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Hurricane Katrina: Damage and Relief Report
September 02, 2005

The following is a damage and relief report from the three districts most affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Louisiana District
Gene Phillips, superintendent
46 churches; 3,238 members

New Orleans First Church of the Nazarene remains in five feet of water. Their steeple has broken off.

Because several churches in the southern Louisiana are without power, communication is difficult. Additional reports from Louisiana will be posted as they are received. News reports state that the area may be without power for more than a month.

There are several teams of relief workers through Nazarene Disaster Response (NDR) waiting to enter Louisiana. Many of the roads into the area are impassable. When they are opened, the teams will immediately travel to the affected areas.

Baton Rouge First Church is being used as a drop-off point for supplies, as is the District Campground, Rocky Creek Camp. The camp, located in Pineville, is being used as a temporary home for several families who evacuated southern Louisiana and are now homeless. Many Louisiana evacuees are staying at the Orange, Texas First Church of the Nazarene. Orange First is serving as a Red Cross shelter. Currently the church is housing around 150 people who are displaced. State Guard and church members with local fire department agencies are working to help those who are needing assistance.

Mississippi District
Rob McDonald, superintendent
54 churches, 4,182 members

According to McDonald, all pastors on the Mississippi District are accounted for and there are no reports of loss of life directly related to the storm from church members. However, Deborah Thompson, wife of Gulfport First Church of the Nazarene pastor Walt Thompson, died the Friday before Katrina hit. She was battling cancer. Her funeral service was postponed due to the storm.

Also, Frank Wills, a retired minister from the Gulf Coast Family Church, was brought to the church from the hospital because the church was being used as a shelter. Wills, who has been gravely ill for the past two weeks, passed away upon arriving at the church.

Nazarenes are grieving the loss of family, friends, property, and jobs. Many had their places of employment destroyed and are now unemployed.

The former Biloxi First Church, now Gulf Coast Family Church of the Nazarene, pastored by Ernie Gray, is located in Ocean Springs on the south side of Interstate-10. The church, which was used as a shelter, had roof and water damage, but is otherwise in good shape. The Gray's home was totaled.

Pastor Ted Pagel of Crossroads Church of the Nazarene in Gautier said they lost windows and their steeple in the storm. The church was only recently constructed and was put into use January 9. It was built to sustain winds in excess of 100 miles per hour.

The Gulfport First Church sold their facility two months ago and are in the process of building approximately five miles north of Interstate-10 and the Highway-49 interchange. They had just poured the slab on the new building. Their old building was just blocks from the Gulf of Mexico.

Don Lambert, pastor of the Long Beach Church of the Nazarene, weathered the storm in Jackson. The church building and parsonage sustained approximately three feet of flood waters. They have basically lost everything in the parsonage.

Myron Hairston, pastor of the Victory Praise and Worship Church of the Nazarene in Pascagoula, is safe after evacuating to Meridian. The church is approximately one mile from the coast and is presumed heavily damaged if not destroyed.

McDonald stated the District Office has begun compiling a list of items needed for those in need in their communities. The needs include generators and gasoline, for example, but above all the primary need is financial support to keep the relief effort moving.

The following churches are without utilities and suffered minimal damage: Magnolia (Pastor James Gillette), Columbia (Pastor Gay Bosley), Laurel First (Pastor Wayne Williams), Hattiesburg (Pastor Kermit Hudson), McComb, Meridian Fitkins (Pastor Charles Johnson), and Meridian First (Pastor Nathan Bargo).

The District is still waiting to hear from Lucedale (Pastor Ruby Walters), Prentiss (Pastor Pamela Epps), and Laurel Bresee (Pastor Alvin Clay).

Pastor Mark Howie of the Jackson area NewDay Church, a NewStart church scheduled to open September 11, reports that Nazarene leadership in Jackson, working with local corporations, distributed $40,000 worth of food to those in need. Howie is part of a team establishing supply centers at the CrossRoads and Gulf Coast Family churches, as well as at least one more closer to the Louisiana state line. They are close to being able to use a church in North Biloxi as a supply center, also.

Alabama South District
Roy Fuller, superintendent
51 churches, 4,625 members

The roof of the Bayview Church's Education Center in Bayou La Batre is nearly gone. The church sustained enough significant water damage to cause an additional ceiling to fall. Reports from the church's community in Bayou La Batre, a small shrimping town made famous in the movie Forrest Gump, state that the town is basically destroyed. According to the Alabama South District Office, Pastor Harry Radcliff and all church members are alright, but many families near the church lost everything. There are no businesses left in the community.

Further damage to Alabama South churches include:

Mobile First Church (Lamar Smith, pastor): Loss of electricity, downed trees, and some electrical problems.

Mobile Parkview (Donnie Browning, pastor): Loss of electricity, rain and wind destroyed the roof and caused the ceiling to fall, and the parsonage had some roof damage.

Mobile Riverside (Terry Daugherty, pastor): Loss of electricity, shingles blown off roof, some siding from the fellowship hall blew away.

Robertsdale (Gerald Casselman, pastor): Roof damage and the steeple on the church was blown off the building.

Saraland (Jim Virden, pastor): Slight roof damage.

Atmore (Gerald Oetken, pastor): Roof on his home slightly damaged, downed trees, no structural damage to church.

The Calvert, Millry, and Lighthouse churches report no significant damage.

Pastor Freddie Lindsey has several shelters established in his Monroeville area, including facilities at the Beulah Campgrounds. Lindsey is working closely with the Red Cross and Fema. He has assembled 2,500 Crisis Care Kits which will be trucked to affected areas as soon as roads are re-opened to traffic.

Also, Mark Berry reports that 100 people have taken refuge in the Dothan First Family Life Center and the Landmark Church (Gary Tankersley, pastor) delivered blankets, sheets, etc. as well as money, to Monroeville September 1. Additionally, pastors Charles Martin and Lamar Smith are coordinating with the pastors projects in the Mobile area, where they report gasoline is nearly impossible to buy.

The District also reports the Tuscaloosa churches and Millbrook church are planning to take supplies, gas, food, etc. this weekend to affected areas. Millbrook has offered to be a receiving point for churches in the northern and eastern part of the district. Supplies, non-perishable foods, equipment, pillows, blankets, toiletries, clothing, etc. can be delivered to Millbrook Church and they will see that it gets to Monroeville and Pastor Lindsey. For information, call Carl Reed at: 334285-7509 or Cell 334-303-0423.

District Superintendent Fuller stated, "We thank God for all of our Nazarene family and the splendid job that is being done by pastors and coordinators and for the many prayers and promises of support from across North America. Just remember we are all family and we will, with God's help, overcome."

--Compiled by NCN News

We encourage you to continue your prayer support for these hurricane victims and urge you to send support for the relief efforts. Persons and churches wishing to make a donation for relief efforts can mark their checks payable to General Treasurer, Church of the Nazarene with "ACM1801 Hurricane Katrina Relief” in the memo line.

• On-line using VISA or MasterCard
• OR In the US, make checks payable to: General Treasurer
• and mail to:
  General Treasurer
  6401 The Paseo
  Kansas City, MO 64131
• In Canada, make checks payable to: Church of the Nazarene
• and mail to:
  Church of the Nazarene Canada
  20 Regan Road, Unit 9
  Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3

All donations remitted through NCM and the General Treasurers Office will receive 10% Mission Special credit if the local church is identified.

NCM is the liaison between the pressing needs of the world and the individuals that are committed to making a difference. We understand that you may not be able to respond to every need. However, we want to keep you informed of the opportunities for your involvement in projects such as this. Every project deserves your individual consideration.