Pastors: Food, prayers needed for Gustav survivors

Diana Dudleson briefs Bishop William W. Hutchinson (second from left) and other church leaders on the status of Sager Brown, the depot of the United Methodist Committee on Relief in Baldwin, La., following Hurricane Gustav. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

BATON ROUGE, La. (UMNS)-The Revs. Darryl Tate and Don Cottrill ran into one of the state's highest government officials at a favorite coffee shop on their way to the Louisiana United Methodist Conference Center on Sept. 5.

Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu stopped to ask the two pastors for their spiritual help in the wake of Hurricane Gustav.

"He told us he thought the area west of the Mississippi River was going to be in dire need of food and comfort in the coming days," Tate said.

Churches and food banks need to be prepared to feed people living in poverty in those areas because they may face several more weeks without power, according to Landrieu.

"We are setting up a meeting on Wednesday (Sept. 10) with other faith-based groups and food banks to get prepared," Tate said.

Landrieu also asked the ministers to send pastors to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge. About 450 disabled and elderly people were evacuated to the center and are in need of pastoral care, he said.

"There are a lot of hurting people who need spiritual help," Cottrill said.

Finding the needs
While many are calling Hurricane Gustav a "non-event" because it didn't flood the state like Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Bishop William W. Hutchinson said thousands of people have lost their homes due to wind damage or are without electricity for an undetermined time.

"A lot of people who live in the river parishes in particular have a lot of damage to homes, and we are going to need to seek out those people," Hutchinson said in a Sept. 5 interview, one day after touring damaged areas of southwest Louisiana with representatives of the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Church leaders worry that, as evacuees increasingly return home, many people will run out of food because many businesses are also without power and will not reopen for weeks.

"Pastors in the northern part of the state have volunteered to load trailers with food and then come here and help deliver it," he said. The food shortage will probably last four to six weeks.
Church leaders emphasize that the Sept. 1 hurricane, while less harsh than Katrina across Louisiana, still left its mark.

"Each hurricane has its own footprint, and every one is different," Cottrill said. "We are continuing to uncover possibilities for ministry.

Tate echoed that. "As United Methodists we have John Wesley's standard to follow. The world is our parish. We will be going out to seek those in need," he said.

To learn how to assist, contact the conference disaster response ministry at laumdisastermin@bellsouth.net or by calling (225) 346-5193.

Financial donations can be made to UMCOR Advance No. 3019695, "Hurricanes 2008, Hurricane Gustav." Mail checks to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087, and write the Advance number and name on the memo line of the check. Credit-card donations can be made at http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/umcor/donate.cfm?code=3019695&id=3019695.

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service reporter based in Nashville, Tenn.