Jay's Update from New Orleans

Dear Friends:

We just spent the day cleaning out my parents home; removing wet carpet from the downstairs and one of the upstairs rooms as well as cleaning out the refrigerator. We have to bury all waste so dug several large holes in the backyard and dump out spoiled food container by container. The house is about 70% damaged b/c of water damage, especially the result of the protective covering on the roof being blown into the neighbor’s yard.

It looks like a warzone here. Trees are down everywhere. Powerlines and phone lines are on the ground. Many streets are impassable b/c of downed trunks. Virtually every home has received some floodwater damage. Many, like ours, received additional water through the rain that got into the house, walls, and insulation as a result of roof damage.

They’re telling us that we have to be out on Thursday, but information keeps changing so quickly no one really seems to know what’s going on. Our plan is to leave here either Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.

Our main project is to figure out someway to provide a temporary fix to the roof. Building supplies are non-existent and we brought with us some large tarpolins. Not sure if they’ll fit over the roof over not. So we will “MacGuyver” something to protect the interior of the house in case of future rain.

Military helicopters pass overhead every five minutes or so. Some are patrolling for looters. Others are taking supplies to areas inaccessible by road. Saw a helicopter this morning take a huge “balloon” of water to try to drop on a fire somewhere North of here.

Keep us in your prayers – the situation in N.O. is horrible – but God is good even in the chaos.

Jay

PROMPTINGS: Through the Storm

I grew up in New Orleans about two blocks from Lake Pontchartain – a lake now made infamous because of a broken levee at the 17^th Street Canal between Jefferson and Orleans Parishes. Having weathered through a number of hurricanes and “near misses” I like many native New Orleanians knew that Hurricane Katrina would do a last minute side step and head another direction. That’s the way it always happened. New Orleans, we believed, was somehow “enchanted.”

Our naïve “Pollyannaish-ness” was violently dispelled last week as Hurricane Katrina ploughed her way through the Gulf Coast leaving in her wake not just the destruction of materiel and property, but leaving in her wake also a throng of suffering and despairing humanity.

We’ve seen this sort of thing before. The Tsunami which left hundreds of thousands homeless and dead reminded us of the awful force of unbridled nature. But that was thousands of miles away in a completely different hemisphere. Perhaps naively we thought that something on the scale of the tsunami could never happen here in the U.S. Or at least, if it did, we would quickly recover, being the great nation we are, and get on with our lives.

That isn’t going to happen. At least not quickly. New Orleans will never be able to return to the city it was – the city, someone once pegged, “that care forgot.” New Orleans has been known as something of a raucous party town. One could go down to Bourbon Street at any time, day or night, and find a place on a barstool, listen to live jazz music, and be around others who had left their own cares behind. I wonder now how the soul of that city has changed. As it is rebuilt, how will it adapt the demeanor of what the Roman Stoics referred to as gravitas.

There are some things I would never change about my home city. It’s friendliness. It’s carefree and joyful spirit. I would never change the way neighbors gather together at a local po-boy or beauty parlor and get caught up on what’s going on in each others lives – and in the lives of their children who now live far away. New Orleans is a town that loves a good conversation.

But, there are some things I desperately pray will change in New Orleans. I pray that it as it rebuilds there develops a greater sense of community among all of its diverse constituencies – from the large, aristocratic homes of Audubon Place to the blue collar “gumbo ya ya” of the 9^th ward; from the “nouveau riche” of the Lake Front to the residents of a housing project named simply “Desire.” New Orleans has a long and rich history as a melting pot.

I pray also that as it recovers and rebuilds it moves past the “party on Fat Tuesday” and “repent on Ash Wednesday” spirit, taking instead in its place the developed spirit of purposefulness as it deeply loves, cares for, and nurtures one another as a community.

With a renewed spirit of disciplined and responsible leadership, New Orleans, like many cities in Europe and Japan after World War 2, can be rebuilt as a model community. It can become the "Seattle of the South" enjoying high literacy rates, education, and productivity. This will require the efforts of many talented and visionary people from every level of the public and private sectors, joined together in rolling up their sleeves, forgetting economic and "social" differences and moving ahead toward a compelling vision and purpose. It is in the spirit-led building of community toward an ultimately meaningful purpose where we discover the deepest and truest and most lasting joy. It’s around the deeply committed people of God on a mission that we experience truly the party that never ends.

PROMISE CHURCH - HURRICANE RELIEF

The Promise Church of Jackson will be partnering with the Jackson Area Association of Realtors (JAAR) and The Life Church of Memphis to provide disaster relief in areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina. Below is information describing ways individuals may assist in this relief effort. We will be storing all items from Jackson at Promise Church and taking them to the Life Church. They will be making weekly deliveries of supplies to Baton Rouge which will then be delivered through Healing Place Church to hurricane evacuees.

We're encouraging our community to join together and help those who have lost homes and belongings. Here are some ways that you can get involved:

1. Give money toward relief efforts. Donations can be given online, dropped off or mailed to the church:

The Promise Church of Jackson
ATTN: Hurricane Relief
935 Old Humboldt Road
Jackson, TN 38305

You can also visit our sister church in Memphis to donate online at www.thelifechurch.com or donate directly to the Red Cross through Amazon.com's web site at www.amazon.com

2. Donate items for hurricane victims. We are accepting the following items:
Bottled Water
Pillows and Blankets
Diapers
Deodorant
Toothpaste/toothbrushes
Hand Sanitizer
Toilet Paper
Non-perishable food items
Wheel chairs

These items may be dropped off at the Jackson Area Association of Realtors Office or at the Promise Church Ministry Center at 935 Old Humboldt Road.

3. Offer housing to displaced people.

4. Participate on a relief team. We are currently organizing teams of people to work as a relief crews in Louisiana to help those affected recover from the storm's devastating effects. We will be coordinating this effort with the Life Church of Memphis ( www.thelifechurch.com ).

5. Participate in local relief efforts. From answering phones at the church to helping prepare items for distribution, you can make a difference. If you can help, please contact us immediately at info@promisechurch.info . Please be sure to include your area of interest in your email. Also, please use this email if you have additional ideas or ways you or your business may be able help with relief efforts. We will continue to keep you updated via email including a section on current opportunities and the most urgent needs to help with relief efforts.

Today:
Please pray for:
1. The victims as they try to recover. They are without homes and income and current resources are limited.
2. Divine favor and provision as plans are made to help with the relief efforts.
3. For the love and hope of Christ to be shine amidst the darkness of this tragedy.Thank you for partnering with us as we work to share the love of Christ through meeting needs of hurricane victims.

For more information on other local efforts to provide relief check out http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050902/NEWS01/509020314/1002


Jay Hutchens
The Promise Church
email: jay@promisechurch.info
phone: 731.664-LIFE (5433)
web: http://www.promisechurch.info

HURRICANE KATRINA - NOTE FROM PASTOR JAY

Just a word about Hurricane Katrina...First of all, I want to thank everone who has inquired about my parents who live in Metairie. They made it to Jackson at 3am on Monday morning. Since that time, we've slept little, and have been closely watching CNN as well as New Orleans local TV that is now broadcasting on the Internet. The news for the city and region has, as you know, been devastating. It appears now that there has been tremendous loss of life. The governor of Louisiana has asked for today (Wednesday) to be a day of prayer. I encourage everyone to pause for a few minutes today and be in prayer for all of those who have suffered loss throughout this tragedy.

My plans are to travel on Tuesday, conditions permitting, to Metairie with my parents. The Jefferson Parish (County) President has said that they will allow residents to enter the Parish with picture ID to collect their essential belongings but will then be asked to leave for one month while reconstruction efforts get underway. I am going to be whatever help I can - both physical and pastoral - to families in the surrounding neighborhoods where I grew up and will return by Friday or Saturday of next week.

Our God is a good God and we cling to the hope we have in Him. We know from scripture that ALL things work to good for those who love God (Romans 8:28- 30). This is our hope. This is our confidence. This is our strength that enables us to face anything that comes our way. With God's love we can cry out with the apostle Paul, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Cor 15:55)

Please also keep the parents-in-law of Tina Kelly in your prayers. They live 50 miles outside of New Orleans and Tina hasn't heard from them since the disaster. Let's pray that they are okay and will be able to make contact soon with their loved ones.

If you know of others specifically that our church family can be in prayer for - please forward those names and locations to me and I will post them on our web site.

This coming Sunday, we'll be talking about how to work through difficult times and rely on the strength which God provides. Please pray for our weekend service - that it will be a time of Christ's powerful presence and healing. See you Sunday!

With Much Love,
Jay Hutchens
The Promise Church
email: jay@promisechurch.info
web: http://www.promisechurch.info