Peter Gudaitis (NY Disaster
Interfaith Services), Abigail Nelson
(ERD), Father Gerald Blackburn, and
John (St. Luke’s parishioner and
shelter volunteer). |
 |
“Chain-saw
volunteers” from Arkansas at St.
Margaret’s Episcopal Church in
Baton Rouge. These volunteers are being
fed after another day of clearing fallen
trees from roads and streets in communities
in New Orleans. |
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Bishop
Packard visiting National Guard security
personnel at the River Center, Baton
Rouge’s largest evacuee shelter,
which housed over 8,000. |
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Bishop
Charles Jenkins, Diocesan Bishop of
Louisiana, and Bishop Packard prepare
to celebrate at a special Holy Eucharist
and Healing Service, Tuesday, September
6, at St. James Episcopal Church in
Baton Rouge. |
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UPDATE
(Friday,
2 SEP 2005)
Bishop
George Packard has asked Episcopal Church
chaplains - military, civilian emergency response
chaplains and all others - to advise his office
of their deployment locations in response
to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thus
far, in addition to the 44 chaplains in Mississippi,
Alabama and Louisiana associated with Bishop
Packard's office, five Reserve and National
Guard chaplains are known to be deploying
with their units from various locations in
the country to the Gulf Coast area. Bishop
Packard is sending his Director for Military
Chaplaincies, The Rev. Gerald Blackburn, to
Baton Rouge on Saturday, September 3, to further
assess needs and appropriate responses in
such areas as Critical Incident Stress Management.
Bishop Packard plans to travel to the Gulf
Coast area on Monday, September 5. All chaplains
directly or indirectly involved in response
to the Gulf Coast region are asked to be in
contact with The Rev. Gary Parker, Director
for Veterans Affairs, Healthcare, Federal
Prison, Emergency Response and Maritime Chaplaincies.
For the time being Fr. Parker will remain
in the Episcopal Church Center office in New
York for coordination work and can be reached
at 800-334-7626, ext. 6151 (direct line 212-716-6151)
and gparker@episcopalchurch.org.
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UPDATE
(Thursday,
1 SEP 2005)
The
tragic results of Hurricane Katrina are on
all our hearts and in our prayers. Bishop
George Packard and our office team are receiving
responses from ECUSA chaplains, mainly National
Guard and Reserve military and some Emergency
Responder chaplains, who are heading with
their respective units into the area. At the
request of the Presiding Bishop, Bishop Packard
has been in contact with the bishops in the
impacted region. In addition, we are collaborating
with other offices at the national church
center, including Episcopal
Relief & Development as well as Episcopal
Migration Ministries, for ways in which
we can support the Gulf Coast dioceses.
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BISHOP
PACKARD'S MESSAGE TO ALL ECUSA CHAPLAINS
VIA
FR. GERALD BLACKBURN (Wednesday,
31 AUG 2005)
We
are praying for all affected by Katrina.
For those of you DIRECTLY impacted OR
ANY WHO ARE WORKING IN THE AFFECTED AREA,
or BEING MOBILIZED to assist, Bishop Packard
wants to hear from you directly ASAP.
He is in DC attending a national chaplaincy
meeting but can be reached by calling
his cell phone. Call him ONLY if you have
been directly impacted by the storm or
if you are part of a chaplain/priestly
response. Bishop George wants to know
if you and your family are OK, and to
know of your assessment of needs in your
area.
By
email, you are encouraged to stay in touch
as things continue to unfold. Send updates
to gpackard@episcopalchurch.org,
and please copy both gblackburn@episcopalchurch.org
and gparker@episcopalchurch.org.
With
continuing prayers for you, and for all
those affected by this devastating storm,
Fr.
Gerald Blackburn
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A
Prayer for the Victims of Hurricane
Katrina and the Rescue and Recovery
Teams
"Almighty
God, we thank you for sparing
us from the ravages of Hurricane
Katrina. We
pray for all those who have been
affected by her destruction. We
pray for all who have died. Give
them eternal rest. We pray for
all those who have lost their
homes, their livelihoods and their
friends and families. Be merciful
Lord God and restore all things
necessary for daily life. Provide
speedy relief to the suffering,
And grant that we who gather here
today may reach out to those who
are needy, despondent, grieving
and homeless. Give safety to the
rescue and recovery teams who
risk their lives that other might
live. Through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen."
Linda
L. Lowry, Chaplain, Major, USAFR
Ret.
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