Southeast Church of Christ

Would love to get a group from SECOC on this one to prepare a meal. They are planning on feeding 3 meals a day to all these people and need 420 volunteers per meal!
Andreia Spencer

Interfaith Ministries Office of Disaster Preparedness and Response

The IM ODPR has accepted the challenge to, along with 2nd Baptist Church and the Houston area Faith Communities, feed the influx of victims being relocated from the New Orleans Superdome to the Houston Astrodome. We will also serve as the primary disseminator for information to the faith community regarding social services, volunteer opportunities and donation information.

Information:

The United Way's 211 Telephone Assistance Hotline is the primary resource for all information. Please contact 211 or visit unitedwayhouston.org for the latest information updates.

Faith Communities:

Please organize your congregations and contact Eric Hystad at Second Baptist Church, 713.365.3479 for information on how to train and volunteer to feed the influx of Hurricane survivors now located in the Astrodome. Trainings will be held on Saturday September 3rd at 9:00 am, Sunday September 4th at 2:00 pm and Monday September 5th at 1:00 pm. Each training is 2 hours long and must be completed before you are able to volunteer. Additional training days will be announced as arranged.

More than 420 volunteers will be needed during each of the three shifts (4:00 am to 10:00 am, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm) during this process.
 

Home is where the heart is. I always believed that saying. I always assumed that "Home" was defined by people and not possessions. However, after Katrina, and after talking to my mom (whose house and many personal possesions were damaged by Allison a few years ago), my opinion slightly changed.

Your possesions are constant, familiar and comforting. They provide much more than their literal purpose.

For example, think about your pillow for a minute.

I never "think" about my pillow. The only time I do is when the covering needs changing. Even then, I am not really thinking about the pillow per say, but the pillowCASE.

I shamefully take my pillow for granted.

Last week, a friend called me and said, "The Convention Center is in need of 2000 pillows by tonight-how can you help?"

My initial, and regretful, final, response was, "I'm already helping the evacuees by donating baby stuff to a shelter, and besides, pillows are expensive, and I have already spent alot of money on relief efforts."

I have fourteen pillows in my house! (if you count decorative ones)

Did I even think for a minute of giving one of those? No

Why? Because I wouldn't want to use someone else's pillow, so I assumed nobody else would.

Why? Because my possesions are mine. They are constant, familiar and comforting.

Is life more important than possessions? YES, but people need possessions too...even if you live in a paper box- or a tent, as the hurricane survivor on the news did.

The bible says to leave behind worldly possessions and store up treasures in heaven.

It is much easier to do this when you are sitting at your computer, in an air conditioned home, wearing warm and dry clothes, with fourteen pillows in your house.

The challenge for Katrina Survivors now lies in rebuilding their "Homes".

Not just their home as a physical structure, but, their "Home" that is their family and personal possesions. Familiar, constant and comforting.

I pray that God will provide peace to all of those that are missing their pillows tonight.
 

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