Presbyterian News Service

Editor's note: After this article was published, PNNews.org learned (9/3/08) that the volunteer village at Luling, La., suffered only minor damage.

LOUISVILLE — Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders were still working Tuesday (Sept. 2) to assess Presbyterian-related damage from Hurricane Gustav. The storm roared from the Gulf of Mexico into southern Louisiana on Monday as a category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 110 mph.

Apparently, predicted damage in the region did not occur, although Gustav's destruction toll is yet to be determined, according to synod leaders and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), the disaster relief ministry of the PC(USA).

"No, there's nothing to report at this point," said the Rev. Terry Newland, executive of the Synod of Living Waters, early Tuesday. "I'm waiting for updates from Bill dePrater, presbytery executive in Mississippi Presbytery and Samford Turner, the executive in South Alabama. I've talked to them both this morning and expect updates."

Gustav, now a tropical depression, brought fierce winds and heavy rains from the Alabama-Florida border west into Texas. The storm is expected to continue dousing much of Louisiana and neighboring states with rain, keeping communities on alert for tornadoes and flooding.

"We just don't have a lot of specifics yet and probably won't until tomorrow is my guess," said the Rev. Judy Fletcher, executive of the Synod of the Sun, which includes Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.

PDA officials participated in a telephone conference call Tuesday morning with Newland, the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic's interim executive John Winings and the Rev. Jill Hudson, Office of the General Assembly coordinator for middle governing bodies, to determine the current situation and any need for PDA assistance.

Synod leadership had A previous survey of the presbyteries indicated no specific requests for assistance, PDA said in a report issued Tuesday.

"Thankfully most of the areas where Gustav was projected to hit had been evacuated," PDA's report said.

According to the report, included in the evacuations was the staff of the Presbytery of South Louisiana's Project Homecoming, which has been active in assisting with rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Presbyterian Volunteer Villages located in Mississippi and Louisiana were also evacuated.

The villages were established following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to house volunteers from all over who were helping with rebuilding efforts.

The Orange Grove Presbyterian Volunteer Village located in Gulfport, Miss. is preparing to reopen and house Americorp volunteers assisting with the Hurricane Gustav response, according to PDA.

Gustav knocked over trees and power poles across the region. High water closed most of U.S. 90 in Mississippi and Louisiana, and winds sent whitecaps cascading over the levees in New Orleans.

At mid-morning Monday the hurricane came ashore near Cocodrie, La. about 80 miles southwest of New Orleans, then moved along the coast to the northwest, avoiding a direct hit on the Crescent City. Houma, Morgan City and other coastal cities took the brunt of the storm.

PDA reported concern for the Presbyterian Volunteer Village in Houma, La. Houma was directly in the path of Gustav and sustained considerable damage. The construction supervisor of the village lost his home to the hurricane, although his family had evacuated to safety. Houma is still recovering from 2005s Hurricane Rita.

PDA will continue to monitor the effects of Hurricane Gustav, responding as needed, staying in touch with South Louisiana and Mississippi Presbyteries and with staff of the volunteer villages to coordinate assistance.

Winings expressed concern about continued rain from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay, which battered the central and upper coast of Florida with heavy rain and severe flooding when it made landfall in southwest Florida on Aug. 19, PDA's report said.

Winings mentioned that there were flood warnings issued throughout Salem Presbytery, located in North Carolina, PDA said. He also expressed concern about Hurricane Hanna, comparable to Hurricane Floyd, which devastated eastern North Carolina in 1999.

PDA continues to monitor tropical storms Hanna and Ike, which are brewing in the Atlantic. The hurricane center said Hanna could make landfall as a major hurricane somewhere on the Southeastern U.S. coast by Friday evening.

Helping with Gustav clean-up

Work teams interested in helping with clean-up and rebuilding efforts should register with PDAs national call center located at the Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Ark. by calling (866) 732-6121.

The call center will work with presbyteries and the Presbyterian Volunteer Villages to house volunteers and determine work needs.

Ferncliff is also a warehouse for Church World Service (CWS) materiel resources. CWS pre-positioned materiel at Ferncliff before the storm and will be able to fulfill requests for emergency blankets, clean-up buckets, and Gift of the Heart kits as needs arise, PDA's report said.

Arkansas churches pitching in

Meanwhile, churches in the Presbytery of Arkansas are offering assistance to evacuees from Mississippi, Louisiana and other Gulf states who left their homes in anticipation of Gustav's arrival, according to a press release.

First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock hosted 25 families Saturday night (Aug. 30). These families were placed there since one of the official evacuation centers had not yet opened. The overnighters represented families of medical evacuees. Other churches are responding as they become aware of needs, said the release issued Tuesday by the Presbytery of Arkansas Disaster Relief Team (DRT).

Churches in Arkansas Presbytery that require assistance with hosting people or who have volunteers seeking information about where they might serve, are asked to contact the presbytery's disaster response team by phone at 501-412-8497 or by email.

Those wishing to respond to the disaster financially may do so by designating gifts for USA disasters and emergencies, DR000015. Donations may be sent through normal mission giving channels. Gifts by credit card can be made by calling PresbyTel at (800) 872-3283 or online. Checks payable to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can also be mailed directly to: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700.

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