From Grand Isle to Grand Marais

After all of our projects we did find time to make a run for the southernmost point in Louisiana, Grand Isle. A curious mixture of oil field technologies and a very unique Mississippi delta wilderness. We camped one night there and were fairly overcome with sand fleas, leaving the next morning. It was beautiful and warm though and our feet did touch the sand.
As I write here, snowed in at the Comfort Inn in Des Moines, I see morning sunshine and news that interstate 35 has opened, allowing us to go home. We'll see some of you soon.

Southern Cuisine

A few comments about the food down in Mississippi and Louisian: The ever-present "Waffle House" was a mainstay for breakfast, where I had my fill of waffles and grits. The waitresses all yell out "good mornin'" and "hey, Baby" when you come in and they advertize as "the World's Leaning Server of Real Hashbrowns." This helped explain the shouts for orders of "hasbrowns scattered, smothered and covered" that I kept hearing (extra brown, with onions, covered with American cheese).

That's me confronting my first serving of boiled crawfish, done in a firey red pepper and salt mixture not unlike Chesapeake blue crabs that I know well. Not much meat in those things, but tasty! Crawfish also appeared at "Dot's Diner" where we had breakfast on the west side of New Orleans and Chris devoured "Creole Julie" which was a hot bisquit smoothered with crawfish in a cream sauce gravey.

The small brown balls are fried okra with hot sauce, again ordered by Chris; interesting but not great. (Yikes, ALOT of fried and salty food down here.) Next you see bright red Louisianna strawberries, first of the season and quite sweet already.

Moving on to my "good news, bad news" tale about SHRIMP. You see Chris holding some huge shrimp we boiled in our camper one night while down on the tip of Grand Isle, Louisiana. And there is Pastor Don Morgan, after cooking boiled shrimp for some 30 volunteers at Back Bay Mission and the rest of us chowing-down. For years, Back Bay has sent their shrimp boilers out all over the country to bring boiled shrimp to churches and tell the story of the Mission's empowerment projects among the poor people of Gulf Coast. First Congregational UCC in Grand Marais has had "shrimp boils" during Fishermen's Picnic in August to raise money for Back Bay for years. Unfortunately, since Katrina destroyed most of the Biloxi fishing boats, Back Bay has had to discontinue this practice.

Just before we left Louisianna, I discovered an itchy rash on my wrists and ankles. At first we thought it was bug bites from Grand Isle, but as it got worse I realized it just might be too much shellfish! As I counted the number of days I had eaten shrimp, I realized I had gone 5 days straight consuming the little critters in one form or another (fried, boiled, with garlic over pasta, in gumbo). Whoops! Good thing we moved up into Arkansas and Missouri where we could start eating BARBEQUE!
-Anne

"Tab is in the house!"

A few more reflections on Wednesday night worship at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in D'Iberville, Mississippi (near Biloxi): The first photo is of their Senior Pastor, Dr. Kenneth Davis and Pastor Natalie Shiras (UCC church in MA), shortly following the service. "Tab" was descimated by the Katrina storm surge and the congregation has just now moved into their newly refurbished sanctuary and office buildings. We joined them on the third night of their annual revival, featuring guest preacher Dr. Joel Taylor from Chicago, who was a dynamic and challenging speaker in true "black preaching" style. I had expected a fundatmentalist type theological message, but was intrigued to hear a powerful and progressive interpretation of the Gospel message inviting us to consider the role of both failure and success in our lives as followers of Jesus.

In the middle of the service, Pastor Davis excitedly commented on the high energy and joy in the worship service by exclaiming "Tab is in the HOUSE!" Much hooting and clapping, "Amen, Brother" and "praise God" followed this comment, and I marveled at the conversation that went on between congregation and preachers through the whole service. The preacher invites the response of the people throughout the sermon, and the people reply with gusto. All of us in our visiting group of volunteers are from white, United Church of Christ churches of Congregational tradition (both reserved Scandinavian and New England types), where our preaching is typically more "heady" and restrained, and the congregation sits in polite silence! In the African American churches, the preaching "event" is more of an attentive and lively dialogue between the preacher and congregation. I find this focus on "experiencing" God's power in worship, instead of just "thinking about" God, to be very compelling.

The other photo is of Chris, Pastor Don Morgan and Dave (from Lenox, MA) as they practiced in our volunteer's trailer at Back Bay Mission right before the service. Don and Dave did a great duet on the "He's an On-Time God" number while Chris backed us all up on the piano. I too felt hestitant to share what seemed to be our meager musical offering. Yet, as we began to sing, I could hear the choir stand up behind us and start singing and watched as the congregation stood up and sang, and all of a sudden I was singing in "surround sound."

Near the end of the service, Natalie presented the Pastor with a stack of 3x5 cards, upon which her UCC congregation in Lenox had written prayers for people who had suffered through Hurricane Katrina. The Pastor inivited all those who had most their homes in the storm surge to come forward to receive one of the prayer cards, and he began reading them as he handed them out. We were moved to tears as we heard the simple words of hope and encouragement written by Natalie's congregation. She had brought 40 cards and 39 people came forward, leaving one left for the Pastor who himself had lost his home. He had apparently spent the first 5 days after the storm, before Red Cross or other aide arrived, traveling with water and gasoline to homes of his elderly and stranded parishioners.

I was deeply moved by the service, by people's ability to experience joy even as they still move through horrendous times, and by their conviction that the storm was an opportunity for a deeper connection with God. -Anne

Blizzard Warnings in Iowa

Headed home to Grand Marais at this point. So much for the warm southern weather! We drove only two hours this morning, across the Missouri border into Iowa, plowing through slushy rain and hail, and finally pulled off the road near Des Moines while listening to dire storm warnings. We turned into the nearest motel (at 9:45 am ??), then slid over to an adjoining restaurant only to eat ourselves into a coma at the breakfast buffet. Here is our conversation: Chris: "Don't talk to me." Anne: "Don't talk to ME." Chris: "I said it first." Anne: "Yeah, but I THOUGHT it first." We glare at each other, then collapse into laughter. What a morning....

Back at the motel, we are now watching TV news of interstate 80 from the west being closed and the road north to Minnesota is a mess. I'm thinking we should have made a run-for-it to be in Minneapolis with our friends Deb and Erik Strand by tonight. Chris, more familiar with these midwest storms, knows we made the more prudent decision. Wondering if I will be leading worship at Silver Bay on Sunday, I reluctantly decide this would be a good time to write my sermon. So much for my chance to watch day-time TV! -Anne

Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Revival

When Pastor Don and I sat down to his little electric piano in our trailer, we got it right off that we could have some real fun. He set us (the whole group) up for the next night at at the revival. Not a tent mind you, but a couple of hundred very well dressed black folk, and several ministers up front. We rehearsed a song Don taught us named "He's an on time God" , a little call & response thing that was very fun. You in the Congo church will hear it soon enough.
We listened to two different youth choirs sing some great, loud, rockin "hymns", and I felt a little sheepish about our little group. Then, a FOUR year old girl got the microphone, told the band to hit it, and sang her heart out for ten minutes!
Soon it was our turn and we gathered around the electric piano, I did a little intro and we were rolling. Almost immediately, the whole band was in behind us, and then I could hear the whole congregation as well. We rocked the house! When the song was over, the group all went back to their seats, but the band struck up a reprise and I rocked with them for awhile, getting up off the piano seat and playing standing up! I only showboated for a moment like that but everybody was on their feet! It was an incredible moment. No photos of course, but apparently there's a CD!

Chris

Tool Men and Women

Those handsome Tool Men are Dave and Lyn from the Church on the Hill, Lenox, MA along with Chris, standing in the Back Bay Mission tool shed which holds an incredible amount of hammers, power tools, saws, you-name-it, whatever is needed for house repair and construction. Also shown are buckets full of cleaning supplies which have were distributed as the first-line defense after the storm hit.

Also pictured is Natalie (pastor of Church on the Hill, UCC), sanding away on the ceiling of the house we were working on, and then the Tool Women (Becca, Emily, "Auntie Em" (the other Emily), Danielle and Sandy (all from Lenox), on the front porch of the house. (Photo by Anne, who also was covered with wall-board compound.) Few of us had done this kind of work before, but Dave and Auntie Em were old pros at this and soon had us sanding and slattering away with gusto.
-Anne

Back Bay Mission - Biloxi, Mississippi

We arrived in Biloxi on Tuesday, and headed over to the United Church of Christ affiliated Back Bay Mission, to join up with Pastor Natalie's church group from Lenox, MA. They were off at a work site, mudding dry-wall in a home that BBM is slowly rebuilding with volunteer help. We were on support duty and set about fixing dinner (our "famous" Chicken Marbella receipe which we dragged in a cooler from Slidell) for a dozen or so people in the crew.

Back Bay Mission was founded in 1922 by the First Evangelical Church (later becomes UCC) to help the needs of poor "fisher folk" in the Biloxi area. In these last 80 years, it has grown to a staff of 7 FT and 4 PT employees who work with people who are impoverished and marginalized by poverty, race, lack of education, homelessness and (now) the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Over 65,000 homes in the greater area were destroyed and 64,000 severely damaged, and most of those affected in Biloxi have few resources available. BBM itself lost 6 out its 7 buildings, but was able to get up and running again only a few weeks after the storm, with donated work trailers and an onslaught of volunteers from faith-based groups all over the country.

The smiling fellow in the truck is John, who has been down here volunteering at BBM since December with his wife Pam (showing off her Tshirt). Hailing from a UCC church in Evansville, Indiania, they coordinate the work crews who come down to dig out and rebuild homes, and are an amazing example of what "creative retirement" can look like!

You also see Chris on the floor, assembling office furniture and accompanied by Don Morgan (UCC pastor described in previous post) who serves as the Volunteer Coordinator for the organization. Thursday was a happy day for the whole place, as they finally were able to move into their new office buildings and out of the trailers where the 11 staff members have been crammed since Katrina. Our group helped move furniture, then spent much of Friday dismantling a wooden ramp and deck that connected the trailers.

Be sure to go to the Back Bay Mission website (just search with that title) for more details on their amazing work. -Anne

Honey Island Swamp

We took a brief detour before heading to Biloxi, and floated with a group through the Honey Island Swamp, along the West Pearl River and bayou near Slidell. Once private lands, they are now preserved and managed by Fish and Wildlife of Louisiana. Since the trees were still bare, except for some bright Red Swamp Maple blossoms, the swamp was a muted palatte of browns and greys and we could see far back into the watery woods. Katrina and the storm surge destroyed many huge, old growth oaks which had provided a thick canopy underwhich little could grow. Our guide described that the swamp is now filling up with thick undergrowth now which impacts the whole food chain (as does the habitat destruction of sprall-malls built on swamp and marsh fill). Thick bundles of Spanish moss hung from the branches and gave the scene an haunting feel.

We spotted numerous cabins flooding along the river, some mostly destroyed, and then would find "McMansions" around the next bend, built with their lawns actually disappearing into the swamp water. Such an odd mix.

The cypress trees grow strange "knees" that stick up above the water-line at the base of the trunks, to bring more oxygen to the main tree. The teenagers on the boat kept giggling when we passed these. Hmmmmm.

We also spotted a few turtles sunning themselves on some logs, and had the fun surprise of a 4 foot alligator enjoying the afternoon rays. The bigger guys are all down snoozing in the mud this time of year.

After several days in the hectic traffic and Mardi Gras crowds of New Orleans, it was a relief to move through such a peaceful and strangely beautiful place. -Anne

Explaination about FEMA Tshirt

The "expletive" photo shot at the end of the previous post was of a Tshirt on sale in the French Quarter. People down here have quite a dim view of FEMA, ranging from disgruntled to furious. We thought the Tshirt summed it up well. -Anne and Chris

When Pastor Don Morgan started to sing the sermon

Amazingly we met up with Anne's close clergy friend from California, Natalie Shiras, and her church youth group (from a United Church of Christ congregation in Lenox, MA) for Sunday sevices in the lower Ninth ward. This is the area that really got hit by the breech of the levies, and where almost all of the residents were low income African Americans. The neighborhood surrounding the church was devastated,with few houses occupied now. The public school down the block is shuttered and dark. Beecher Memorial Congregational UCC sustained considerable damage, and is only about 1/3 through their reconstruction. But the memership is hardy and very welcoming to all of us.

It was quite chilly in the "sanctuary", a fellowship room recently covered with sheetrock on one side and hanging plastic on the other. But by the time we got rolling with the hymns, the temperature rose! About halfway through the rousing sermon, true, Pastor Don started to "sing" the homily in a beautiful chant monotone, admonishing us to "Make Prayer a Part of Your Diet." With humor and insight, he expounded on the Lord's Prayer in a way that made this prayer of Jesus come alive in new ways. So much adversity for these people, and yet such hope and determination.

We joined the friendly members for coffee, "King Cake" and discussion following worship, and learned much about the plight of the local public schools. Hundreds of children enrolled with no place to go, schools lacking basics of books and desks, many schools simply not on any repair schedule, and (as in many parts of the country) obvious tension between public and charter schools around resources. Another one of the very complicated pieces of this recovery process, in an area that has long suffered from a mostly inadequate school system.

After lunch with Natalie's group and Pastor Don in the French Quarter, we slowly drove together through the neighbors of the Ninth ward. Very few FEMA trailers visible, some cars and a few people, but mostly ruined and empty homes marked with the spray-painted circles and numbers signifying that the dwelling had been searched by recovery workers. We all were awed and quiet, overwhelmed and sad.

We head to Biloxi, Mississippi, today on Mardi Gras itself (Fat Tuesday!), to join us with Natalie's group and work with them at Back Bay Mission through this week. -Chris and Anne

Floats and Beads

An assortment of photos from Saturday in the French Quarter. Watching parades, catching beads, eating oysters and muffalettas, live music and crowds in Jackson Square. Then catching the ferry back across the Mississippi River to our truck, parked on the West Bank in Old Algiers. Home to our inn in the woods near Pearl River, Mississippi, for a quiet evening, finishing up said muffaletta for supper. -Chris and Anne

More on the Nelson School

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Medard H. Nelson Charter School is one of 23 charter schools in the New Orleans school district at this point, with many public schools having been in such disarray even before Katrina that they have been taken over by different charter groups. Only half the local schools have reopened. Nelson school was flooded out of their building across town and is temporarily in this older school building near the Garden District. The children's lives are consumed with Mardi Gras music, costumes, parades and festivities this week, and some of the classes had made minature parade floats from shoeboxes which they proudly carried outside to show us (see last photo). We were fed the local "King Cake" three different times yesterday (even at breakfast), and head into town for one of the dozens of parades today. -Anne

Mardi Gras at the Charter School!

We pulled up our truck next to the Nelson school yesterday and were told there were "festivities" planned. Wow. Little did we know! A few eighth grade boys came out to help us unload and create a little display of all the instruments in their schoolyard. Then the entire school came out for assembly, pronounced us King and Queen and started a grade by grade parade past us! Presented us with a plaque, beads and Zulu coconuts ( one of the "throws" from the huge all black parade on Mardi Gras day, and a coveted collectors item) and MANY thanks, really to all of you who donated as well. Photographers were snapping as I handed a check for $1300 to Ava Lee, the principal you see with us in the photo. A last minute surprise was a few members of the "Rebirth Brass Band" showing up to serande the children as they boarded their school buses for home. -Chris