Saturday, September 4, assessment and work were done at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Harvey, LA, by Nat Duncan and Grant Duncan, members of Trinity/Hattiesburg.
The church is located across the Mississippi River from New Orleans.
“The power was off when we got there. Wet carpet was removed from the rector’s office and we cleared debris in the church yard,” Duncan said. While the two-member team from MS worked with St. Mark’s junior warden Gene Nettles and his son, Matthew, power was restored to the area Saturday afternoon.
Plans are being made to send other teams to St. Mark’s to complete the remainder carpet removal from the church offices and continue with debris removal. With the restoration of power, St. Mark’s is a good place to work, according to Duncan.
La Fourche Parish
The Rev. Tom Fanning, rector of St. John’s/Pascagoula, is making a trip this week to deliver water, gift cards, and other items to St. John’s Episcopal Church/Thibodaux, LA. The Rev. Holly Burris, is the rector of St. John’s/Thibodaux. She most recently served at Epiphany/Tunica in Mississippi. To our knowledge, power has not been restored to LaFourche Parish, which is about 60 miles west of New Orleans.
Gray Center
The Gray Center property in Canton, Mississippi, received damage from Ida and a previous storm that moved through Madison County. Volunteers are working to remove debris over the Labor Day Weekend.
Volunteer
If you would like to join a team for cleanup duty, please contact the Rev. Scott Lenoir at slenoir1@gmail.com. Rules to follow are the same as always—know exactly where you are going to help and be as self-sustaining as possible. In hard hit areas, gasoline may be hard or impossible to find. If your church sends a team out, please notify Scott or the Rev. Deacon Cathy Halford (chalford48@yahoo.com). COVID-19 protocols must be observed for all volunteers.
How to contribute money
Donations for Hurricane Ida relief may be given to The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana at or Episcopal Relief and Development
The Rev. Scott Lenoir is the diocesan coordinator for the Disaster Preparedness and Response Team.
