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Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 9:17:03 AM

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This was in my News thread, but deserved it's own.

NEW ORLEANS — Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina, much of the city is deserted. Broken glass hangs from the windows of office towers. Weeds flourish in front of boarded-up homes. In the Lower Ninth Ward, entire blocks have been obliterated, the houses carted away to the junkyard, leaving nothing but the square outlines of foundations and the squat, concrete steps that once led to front doors.

Yet many of those surveying this scarred landscape see reason for hope. It arrives, in wave after wave, on the sunburned faces and sweaty backs of hundreds of thousands of volunteers who come to rebuild the Gulf Coast. To many weary residents, every church van with out-of-state plates seems like a beacon of light, a sign they have not been forgotten.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-07-18-faith-building_N.htm

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 10:58:09 AM

MusicalBoredom

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I have had an aversion to most organized religions for most of my life. However, when we were in the water in New Orleans trying to round up all the lost pets that people had to abandon I saw a caravan of trucks and motorhomes from a particular church in Texas come in and set up shop. They were very organized and were only concerned with helping and giving comfort. They stayed a very long time helping in anyway they could. They also provided a great deal of food, water, clothing and medical attention. No once did I hear one judgmental or pushy thought come out of a single one of them. It smacked my prejudice right in the teeth. I had been guilty of the wholesale discounting of people based soley on what I thought they were about. I was the one doing what I was accusing "them" of doing. I will never forget what I witnessed and hope that I will be a little more slow in my mental accusations of others.

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 11:31:36 AM

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That's a great post, MB. Wise words.

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 11:53:08 AM

pollux

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quote:

ORIGINAL: MusicalBoredom

I have had an aversion to most organized religions for most of my life. However, when we were in the water in New Orleans trying to round up all the lost pets that people had to abandon I saw a caravan of trucks and motorhomes from a particular church in Texas come in and set up shop. They were very organized and were only concerned with helping and giving comfort. They stayed a very long time helping in anyway they could. They also provided a great deal of food, water, clothing and medical attention. No once did I hear one judgmental or pushy thought come out of a single one of them. It smacked my prejudice right in the teeth. I had been guilty of the wholesale discounting of people based soley on what I thought they were about. I was the one doing what I was accusing "them" of doing. I will never forget what I witnessed and hope that I will be a little more slow in my mental accusations of others.

I had a similar experience when I had to stay overnight with some Salvationists in England. It's humbling when things happen to illuminate prejudices you didn't even know you had.

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 12:29:17 PM

MusicalBoredom

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Thanks level. Good thread topic for discussion as usual.

Pullux it is rather humbling, something I usually enjoy very much. But after I have eatin the egg from my face I usally end up feeling a bit better about me and the world about me. Those predjucdices get a little heavy carring them around lol.

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 1:23:13 PM

nyrisa

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After we got hit dead on by Hurricane Ivan, it looked like a decimated war zone around here. But it was amazing how many people stepped up to help. Many of the hard workers were from religious groups, who spent weeks down here helping the elderly and handicapped who were not able to repair their roofs and move the debris from their homes. And for weeks, the only hot meal most people had was from the mobile kitchens of helpful strangers.

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 1:32:22 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: pollux

quote:

ORIGINAL: MusicalBoredom

I have had an aversion to most organized religions for most of my life. However, when we were in the water in New Orleans trying to round up all the lost pets that people had to abandon I saw a caravan of trucks and motorhomes from a particular church in Texas come in and set up shop. They were very organized and were only concerned with helping and giving comfort. They stayed a very long time helping in anyway they could. They also provided a great deal of food, water, clothing and medical attention. No once did I hear one judgmental or pushy thought come out of a single one of them. It smacked my prejudice right in the teeth. I had been guilty of the wholesale discounting of people based soley on what I thought they were about. I was the one doing what I was accusing "them" of doing. I will never forget what I witnessed and hope that I will be a little more slow in my mental accusations of others.

I had a similar experience when I had to stay overnight with some Salvationists in England. It's humbling when things happen to illuminate prejudices you didn't even know you had.

It is, pollux, but it shows character when someone learns from it.

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Fake the heat and scratch the itch
Skinned up knees and salty lips
Let go it's harder holding on
One more trip and I'll be gone

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 1:33:23 PM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: nyrisa

After we got hit dead on by Hurricane Ivan, it looked like a decimated war zone around here. But it was amazing how many people stepped up to help. Many of the hard workers were from religious groups, who spent weeks down here helping the elderly and handicapped who were not able to repair their roofs and move the debris from their homes. And for weeks, the only hot meal most people had was from the mobile kitchens of helpful strangers.

Same here, after Rita. We had folks from several states down here, giving their time, money, and sweat to help us, and I'll never forget it.

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Fake the heat and scratch the itch
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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 2:41:42 PM

stella40

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I'm coming too.. Perish the thought that the States could lose a city as important as New Orleans. I'm preparing to relocate to the Gulf Coast MS and the openness and and welcoming words and gestures of Americans, many of who lost so much and suffered so much hardship, is something that's very touching and will go to make my resettlement much easier. This is something that's very dear to me and important, to play an active role in the rebuilding of communities and to be a part of those new communities, to help people and bring something new after their loss and tragedies, even in such a small and insignificant way, and to see new communities come out of what was and what is, this represents a dream to me.

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RE: Faith rebuilding in New Orleans - 7/22/2007 4:08:16 PM

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I hope America welcomes you, Stella . There's a lot of good people here, and a lot of narrow-minded types, as well.

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Fake the heat and scratch the itch
Skinned up knees and salty lips
Let go it's harder holding on
One more trip and I'll be gone

~~ Stone Temple Pilots

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