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Bishop Hoyt on Katrina disaster: 'When the need is great, our empathetic response is great.'

New York, September 1, 2005 -- The President of the NCC, whose Christian Methodist Episcopal diocese sustained a direct hit by Hurricane Katrina, predicted that people of faith will give generously to disaster relief efforts.

Recalling the unprecedented giving by Americans after the December 2004 tsunami, Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., CME Bishop of Louisiana and Mississippi, said he expected a similar response. "One thing we do know," Hoyt said in a letter to the NCC's member communions, "when the need is great, our empathetic response is great."

Hoyt reiterated the massive destruction of the Gulf coast that millions watched on their televisions "with mounting alarm." Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe that will affect its survivors for years, Hoyt said. "We can take satisfaction in the fact that this kind of loving response to those who suffer is the best possible witness we can make to the love of God and God's continued presence among us."

"There will be plenty of time in the future to debate theological questions as to why good people have to suffer or speculate whether global warming is making our weather more violent," he wrote. "Today, there is only one essential question: How are we going to provide food, clothing, shelter and necessities for the tens of thousands who have lost all their earthly possessions and the lives of their loved ones?

Hoyt encouraged members of churches in NCC-member communions to give to Hurricane Katrina Response at Church World Service.

The text of Bishop Hoyt's message:

My dear Christian friends and persons of faith everywhere:

For the past several days, the world has watched with deepest concern and awe the limitless power of nature. I have just returned from a cruise on the crest of waters in the Gulf that were so calm and serene. These same waters showed their awesome powers through what we have called Hurricane Katrina. Judged one of the three or four most powerful hurricanes in recorded history, Katrina hit the Gulf coast of the United States Monday with unimaginable destruction. Even after the gale subsided, the terrible affects of the storm continued. People with previous stability of place have suddenly become refugees; churches, synagogues, mosques and temples -- long mainstays in the community -- have been destroyed and their members uprooted. Children are losing parents and parents are losing their own parents. This is truly America's tsunami. In many communities there is no electricity, no lights, no telephone, no television, no clean water. Those who do have these comforts have watched their televisions with mounting alarm: New Orleans is almost completely inundated with muddy, chemically contaminated water from Lake Pontchartrain, tens of thousands of houses on the coastal areas have been washed away, untold numbers of businesses are destroyed, millions are without clean water or electricity for days, and travel is almost impossible due to the high cost of fuel.

There will be plenty of time in the future to debate theological questions as to why good people have to suffer or speculate whether global warming is making our weather more violent. Today, there is only one essential question: How are we going to provide food, clothing, shelter and necessities for the tens of thousands who have lost all their earthly possessions and the lives of their loved ones?

One thing we do know: when the need is great, our empathetic response is great. As we did immediately after the tsunamis of December 2004 killed tens of thousands and deprived millions of their homes, Christians and Americans of every faith will give generously to relief efforts that must last for many months. It is hardly necessary for me to call on our congregations to make generous contributions to denominational and ecumenical relief agencies, because you are already doing that. We can take satisfaction in the fact that this kind of loving response to those who suffer is the best possible witness we can make to the love of God and God's continued presence among us.

Church World Service, the National Council of Churches' sister humanitarian and relief agency, is receiving contributions to Hurricane Katrina Response, No, 6280, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. You can also make credit card contributions by calling 800-297-1516, ext. 222, or online at www.churchworldservice.org.

As Bishop of Louisiana and Mississippi, and as chair of the General Assemblies of both Church World Service and the National Council of Churches USA, I am deeply grateful for your concern and prayers for the millions who have been displaced and the relatives and friends of those who have died. Please continue to remember us in this manner, and with your heartfelt and generous contributions.

Sincerely,

Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr.
President, National Council of Churches USA

Contact NCC News, Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2252

 

 


 

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