Pre-trip reflections

I suspect that each of the twenty-one folks going to Gulfport has a different motivation behind the trip. At our orientation meeting, we shared some of the reasons why we were going, and it was very interesting to hear about them. I suspect some people may reflect more on them as we go through the week, but as everyone else is packing I figured I'd write briefly about my reasons for going.

I'm originally from Mississippi -- born, raised, and educated there. Now I am pastor of a church in Whitestone, Queens, New York City, but Mississippi is certainly still a major part of what I consider "home." When Katrina hit in August 2005, I was actually in the state for a few days before beginning work for my ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament by St. Andrew Presbytery. I was ordained on Sunday before Katrina hit on Monday, and my original travel plans back to New York had to be dramatically changed because of the hurricane.

Although I'm from Mississippi, I haven't been to the Gulf Coast in probably ten years, New Orleans probably longer. However, my mother has still been advising me that I needed to get ready for what I am going to see. Things there are completely different from when I last visited. The anecdotal story I have heard and used myself is that some things had just been rebuilt after Hurricane Camille (in 1969) -- then Katrina hit, destroying things that even this very powerful storm spared. Nearly a year and a half have passed since Katrina hit, but all indications are that the recovery will be continuing for many years to come.

So as we prepare for a flight in less than 24 hours, I'm not quite sure what to expect when we arrive. The Mississippi Gulf Coast will surely not be what I remember it as -- although things wouldn't have been the same as my memory even without Katrina. (I myself remember the coast from the days before casino resorts became the norm in the 1990s, so things changed dramatically even before Katrina within my lifetime!) Nonetheless, I'm grateful for the chance to contribute a little something to what it is becoming -- not what it was, but what it will be. To use the vocabulary of Christianity, I hope that we can offer the Gulf Coast not resuscitation but a little bit of resurrection.