Team Members

As the hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast, many people in our congregation (First Congregational Church in Bakersfield, CA) were strongly moved by the desperate plight of people in Mississippi and Louisiana. They wanted to be a part of recovery and reconstruction. Somehow. But how? In a state like ours that regularly deals with fires and floods and must always be prepared for a “shaker,” we know how unpredictable, how massive, and how cruel nature’s powers can be. Most of all, however, there was a feeling that where there is suffering, we should be.

By late winter, several people realized that they all were thinking versions of the same thing: We could borrow a concept often used by our church’s youth and take a work trip to the Gulf Coast.

Other alternatives were explored, but we realized quickly that the United Church of Christ had the mechanisms in place to allow us to make such a trip. It could put us where we could be of value, and it was prepared to lend logistical and moral support. The UCC Office of Volunteers was ready with a list of places and times where we could be of service. We just had to pick our date.

Thus it is that 9 people from First Congregational Church and 1 from San Diego have consulted and planned and on June 11, will arrive in New Orleans to begin a week of clean-up. Along the way, we will listen to people who are there for the long haul, and whose lives have been disrupted, often in the deepest of ways. We hope, while gutting houses, to minister in Jesus’ name and spirit. We are grateful for the support that you have given through your encouragement, your prayers, and through directed gifts and our church’s Mission Budget.

Photos (with protective gear): David Campbell, Meg Clay, Jenell Mahoney, Megan Mahoney, Lara Norman-Kehe. Marti Steinman, Ann Hutton, Woody Allen. Missing from photos: Vicki Philips, Victoria Freiheit.