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Katrina Comeback
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The people of New Orleans still live daily in the shadow of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Rebuilding efforts continue, but for the people of the Crescent City the overwhelming feeling of loss is slow to fade. Reed Galin talked to a pastor who saw her home and her church destroyed, but who is starting anew. |
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SCRIPT:
(Locator: New Orleans, Louisiana)
(Voice of the Rev. Connie Thomas) “This is our neighborhood. You can
tell some people are back living in their homes, and some people are
just not back.”
Recovery in the Reverend Connie Thomas’s New Orleans neighborhood
reflects her own personal journey … progressing, coming back, finally.
(Women greet each other) “Hey, my Angela, I love you so much! I love you
too!”
For every old friend who finally returns, another is gone for good. So
it is with Thomas’s life mission, as well. Like her home, the United
Methodist church she served was wrecked in the storm. Decommissioned,
it’s now for sale, as is.
The Rev. Connie Thomas, Mt. Zion United Methodist Church: “Every day
this church was open and filled with young people from around the
community, and I don’t know where those children are.”
But she’s quickly back in the present.
The Rev. Connie Thomas: “You live with knowing that you’re
being healed every day.”
Now, Thomas leads a new church, Mt. Zion United Methodist. It’s
accomplishing much, against the odds.
A health clinic has begun operating in the church.
The Rev. Connie Thomas: “What the clinic represents for me also is
cutting-edge ministry.”
The clinic sets up Tuesday nights in the room where services are held,
which isn’t the sanctuary. That still looks like it did right after
Katrina.
The Rev. Connie Thomas: “When I hear the roofers, that makes me feel that
it’s happening.”
The work ahead still stretches to the horizon—in the church building,
and all around her.
And Connie Thomas stays right in the middle of it all, between complete
disaster and an optimistic future.
The Rev. Connie Thomas: “There really are memories that I have, that
I’ll always have. But in the midst of it, I know that God is there and I
just have this confidence that it’s going to be okay, and it is already
okay.”
TAG:
For information on volunteer opportunities and to
learn more about recovery efforts, call 225-346-5193 or contact the
Louisiana Disaster Recovery Ministry.
You can visit
www.umc.org to make a donation to the
Katrina Church Recovery Appeal.
Also, see:
New Orleans pastor rebuilds 'inner spirit of the
people'