There has been a lot to take in the past two days. I haven’t blogged about it until now since I wanted to be sure to properly sift through the stories I have. I would like to share a two stories with you –

Billy. K.J. and I arrived in Pass Christian, Mississippi, on Wednesday morning to work with Relevant Ministry. Relevant Ministry was started by Nelson Roth as a response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and seeks to bring God’s love to the people of the Gulf Coast. When we arrived, we met Jeff, a former church planter now Director of Relevant. Jeff told us that we would be helping finish a log cabin for a local, elderly gentleman named Billy.

I'm pretending to work

Billy lost his livelihood years ago when he lost his fishing boat to Hurricane Katrina. As he told us, his fishing boat ended up in the woods hundreds of yards from the marina. Sometime later, Billy lost his trailer to a fire. He was depressed, unmotivated, and discouraged. He has since begun to build a log cabin—something sturdy and well-built—as his home. Relevant Ministry stepped in to work on this project with him. So, K.J. and I joined with some (Mennonite) teenagers from Ohio to caulk the house and sand the wood floors. Billy was so thankful and grateful for all the work Relevant has done for him, and I was proud to observe a little piece of that.

Reverend Rosemary. Reverend Rosemary is an African-American, Methodist pastor in DeLisle, MS. After over 20 years teaching in the community, Rosemary answered her call to the pastorate. If you know anything about the UMC, pastors move in and out often and continuously (sometimes, even once a year). However, Rev. Rosemary has been in the same church of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. K.J. and I were given the opportunity to sit down with Rosemary to talk to her about her ministry. We found it very interesting that her husband also pastors a church a few miles from her. He drops her off on Sunday morning, then drives over to his church, and returns to catch the end of Rosemary’s service. Rosemary said jokingly that her services go longer than her husband’s because hers are more spirit and praise-filled.

I asked her questions about her ministry as a female pastor and if she has experienced difficulty because of it. We spoke about her working relationship with other churches and pastors in the area—how she is often called upon by other pastors and how they work smoothly with one another. She is an example of the beauty of the ecumenical movement. We also talked about how she feels that she is a mother of the community. After talking about some young men in her community that were killed in recent months, she is set to take action because “these are my children.” What a heart for a pastor to have! These young men didn’t go to her church, the parents don’t attend the church, but she still believes they are her children—such compassion is hardly matched in the pastorate today.

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The pillar is the height at which waters rose to during Katrina

What I can tell from the past two days is that people are still suffering in this area. If you see the one picture, K.J. and I are standing by the bridge in Pass Christian. The pillar is the height at which the waters rose during Katrina. I can’t imagine it, and the people who have experienced are having difficulty getting over it. Even our friend Billy took some time. But with the help of Christians like Reverend Rosemary and Relevant Ministry, I believe God’s Spirit can move in the Gulf Coast to bring grace to the community; for what we call disaster, God calls opportunity.