Faith in the Face of Disaster: UU Response to Hurricane Katrina

A Special Appeal from the Rev. Bill Sinkford

(September 3, 2005)

Dear Friends:

We have all seen the haunting images of physical devastation and human misery coming from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The assault of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast reminds us once again of the awesome power of natural forces. But it is also clear that government agencies were not prepared to deal with the impact of this ferocious storm.

As people of faith, we simply must do something.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly created the Gulf Coast Relief Fund to assist Gulf Coast UUs in the monumental tasks they will face in the coming weeks and months. The money we collect will go to local relief efforts and UU congregations so that their ministries in their communities can be restored.

Please help by making a secure online donation today.

Like so many others, I was shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of life and the massive destruction left in the wake of the hurricane. My prayers go out to those grieving for lost loved ones, and my hopes are with the thousands who face the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and communities.

I am especially mindful that those unable to evacuate from the affected areas, the poor, the elderly, and the community of color, have suffered disproportionately from the ferocity of this hurricane and the lack of timely disaster response from government agencies. Relief was too-long delayed, and their suffering continues and intensifies.

Please make a donation to the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund now so we can ease their pain and help begin the long task of restoring lives and rebuilding communities.

In addition to media reports on the widespread destruction across the Gulf Coast, we continue to receive information from both the UUA's Southwest District  and Mid-South District  for churches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The Gulf Coast Relief fund will allow UUs in these areas to assist those most in need..

I urge you to be as generous as possible in support of our faith community.

Amidst this profound tragedy, I am heartened by the determination of so many Unitarian Universalists to find a way to help. Congregations from as far away as Dallas and Houston are rallying to coordinate emergency shelter and supplies, while trauma ministry teams are mobilizing to attend to the spiritual wounds of hurricane survivors.

To support their efforts, you can help by making a gift to the Gulf Coast Relief Fund.

All funds received will be distributed under the auspices of the UUA's Southwest and Mid-South Districts (representing those UUs in the affected areas who can best assess needs and priorities) and will be used entirely for hurricane relief. No more than 5% of funds received will be used to cover costs of administering the aid, so you can be confident that your contribution will go directly to helping with local relief efforts and the ministries of UU congregations.

In this difficult time, I am proud that Unitarian Universalists are coming together to help lighten the heavy burdens of our brothers and sisters.

We know from early reports that three New Orleans-area churches are believed to be seriously damaged. "We're just expecting one tragic story after another," said the Rev. Steve Crump, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Baton Rouge. "And the death toll in New Orleans is just going to be horrendous."

As UUs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama struggled to pick up the pieces of lives uprooted by Hurricane Katrina, the UU congregation in Baton Rouge opened its doors and hearts to displaced UUs from the three devastated New Orleans-area congregations..

Your gift to the Gulf Coast Relief Fund will be very much appreciated in this urgent time of extraordinary need.

Rev. Crump said many members of his congregation responded to a call to open their homes to UU evacuees from New Orleans.

"The number of people who said yes to opening their homes is astounding," he said. "They've called from Louisiana, from Texas, from Olympia, Washington, and from Massachusetts. And there are lots of people from New Orleans who thought they'd be staying in a hotel for two or three days and are running out of money. We're trying to put these people together. The congregations in New Orleans are just not there and won't be for a long, long while."

Please make the most generous gift you can to the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund today. The need is great and will be so for a long time.

Amidst the terrible loss wrought by Hurricane Katrina, UUs are coming together from all across the country to help survivors, with welcome arms, sustaining and strengthening our community of faith in the aftermath of this tragedy.

Thank you for your generous and timely response.

In faith,
Bill Sinkford

Faith in the Face of Disaster: UU Response to Hurricane Katrina

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100