Faith in the Face of Disaster:
Unitarian Universalist Response to Hurricane Katrina

UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund Update: At the end of 2006, the relief fund has received $3,622,250, thanks to the matching grant offered by the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock. Thank you for your generosity! To date, $2,366,387 has been spent to directly serve those in need. How to Make a Donation to the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund Your Donations at Work: List of Grantees and Grants

UUA Board of Trustees expresses gratitude for donations to the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund

The Rev. Jim VanderWeele outside the Community Church UU  in New Orleans, where he ministers. Photo by Rev. VanderWeele.

A girl inside a Mississippi shelter. Photo by Annette Marquis.

As Hurricane Katrina roared into the U.S. Gulf Coast region in the last days of August 2005, the storm visited widespread destruction on Mississippi, Alabama, and particularly the greater New Orleans area of Louisiana. With the City of New Orleans evacuated and under water, horrific stories that illustrated racial and cultural divides and the failures of the government's response to the disaster began to surface.

The UUA joined the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to establish the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund, and UUA President William G. Sinkford reached out to the larger UU community through several pastoral letters which spoke of the enormous need for generosity as well as a call to serve the cause of justice which the hurricane illustrated so dramatically.

On Sept. 16, the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund passed the $1 million mark, and the Gulf Coast Relief Fund Grants Panel, with representatives from the affected areas and both sponsoring organizations, began to make grass roots grants to those directly impacted by the disaster. The UUA's Southwest District and Mid-South District have worked to direct information to those who want to help and to post information from those who need it.

The Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry is active in the Gulf Coast area providing aid to those who need support, as are individual UU social workers, ministers, and other relief workers. Their stories are carried on uua.org and in uuworld.org. We urge your generous continuing support of the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund to help not only UU congregations and their ministries in the affected region, but also the communities of residents who have been displaced and underserved by other relief agencies.

• Continuing coverage on Katrina's impact on Unitarian Universalists and their congregations from uuworld.org
• October 11, 2005: UU Congregation at Shelter Rock Offers Challenge Grant to Boost Hurricane Relief Efforts
• October 7, 2005: UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund Passes $2 Million in Contributions
• UUA and UUSC Establish Gulf Coast Relief Fund: How to Donate
• September 7, 2005: Pastoral Letter from the Rev. William G. Sinkford
• Information on the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund Panel
• In the Eye of the Storm: Resources and Commentary following Hurricane Katrina
• A Personal View of Disaster: The Diary of Annette Marquis

For more information:

• UUA Southwest District
• Mid-South District
• Read the UUSC's Human Rights Blog written by Kevin Murray

Media Coverage of UU Relief Efforts:

• 9/30/05: Cohasset Mariner: Stories from flood-ravaged Louisiana , by the Rev. Jan Carlsson-Bull
• 9/10/05: St. Petersburg Times: Faiths join for prayer in storm's aftermath , by Eileen Schulte

Unitarian Universalist Association
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