Orthodixie

The following Notice was sent to me by Fr John Salem, Pastor of St George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Houston, Texas. I’m posting it here as one example of the local efforts of an Orthodox community.

Hurricane Katrina Relief

Thank you all for the many inquiries into helping aid all the evacuees of this great disaster of the Gulf Coast. As of now, we will list the ways that you can help. I.O.C.C. (International Orthodox Christian Charities) has asked us to make Health Kits to be distributed. Please carefully follow the instructions:

Number 1
Buy a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closure and fill it with the following items:
1 hand towel
1 washcloth
1 comb
1 metal nail file or nail clipper
1 bar of soap
1 toothbrush
1 tube of toothpaste (4-7 ounces)
6 band-aids
For those who make many bags pack it in a cardboard box and secure it with packing tape and mark it with the words HEALTH KIT.
You may also bring blankets, diapers, towels and bottled water
You may bring these kits to the Church on Sunday or during office hours 8:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. on Tuesday thru Friday.

Number 2
If you are able to house any evacuees, please e-mail Sylvia Araj of I.O.C.C. [saraj@iocc.org]. Please let her know how many people that you can accommodate and for how long.

UPDATES
Fr. Peter Nugent of our sister parish, St. Basil in New Orleans will be at Liturgy this Sunday. His parish has been flooded and he will return Monday for a few hours to assess the damage. To his knowledge, all of his parishioners have evacuated safely.

I.O.C.C. is currently on the ground in Louisiana assessing the damage. They will be in Houston next Friday to meet with the Orthodox Clergy and Council members as to how to proceed with continued aid effort. This will be a prolonged effort of many months to come.

The Antiochian Archdiocese has asked all of its parishes to take collections the next two Sundays to help with relief.

Please keep all the survivors and those who have perished in this Great Disaster in your prayers.

CNN.com has been posting the names of those who wish to let loved ones know they are alright after the storm.

Banging out the kitchen door, I kicked
before I saw it a thick glass baking dish
I’d set outside for dogs the night before.
It skidded to the top step, teetered, tipped
into an undulating slide from step
to step, almost stopped halfway down, then lunged
on toward concrete, and I froze to watch it
splinter when it hit. Instead, it kissed
the concrete like a skipping stone, and rang
to rest in frost-stiffened grass. Retrieving it,
I suddenly felt my neck-cords letting go
of something like a mask of tragedy.
I washed the dish and put it in its place,
then launched myself into a rescued day.

Stolen from The Writer’s Almanac (9/2/05).

But right in the middle, a statue of Jesus is still standing, unscathed by the storm, save for the left thumb and index finger, which are missing.

The missing digits immediately set off speculation of divine intervention.

Many in the Quarter are now saying it was the hand of Jesus, the missing digits to be precise, that flicked the hurricane east just a little to keep the city from suffering a direct blow.

And the search is on for those missing fingers.

H E R E

Thursday, September 1

Plugging HERE, H E R E, and h e r e …

As I noted last night, N.Z. Bear at TTLB has set up a registration page for bloggers who want to participate in the Hurricane Katrina Blog Relief Day fundraiser–inspired by Hugh Hewitt–set for tomorrow, Sept. 1. Glenn Reynolds is keeping a master list of charities, continually updated. Bookmark it. He writes:

The plan for tomorrow’s flood-aid blogburst: I’d like each blogger participating to put up a post recommending a charity, or other action to help, and linking back to this post where I’ll keep a comprehensive list of both bloggers and charities. Basically, a Carnival of Hurricane Relief. That way readers of any blog will have ready access to recommendations on all the blogs. If anyone has a better idea, let me know.

— Please forgive the direct quote of the email, but here’s the one …

International Orthodox Christian Charities [IOCC]


Better yet …

August 30, 2005

TO BE READ FROM THE PULPIT

“Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need” (Acts 4:34-35)

Beloved Clergy and Faithful of our Archdiocese:

Greetings and blessings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

As you all know, large areas along the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina which besieged these coastal areas with tremendous winds and flooding. It is still too soon to have an accurate count of the death toll and the physical damage, but it is clear that the devastation is severe.

It has been, and always will be the policy of this God-protected Archdiocese to help our brothers and sisters around the world who have suffered from natural disasters. In this case, the need is at home. With this in mind, we make an emergency appeal to you for assistance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We ask you to take a special collection in your parishes on the Sundays of Sept. 4 and Sept. 11 and forward it to the Archdiocese headquarters immediately, marked “Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund”, so that we can do our share to try and ease some of the suffering.

Please be generous, keeping in mind the spirit of charity that existed in the early church as quoted above, and our accountability to our Lord for how we respond in times of need.

May the Almighty God continue to surround all of you with His love and heavenly protection.

Your father in Christ,

Metropolitan PHILIP

Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America