People Helping People

Sunday, December 11, 2005

There was a message on my phone last night from a gentleman named Cliff Cooper. It turns out that a planner named Pam Jolly who had been assigned to my team seems to be a no show and he has been assigned instead. Cliff is a retired civil engineers who has done a lot of road work in his career. About ten years ago he did some work for FEMA but it was relief work immediately after the disaster, not this kind of work. He hopes to be badged, have his computer, and be out here sometime on Tuesday.

I went to mass at St. Philip Niri church. The church is traditional and would hold about 500 people. Unusual for a Catholic Church, the pews are upholstered. The pastor is Hispanic – Father Carlos Garcia-Cardona. The Deacon gives the homily. It is his story. He had lived in Cameron Parish south of here along the ocean. Cameron was completely destroyed. In some towns all that was left standing was the water tower. In the months since the storm he, his wife and his grown children and their families have purchased some land in Kinder and a planning to build homes and stay.

He went to confession weeks ago and told Father Carlos that he had been ordained as a Deacon and have served at a church which had been destroyed. The father asked if he wanted to serve and was capable of preaching. His response to these questions was yes but explained that he could not right now since his vestments had been lost in the storm and with the costs of building new homes and replacing all they had lost, new vestments would have to wait.

With tears in his eyes and with his voice cracking he described how a week ago there was a knock at his door and a woman from one of the parish committees was standing there with a new set of vestments. She said Deacon these are for you – we would like you to serve our Parish.