Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one
of the least of these who are members
of my family, you did it to me.”
                                          Matthew 25:37b-40

Link to Misson Trip Presentation on March 28, 2007

For years Christ Church has been discussing opportunities to do something together as a parish family. Our vision has been to transform the passion we feel to serve Christ into a visible sign of our compassion for people in desperate need of help. Following last year’s J2A Pilgrimage to Krakow, parents of the pilgrims suggested that we develop a mission to go to a place in the U.S. where the world has witnessed huge loss of life, property and spirit. That place is Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. 

We hope to have broad-based Parish-wide participation in this, our first, Mission from Christ Church to serve the world.  

Here’s why. Well over 200,000 homes in Orleans and nearby parishes were severely damaged by Katrina. Currently, the population is less than half the size it was prior to the storm. Katrina’s impact was felt at every echelon of society. Not one person was unscathed. Only with the prospect of a livable home will the displaced return to the culturally distinctive, historic City of New Orleans, where many people have roots and homes that pre-date the Louisiana Purchase. 

Rebuilding the homes of displaced families is completely dependent upon the goodness of volunteers willing to pay their own way to extend a helping hand. Why volunteers? Because the low wage laborers who would have been tapped for gutting and rebuilding cannot find housing and have moved on. 

Father Hague is leading a group of laborers from Christ Church to New Orleans.The labor to be done includes gutting homes still untouched since August of 2005. It also includes painting and repairing homes. Other laborers can help make sandwiches for the residents and volunteers who are pitching in. Still other laborers are needed to just listen to the stories that people want so desperately to tell - stories about life pre-Katrina and all they have endured in the past year. Many are alone.   

Please join Father Hague and other members of our parish family as we commit ourselves to bringing hope to those in desperate need. It would be great for  families to consider making a commitment to this effort. 

There are jobs to be done by anyone 14 to 104.  Our mission will have two parts: first, boosting the mission through social events at the church. These events will help Christ Church underwrite some of the expenses such as a community room at the hotel and ground transportation to the sites; and second, completing the mission by traveling to New Orleans to help provide residents with new life. 

By coming together to reach out to others, our first parish mission trip will surely surprise us as we discover gifts we do not even know we have. It will also open our eyes to seeing opportunities to work as a community when we return. There is so much that we can do together. 

A registration form is included in this month’s newsletter. Forms and information packets are also available in the vestibule of the church. If you have questions, please call Tina or Rusty Cleland, Darleen Lugenbuhl, or Gail Marks.  Phones numbers available through the church office.

Some of the specific details about the trip are as follows:

Dates: June 17/18-23, 2007

Counterpart Organizations: Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and Habitat for Humanity

Who Can Go? Anyone ages 14 and above. Only persons 16 and above may gut houses.
Illustrative Budget Per Person:

$65 ground transportation (one share of cost of van rental, gas, parking)
$120-216  Accommodations - choices range from dorm style ($20/night for room and 3 meals) to double occupancy hotel with breakfast ($36/night) located near the French Quarter (children 18 and under are free if with an adult)
$225-265  Roundtrip airfare booked through Expedia (fare depends on time of travel)
Other discretionary costs: additional meals, recreation and donation to local charity.

Please note that full and partial scholarships are available. Contact Father Hague for more information about this option.