We visited many of our traditional African American Parishes and although damaged, many of these facilities are still absolutely gorgeous and culturally unique in sacred afro centric style and flair. We saw magnificent murals of Jesus, beautiful statues of African American Saints and altars sculpted from trees. Somehow this storm, that took lives, broke huge trees and crushed buildings, left almost all of our religious statues in the areas we visited untouched.

Our service project was at The Sisters of the Holy Family Motherhouse in New Orleans. Here, the Sisters operate the oldest continuous Catholic home for the aged in the United States. The Sisters of the Holy Family is an African American congregation of pontifical status that was founded by a free woman of African descent, Henriette Delille, some twenty years before the Emancipation Proclamation. During our visit, the Home for seniors was empty and the Sisters were living out of trailers.

St. Augustine's Seminary in Bay St. Louis was the first Seminary in the United States to train Black men for religious life and priesthood. During our visit we were treated to lunch and a presentation on the psychological effects of the storm. Cathy Green-Miner, Families in Need Services Director for the local Youth Service Bureau, spoke of the Trauma many of the families are experiences. One of the greatest challenges they are facing, other than money, is in providing counseling services. Many of the professional counselors and other personnel have left. Additionally, the storm has left a huge shortage of medical personnel in all areas hit. In New Orleans, the word around town is "You don't want to get sick here". The food we were served at the Seminary during our visit was outstanding! The appearance of the cafeteria was impeccable. This was another rainbow experience for me. After hearing the story of the storm and its damage to the seminary from Fr. James A. Pawlicki, SVD, seeing the room so clean that day was amazing. Through the goodness of God, on this day, we were fed the best lunch in the cleanest environment that one could ever imagine.
When the levy broke in the lower 9th ward of New Orleans, it destroyed almost everything. There was very little left of the physical appearance of houses and other buildings. Slabs and stairways leading to nowhere created a sense of eeriness and uncertainty. The population hit the hardest by the storm was the poorest of the poor, the sick, disabled and those dependent on government resources with the majority of these being African Americans. New Orleans is not yet ready for the poor to come back due to lack of housing and other financial resources. It is the Church that carries the mission of serving the poor and our presence in our African American communities is more crucial now than ever. We listen attentively as many of our priests told their stories. We were told that many survivors are people that appear normal but in reality are just hanging on by a thread. While our priests are providing leadership and support for survivors, we must not forget that they are also survivors and need personal support as well. Some of our priests in the Gulf Port need the help of other priests that are willing to fill in for them while they take a short break away from their work helping others deal with their losses. This break will allow them time to rejuvenate and come back stronger.

We met with Bishop Thomas Rodi, Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi. One major difference in the recovering process between the Diocese of Biloxi and the Archdiocese of New Orleans is that many of the people are still in Biloxi and able to assist in rebuilding. With insurance paying for approximately 50% of actual damage in the diocese, Bishop Rodi has a comprehensive long term recovery plan that is being implemented. Volunteer efforts play a huge part in the success of the plan.

The psychological impact of the storm carried almost the same weight as the physical. People still need to talk about their anger and anxiety. One would think that returning back to work would be a good thing and a blessing. We found this may not always be as simple as it seems with some workers. We heard the story of a woman who found that returning back to work was a psychological challenge. She worked in a casino and is having a hard time watching people throw away their money while she is recovering from loosing everything she had.

Much work is still yet to be done and it will take a lot of time and money to accomplish it all. African Americans need to play a better role in assisting our brother and sisters with recovery efforts in the Gulf Port. It is my hope that this reflection encourages more African Americans and others to help with the rebuilding after the storm. If you do plan on coming to the Gulf to help rebuild you can count on one thing that has not changed, the food is great! For more information on what you can do to help visit the National Black Catholic Congress website at www.nbccongress.org.

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