After Katrina

As inadequate as I feel to speak in the face of such tragedy and loss, I want to say clearly and firmly that our Center, our God, does hold. Perhaps more than ever, in the midst of crisis, God is with us.

I believe this with all my heart. Over thirty years ago, I lived through my own personal hurricane, a time when I felt... that the center could not hold. But good and caring friends put their love for me into action. One of them took me to a silent retreat where, the first night, I heard this passage from the prophet Isaiah:

Those words changed my life. I heard them, I somehow believed them, and I have not been the same since. That Scripture, plus the action of friends, helped me regain my Center, and I urge us to use the same tools as we walk together through this tragedy.

by The Rev. Margaret Jones
from "The Center Will Hold"

1. Pray for victims and their families, that they will find their fears calmed, that they will be given hope in their loss, and that they will be given the strength to begin anew.

2. Listen to the local news to find out about relief efforts in your area and how you might participate.

3. Set aside some portion of your income to help those in need. In addition to the Red Cross, many religious organizations are arranging relief efforts and accepting donations.

The magic of the Internet is made clear when congregations still stand at their homepages, even as their houses of worship have tumbled into the sea. Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, Mississippi (at 610 Water Street), is destroyed, but its Web page is still standing.

These presences are eerie reminders of what was, but also of what remains. You would never know that something catastrophic had happened in the Gulf States if you simply read the Web sites of those congregations that have been far too busy with life-threatening matters to take the time to update them with messages that services are cancelled for this week.

by Jon M. Sweeney