Gautier Presbyterian Church Rebuilds after Katrina

Recovery Is On-Going

2006-08-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

It is hard to grasp exactly what has transpired this past year. Such an outpouring of care, concern, prayer, contributions and personal visits by all the inspiring volunteers has truly made the difference between a permanent catastrophe and a devastating one-time event..

As we continue our transition from recovery to rebuilding and growth, we ask that you continue as you can with what you have already begun - a demonstration of what the Spirit moving in each of us can do. We are very, very grateful for the difference that has been made in the lives of everyone on the coast - the ones who suffered and were comforted and also the ones who may not have lost as much but were inspired by your help to reach out to their neighbor.

Yes, there is a tremendous task remaining ahead with a lot of time, effort and money to be expended on rebuilding. But bit by bit, house by moved-into-house, vacated trailer by empty FEMA trailer, the task is moving ahead and we give thanks that it is so.

We had a momentary pause this past week as Ernesto churned its way northwest. As much as we are relieved that the Mississippi Coast is NOT in its path (at the moment), we do not forget that there are others who are indeed IN its path. Our prayers lift up those communities, churches and families that its passing may be milder than expected. We particularly remember those in Florida who have been so generous in helping us and pray for their safety.

We will try to keep postings coming to let those who log in know of our situation and we again thank all who keep us in their thoughts and prayers.

Grace and Peace,

George Duffee-Braun
Gautier Presbyterian Church

A Blog from our Friends at Church of the Palms in Sarasota, Florida

2006-06-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

HERE I AM, LORD, IN GAUTIER, MISSISSIPPI

"I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. Who will bear My light to them? Whom shall I send?"

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night; I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart."

About 150 people in the intimate confines of Gautier Presbyterian Church sang these words energetically on Sunday morning, June 11, 2006. They were Presbyterians from Gautier, from Ocala, from Tampa and from Sarasota. The work teams that day replaced others from Portola Valley, Ca., and Jacksonville, Fl., who left the previous Friday. Presbyterians from Chicago were in transit to Gautier on that Sunday morning.

Brad and Patty Wilson and Joan Geyer helped touch up sheetrock and paint a home that was inundated with five feet of water after Katrina.

OUT OF CHAOS, HOPE, AND EVEN JOY!

Asked what had impressed her most about her time in Gautier, a young college student from Jacksonville said, "The thing I will remember most about this trip is what a joy it was to get to know the people we came to help and what a joy it was to be able to help them. I am exhausted after spending the better part of a week here, but even as tired as I am, I will always think of this as a joyful trip."

All of us at Church of the Palms can be proud of our contributions to PDA Hurricane Relief, and members of the 50/50 Club can be especially proud of enabling our covenant with Gautier Presbyterian Church. The Holy Spirit is at work on the Gulf Coast thanks to the loving hearts and physical presence of Presbyterians from all over the country. Thank you for being part of this ministry.

June 12th

2006-06-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

Folks,

We had a wonderful Church Picnic last Friday night. We really haven't been able to gather for good fellowship since the storm. I thought I'd share a few photos from the event.

June 8th

2006-06-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

My Dear Friends,

The Lord is very good. We continue to help folks, in the words of Jeremiah, to tear down and build up. It has also been somewhat amazing to all of us that volunteers continue to come.

We will house well over 100 folks at least one week in June and the other weeks are almost that many.

You all have been such a blessing to us, help us bless you all in some way. Let us know if there are ways we might offer ourselves to you.

We are also in continuous need of long term volunteers (at least a month) who have a pop up or RV. We’d love to have folks like that. We have full hookups here at the church now to make things a bit more convenient.

o If you know of someone who feels called to come down for that sort of thing, please give me a call.
o Even if it is in the fall or winter, we’d love to go ahead and speak with them and see if some tentative arrangements could be made.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock
Gautier Presbyterian Church

June 6th

Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Just to let you know a few things about the Hurricane Relief Ministries that continue at Gautier Presbyterian Church:

1. Gwyn Ewing has been hired as Site Coordinator. She replaces Susan Duffee Braun, who finished her time with us at the end of April. Gwyn’s email is Gwyngpc@cableone.net.
2. We strongly encourage anyone who is looking to bring a team to our Church to contact Gwyn to schedule your group. I know we have tried different things in the past, but we believe this is the way to go. Just contact Gwyn.
3. Folks, if you are still working with us and have not adopted a family, let me encourage you to do so. One Church to One Family has been a real blessing for the churches/families that have participated. Email me back if you are interested.
4. We are still in need of work groups – there are some houses that we are just getting into, this many months after the storm.
5. Please keep our church and community in your prayers as we prepare for a new Hurricane Season.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock

Chris' Journal

2006-02-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

Before I get hitched next weekend (I’m getting married, for those of you who didn’t know), I thought I’d give you an update on what’s going on with the relief ministry at Gautier Presbyterian Church:

1. The adopt a family program is something I am asking each church (especially those coming down here to work in the near future) to pray about. If you need more information, email Daphne Henne at lilnanny@netscape.com.

2. Many, many lovely folks have helped us make our church look better. (The cabinets just got put in the kitchen). If you have only seen the CD we send out or early pictures, that is no longer what we look like. God is good!

3. For groups coming down, please remember that we need your help to continue this ministry. Please prayerfully consider making a donation towards our cost of hosting groups and a donation towards supplies needed. You will soon be getting a letter to this effect.
a. What has happened recently is that as we come out of the fog of Katrina, we have begun to think about what it is going to take to continue to host teams and facilitate their work in the community, and have realized that we cannot financially sustain this ministry without you all.

4. It is a joy to welcome you all here. As someone noted at a meeting I attended last week, we look at our houses, our churches and we can take it, but when someone comes and offers us a gift, it always moves us to tears. Such is the joy of being loved by a brother/sister in Christ

A group from Trinity Presbyterian Church, Pensacola, Florida with members of Gautier Presbyterian Church

2006-01-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

Current Projects at Gautier Presbyterian Church

2006-01-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

Current Projects and helpful information

1. We have hired a Site Coordinator, Susan Duffee-Braun. She is now the primary contact person for relief work here at Gautier Presbyterian Church. You can reach her at the church at (228) 497-1706 or SusanGPC@cableone.net. We encourage the use of email due to heavy phone use at the church. We know it is sometimes difficult to get through.

2. We are preparing for a church consultation with Tom Bandy in late January to help us figure out where to go as a church from here.

3. We now have 4 showers courtesy of Mid Kentucky Presbytery. We also have a washer/dryer for our work teams.

4. We have begun an adopt a family program: one church would adopt one family and help them get their lives physically (could involve helping them with furniture/flooring or other items) and spiritually back together. If you are interested, please email Daphne Henne and she will put you on the list. We are excited about the potential here to develop deep relationships between families here and our sisters and brothers around the country.

Please email these folks directly if their position addresses your question:

To Schedule a Work Team, please call the scheduling office and ask to come to Gautier Presbyterian church: PresbyRecovery@bellsouth.net

Susan Duffee-Braun: Relief Teams of all kind.
susangpc@cableone.net

Gerry Anne Woodward: Immediate Needs
gerry.woodward@mgccc.cc.ms.us

Daphne Henne: Adopt a Family
lilnanny@netscape.com Please try Daphne via phone first (228 497 1626)

Pastor Chris Bullock: Church Partnership and Covenants.
RevChris@GautierPresby.com

Rick Torgerson: Work needed around the church itself.
torgrd@cableone.net

January 18, 2006

2006-01-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

The work continues in Gautier. We are hosting work crews continually and they are working all over the city. They are also blessing our congregation, bringing the hope of Christ to our Worship in new ways, and ministering to us with their love and concern.

1. As we continue rebuilding, I might note that while all sorts of folks are needed for rebuilding, there is a special need, among all our work crews, for teams that have skills in sheetrocking/flooring/light plumbing and electrical.

2. I will also note that Susan is overwhelmed with the phone these days and it would be very helpful if you could email her instead of calling (it is hard to get through on the phone anyway). Her email address is SusanGPC@cableone.net. Hopefully we will install a dedicate phone line for her/you all in the coming weeks.

3. I want every congregation to please prayerfully consider adopting one family in Gautier to support/help rebuild/provide spiritual care. I think this program of adoptions can be a wonderful way for a church to offer one family long term support and spiritual care and for all of us to better minister to those in need in this community. Please email me with “adopt a family” in the subject line if you’d like to consider participating in this new program.

4. Although we really do try to keep you all informed about current goings on in the rebuilding effort, please feel free to email me if you have some specific information we could offer you or if you have suggestions.

5. If you do not have a copy of our CD movie about the first few weeks after the storm around the church and community, please email me with “CD” in the subject box and your address and we will get one to you. We also really need to do an update movie because so much has changed around the church since those early weeks.

a. My office, for instance, looks great and so does the Session room, primarily due to gifts from various churches.
b. The sanctuary as well, while not really all the way there, at least looks pretty nice these days.
c. We are still waiting to see the Stained Glass company maybe next week, to make significant repairs on the stained glass window at the front of the church.
d. One of the other things that has happened in the last few weeks, is that Mid Kentucky came down and built showers and a building for our washer/dryer. We now have 4 showers and the washer/dryer for our volunteers.

When we have a bit of free time, I will try to get you all some visuals of all this.

6. If you would like someone to receive this “journal,” just place the word “email” in the subject box and place the email address in the text area and I will add it.

Gautier Presbyterian Church Rebuilds - December 16 Report

2005-12-17T04:44:00.000-08:00

My dear friends,

Unfortunately, as I write you, I have found a way to contract the flu. While I have been humbled by this bout, it has also given me a lot time to reflect back on these last few months.

One of the things of which I am cognizant is that I am thankful for so much that many of you all have offered us, but wish I could note my/our appreciation better. Occasionally I note gifts in these journal entries, but for heaven’s sake, that barely scratches the surface of the kind of gifts that have been offered this church. We have been overwhelmed by the beautiful and thoughtful letters you have written us individually. We have more generally realized with awe, the sense of caring that so many of you have shown in just calling us and letting us know you were keeping us in your prayers, and asking us how you could help. The sheer number of volunteers who have come and worked at the church and in the community has probably forever changed our lives as disciples. These are my thoughts as Christmas approaches.

We are slowing down for Christmas now. We are hiring a site coordinator to coordinate incoming volunteer work crews that heading here in the New Year (if interested, email Pam Martin: pamgpc@cableonen.net). In the New Year, we will be looking forward to hosting work crews at the church to volunteer in the community.

In the midst of all of this, if I forget something you have shared with me, please be patient with me, remind me again because, as we continue to recover both from Katrina and the flu, I will also be getting married mid February, and surely, most of my attention will turn towards this event as it approaches.

May the Lord bless and keep all of you during this Christmas season.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock
Gautier Presbyterian Church
1009 Highway 90
P.O. Box 340
Gautier, MS 39553

(228) 497-1706 (o) (228) 355-1138(c)
www.GautierPresby.com

Gautier Presbyterian Recovers from Katrina December 1 Report

2005-12-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I hope you all were blessed this Thanksgiving, and like us, are preparing anew for the coming of Jesus Christ. So many beautiful things, each one a wonderful blessing, have been offered to us this holiday season: Trinity Presbyterian Church in Pensacola, is coming over next weekend to offer us a Christmas Cantata; other churches are reaching out to our children; we will hopefully be taking a trolley ride through the community caroling; and there are other ways churches are partnering up with us to help us and our community have a blessed Christmas.

We continue to host work groups. We are delighted that while the PDA camp is moving off the church property, they are staying very close - in Gautier - and we know that together, we can continue to minister to the community. While they are leaving, we are also gearing up to begin to host groups by ourselves at the church. Many of you have already signed up to stay at the church. We are delighted that a group from Kentucky is working with us to create a structure to house showers and the washer/dryer so that you all can be more comfortable in your stay here (by the way, we already have showers, but they are housed on a trailer that will eventually leave us).

If you would like to bring a work group directly to the church, we will most warmly welcome you. I encourage you strongly to contact church member Pam Martin pamgpc@cableone.net , who has wonderfully coordinated such groups for us. We have also been given funds to hire a Site Coordinator for the church who'll be here to walk with the groups that come into the church each week.

Friends, in conversation with a church in Floria this week, I began to think about where we are as a church these days, and I came up with the following, which I think fairly accurately offers where we are as a church:

As Gautier Presbyterian moves forward as a church, we are prayerfully seeking God’s will for us. We had over 3 feet of water throughout the church and it has caused such damage that we have gathered on several occasions to ask ourselves, what is the next step? We are likely going to have to build a new sanctuary/facility and then, we have wondered whether we might need to move to a new location. We would love to partner with churches to help “rebirth” Gautier Presbyterian Church as a vital Reformed Christian presence in this area. We'd also love for churches to bring mission teams down to work in the community. We believe that we will be sheet rocking/painting houses and other such stuff for some time to come - indeed, for many years. The major damage in Gautier was extensive flooding. Most of the homes, like our church, were above the 500 year flood plain and so did not have flood insurance. Most of these folks are not able to afford the cost of repair for their homes.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock
Gautier Presbyterian Church
1009 Highway 90 P.O. Box 340
Gautier, MS 39553
(228) 497-1706 (o) (228) 355-1138(c)
http://www.gautierpresby.com/

Gautier Presbyterian Rebuilds after Katrina November 29 Report

2005-11-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

We had a most happy Thanksgiving and we pray that all of our volunteers and friends around the nation did as well. We especially pray for the residents of the Gulf Coast unable to be warm and well-fed because of the terrible impact of Katrina on us all.

Karen, my fiancé brought this slideshow to my attention. I think it worth a watch from us all.

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050926/NEWS01/50926004/1006

Gautier Presbyterian Rebuilds November 22 Report

2005-11-22T23:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I write this on the Monday night before Thanksgiving. I just had a great dinner with our volunteers. They obviously had worked very hard, for they looked exhausted. Mostly, I believe, they are sheet rocking and mudding (the name for ripping out wet sheet rock).

We are beginning to adjust to the latest transition: The PDA folks informed us late last week, they were removing the Camp from the Church property to another location. It was a bit of a shock, but the more the time has gone by and the more we have thought about it, it probably is for the best. It was stressful trying to manage so many people on the church property all the time (most of the time over a 100 folks every day). This way, we can continue to host smaller work crews within our church facilities but also spend some of our energy working towards the future of Gautier Presbyterian Church. As I have noted, we have all sorts of challenges as a church.

1. With so much that has changed in our community and along the Gulf Coast, what will our ministry look like in the future?

2. As many of you know, we had considerable damage to our facilities, and in the aftermath (unfortunately, we did not have flood insurance and that was the majority of our damage), we are prayerfully considering building a new sanctuary and/or moving to a new site. In this process, we have hired Tom Bandy of Bandy & Easum and associates to come in and do a consultation with us in January to help us answer some of these questions.

So, as we move into the Holidays, we begin a new time for us of discernment and ministry,

1. Continuing to host work crews so as to reach out into the community and help those who are struggling to rebuild (and receive funds to facilitate this work), and

2. Beginning to prayerfully consider the long term Ministry of Gautier Presbyterian.

I am so thankful for the ways all of you have blessed us during this time. Your prayers, your gifts of time, talents and money, your letters…., have helped this congregation, have helped me personally in my ministry, and helped this community.

May God Bless you all. May you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock
Gautier Presbyterian Church
1009 Highway 90
P.O. Box 340
Gautier, MS 39553
(228) 497-1706 (o) (228) 355-1138(c)
http://www.gautierpresby.com/

Gautierpresbyterian Church Rebuilds November 19 Report

2005-11-19T17:41:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

I know it has been several days since I last wrote. It has been another incredible week. I’m not sure I have a clear idea how many houses we were roofing/sheet rocking and mucking, but it seems to have been staggering. Judging from the eyes and faces of the volunteers, they were very, very hard at work.

I must confess, as no great surprise to any of you all, I am sure, I am weary. I hope to take a little time this weekend and next, during Thanksgiving. Yet, it was a blessing to have a group from Palma Ceia Presbyterian in Tampa volunteer to come over to my house and repair my fence. Very helpful with the dogs….

I am not sure how much I have shared our current focus: I and the session believe that it is time to try very hard to bring some wholeness to the members of the church. So….we are sheet rocking houses, looking at furniture needs, painting (a group from Trinity Presbyterian in Pensacola will be painting tomorrow), just about anything that needs to be done.

I love having the work crews participate in our worship service on Sunday morning and Wednesday night. It is a blessing to our members, to feel so visibly the presence of Christ amidst all that we daily go through. It is a joy to incorporate many of the worship gifts that the crews bring with them.

I know that many of you have spent some time on the phone with Pam Martin, and most of you know that she had surgery this last week. She is recovering well. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. We also had three others surgeries this past, even one…..in New Orleans (which continues to stun me). Please keep them all in your prayers.

I have noted maybe once or twice my current understanding of how you all might facilitate work in the community. $1,200 is about enough to insulate and then sheet rock a person’s house (reasonable size dwelling). It is a joy to offer this gift in the community. Any of you who would like to contribute to this, please just send it to the church. We have a serious agreement with Home Depot that keeps prices down.

I'm glad you are here to check out http://gautierpresby.blogspot.com/ It is a wonderful resource that is being coordinated by Wes Carter, from First Presbyterian Church, Salem, Oregeon.

Are there folks that are not receiving this journal that you believe should? Just send me their email address.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock
Gautier Presbyterian Church
1009 Highway 90
P.O. Box 340
Gautier, MS 39553
(228) 497-1706 (o) (228) 355-1138(c)
http://www.gautierpresby.com/

Gautier Presbyterian Rebuilds - November 13 Report

2005-11-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon, November 13th.

We just had another fabulous worship service. Volunteers from Tampa (Palma Ceia Pres.), Vienna Va., Salem, Oregon, Brevard, North Carolina, and Columbus, Mississippi joined us. It was such a blessing, a full house. Joan Carter from Oregon joined us on the piano for the hymns, and it was so moving, closing with “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

We have had a lot of folks here these last two weeks and it is simply wonderful. One of our newest joys is hosting all of the work crews on Wednesday night for a dinner and a vespers worship service following.

A word about teams bringing tools and other materials to help in our PDA tent city. We do encourage teams to bring their individual work tools, such as drills and wallboarding gear. We don't however, need any more generators, cooking equipment, bedding, toys or the like. We need funds to help with purchasing rebuilding supplies so gift cards for Wal-Mart and Lowes are perfect. So are your checks, and you can consider the list I presented in yesterday's blog entry. We're grateful for everything and cautious in our requests.

Needed skills: We certainly could use more electricians, licensed or not. Plumbers, wallboarders and the like are all going to find work here! If you don't have a skill, you'll certainly find a coach or a team expert to guide your work.

Regarding weather: We've been experiencing both warm and cold evenings so bring clothing for both. We've been dryer than normal...very little rain.

Last week Scott, a minister from the Beaver Falls, PA, Presbyterian Church, helped me with all sorts of praise music. It was such a worshipful experience.

Finally, it seems each week, more and more members of our own church jump into the volunteer effort and are finding ways to minister around here.

I pray God’s blessing upon all of you.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock

Gautier Presbyterian Church Rebuilds - November 12

2005-11-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Many of you have asked recently what our current needs are, at the church and in the community. I thought I’d list these needs as I know them:

In the community:

1. We need sheet rock to start putting people’s houses back together:
A donation of $7,918 will buy sheet rock for 9 1500-1800 sq ft homes. We buy it in bulk from Home Depot. $7.40 /sheet = 1,000 sheet at $7,400. A house of this size normally requires 110 sheets.

At the church:

1. Contributions towards the Sanctuary we are going to build (total cost: $750,000)
2. We will need to replace our playground equipment (it was destroyed) for our children (total cost? $10,000)
3. Shelves for our Library.
4. Pews (ours were destroyed) $1500 for a pew for our new sanctuary.
5. New or fairly new LCD projector
6. We also eventually have to purchase a piano suitable for our sanctuary.

Our sign is now lighted again, inviting all who pass to enter and find the peace of the Lord.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock
Gautier Presbyterian Church
1009 Highway 90
P.O. Box 340
Gautier, MS 39553
(228) 497-1706 (o) (228) 355-1138(c)
http://www.gautierpresby.com/

Gautier Presbyterian Rebuilds November 8 Report

2005-11-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I write to you on a Tuesday night. It has been a whirl wind of a week. Friday and Saturday I was in Sandestin for a short break (folks in Florida Presbytery – First Pres. Destin - were awesome in finding this place for me). I drank in the ocean breezes.

I returned Saturday night, knowing that the week ahead would be a bit overwhelming. We have had a ton of folks in our “camp” this week and they are out doing all kinds of stuff. The atmosphere is great and people are doing wonderful things. It is also nice that a seminary colleague is here this week with his church and we were able to catch up.

The other thing happening this week is that some of us just realized that the holidays are coming and that we need to prayerfully consider our worship/other elements of church life during Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas. It is an engaging thing to figure out how to offer folks the Gospel this year during Advent and Christmas. How do we celebrate the gift of Christ this year? In many ways, we are working with a blank slate here at Gautier Presby and all that we do in preparation is new.

We do keep you all in prayers and continue to be very thankful for your prayers and support/care.

May God bless you.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock

Gautier Presbytierian Church Rebuilds - November 3 Report

2005-11-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

To all our friends driving in to help us on our rebuilding after Katrina. We're back in the high tech age to everyone's great relief. We have installed high speed internet so you can easily stay on line using one of our computers or your own laptop. For your viewing pleasure, we even have a little movie room with an LCD projector, so bring your favorite DVDs if you wish.

Our church web site is http://www.gautierpresby.com in case you haven't visited it.

Drive safely! We're eager to welcome each of you to Gautier!

Gautier Presbyterian Church Rebuilds November 1-2 Report

2005-11-02T07:58:00.000-08:00

After "resting" for the weekend work continued here in the church and throughout Gautier and Mississippi. With years ahead, this task would be overwhelming but for our faith. And our friends, who've been so wonderful about helping us these past two months.

Send help. Send prayers. Come down and put your shoulder to the wheel with us. Rejoice in this happy work.

Gautier Presbyterian Church Rebuilds - October 31

2005-10-31T07:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends

We have had a wonderful week, followed by a beautiful worship service this morning. We were joined this morning by our friends from First Presbyterian Church Starkeville, Mississippi, who have been gutting a house this weekend. Despite their loyalty to Mississippi State (perhaps misplaced but we shouldn't say anything!), they are welcome down here anytime.

Yesterday, we had a huge painting party at the church, and managed to paint the entire church. The party was organized by the Evergreen Presbyterian Church, in Dothan, Alabama, who located some donated paint for the occasion and provided all the expertise for putting in the trim after the paint.

Gautier Presbyterian Church Rebuilds 10/30 Report

2005-10-30T05:59:00.000-08:00

An important day in the Church calendar. Please join us for worship. We especially want to have our friends who've come to the Gulf Coast here with us. Put your hammers down. Leave your cordless drill to recharge, and join us to hear the Word.

ROMANS 3:19-28 REFORMATION SUNDAY

483 years ago, on the eve of All Saints' Day (a day we know as Halloween), October 31, 1517, a young Roman Catholic Priest by the name of Martin Luther posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, a list of 95 theses, or statements, and requested a meeting of the churchleaders to discuss and debate the substance of these 95 theses. At the time, Martin Luther had no idea what drastic changes this simple actwould bring upon the church, but posting those 95 Theses began a virtual chain reaction that resulted in the events that we know today as the Protestant Reformation. Protestants celebrate and observe this last Sunday in October as Reformation Sunday, and our Lutheran friends celebrate it as the birthday of the Lutheran Church. And making Luther what many historians recognize as the third or fourth most important person in history!

Gautier Presbyterian Church - Katrina Impact on Members

2005-10-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Gautier Presbyterian Church
Membership Roster and Individual Damage Report

Family lost a great deal of business due to the
storm and suffered water damage.

ADAMS

William

Elizabeth

Terribly exhausted from trying to clean up around
their house.

AIRHART

Navy family that will have to relocate because the
homeport which was already slated to close sustained too much damage

ALTIZER

Michael

Casondra

Brielle

Had tremendous flood damage. Living in their
home, but no walls or flooring

BERNSTEIN

Patricia (Pat)

Richard (Dick)

Stayed during the storm. The three children
(Calvin, Shone and Hanna) stayed as well and remain traumatized.
Schools are back in so that may help some.

BEVERAGE

Leon

Calvin Brown

Shone

Hanna

She is our oldest member and had knee replacement
surgery 10/26/05. She will go into rehab when she leaves the hospital.

CLEMENTS

Aubin

Had water damage to their second floor and a gaping
hole in their roof.

CHIVERS

Joyce

Are doing well but have many friends/family in the
Houston/Galveston area.

DRAKE

Ralph

Dotty

Doing well but have many suffering friends in Texas.

Eichmans

Frank

Judy

Lost their home and all their possessions in the
storm. They are buying a house to replace the one lost,
but it is empty

DITTMAN

George

Mary

Having great difficulty with the magnitude of the
damage in our area.

KERR

Debra

Struggling, as a young family, to help others out
in the church.

LARSEN

Waldemar

Robin

Amy Jo

Billy

Pam was supposed to have surgery in New Orleans the
day before the hurricane but it was canceled. The surgery will be
handled locally now, but later in the year.

MARTIN

Wayne

Pam
Courtney

Were new to the area and stayed during the storm
and are having a hard time coping afterwards. Both are working very hard
with other members of the church

FISHINGER

Bill

New to the area and stayed during the
storm and are having trouble coping.

GILLEN

Blanche

Tremendous damage to both of their work sites.
Sylvia’s restaurant went under water.

HAINES

George

Sylvia

Health problems in the midst of all of this and both had
to go back to work quickly after the storm which is both a
blessing and difficulty with all that needs done.

MATTISON

James (Jack)

Donna

Had significant water damage to her house.

HENNE

Daphne

Had to swim out of her house as the water went over
her roof! She is nearly 80.

HOUSEHOLDER

Marge

Tree damage.

HUNT

Fred

Roof damage and yard damage. She has taken in a
friend of her late husband’s who lost his house.

KOGER

Dorothy

Flood damage

LAGANGA

Keith
Heidi

Samantha

Tony

New to the community and trying to cope with the
damage. House faired well.

McDOWELL

Dixon

Linda

30 trees down on their lot. Some still hang
precariously over the house. She is an avid gardener.

MEENINK

Dick

Brandy

Several holes in their roof.

MIGNAULT

Richard

June

Stayed during the storm because he has cancer and
they couldn’t move. Recently went to Houston, things that looked rather
grim in Feb are better now.

POOLE

Dick

Barbara

Lost most of her downstairs to the storm. All her
precious music/piano/organ was downstairs.

RICHARDSON

Martha

Lost her house and all her many belongings in the
storm.

ROBERSON

Gerry

Roof damage. She is caring for her daughter and
son in law who lost everything in their beautiful water front home.

SHARPE

Judy

Had sludge throughout their home and are having to
gut it all. Living in a travel trailer

TALBOT

Lost the downstairs to flood.

TORGERSON

Rick

Donnis

Lots of tree damage.

WISE

Jerry

Mary

Some water in the house.

WOLFE

Jesse

Some roof damage. They are caring for her mother,
who lost everything

WOODWARD

Gerry Anne

Amanda Partridge

Gautier Presbytieran Church Rebuilds 10/28 Report

2005-10-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

It has been a graceful week here in Gautier.

The weather is a lot nicer, which means our work is easier to do. Some things are back to normal: One of my members finally had her surgery, which originally was scheduled for the week of Katrina. She is recovering well. She is such a sport with this surgery, giving me a hard time this morning as I left her. She is the matriarch of our church and is such an inspiration to us all. One of the real disappointments of the damage at the church, is that the large stained glass window, which she and her son offered to the church, was badly damaged by the wind. We have tried to stabilize it, but it continues to worsen. We have a contractor who is going to attempt to take the window out this weekend. Keep them in your payers.

About noon today, I was delighted to see Al Thompson and his wife. Al works with PDA and was with our church very early after the storm. It was good to see he and his wife. They brought a gift as well. Our normal communion set is nowhere to be found now and would have been badly damaged by the storm in any event, because it was stored in an area that was flooded. Al brought a beautiful new set and presented it to us. It will be such a joy to use this set next Sunday during worship.

This afternoon our Session met and again had just a delightful meeting. There is such wisdom amongst our group. I am so thoroughly grateful to be shepherding such a mature group of disciples. We are working on a covenant with our partners (it is included in a second email). I pray you will look it over and consider it.

Tomorrow, we prepare for our “Painting Party” on Saturday with a group from Dothan, AL. Together with member of the Evergreen church in Dothan, we will be painting most of the church with paint donated from a paint store there.

We have asked a member of the church to oversee the needs list to help the church and the membership. Her name is Jan Fishinger and she'll prepare a "wish list" for publication.

Blessings on you all

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Chris Bullock

Gautier Presbyterian Rebuilds After Katrina 10/26

2005-10-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

A good day of rebuilding here at Gautier Presbyterian. The weather is milder, the air dryer and we're getting lots done. And we're feeling stronger. We enjoyed a pretty sunset.

Got word from folks in Oregon that a medical center is sending over a thousand new stuffed animals to have this area's Salvation Army distribute...and they're leaving us a huge supply also. Nothing like a happy Paddington Bear to make a kid perk up, right? And there'll be more for our police and fire departments to hand out.

We have needs as we recover from the devastation here in our beautiful South. Lord, we lift our needs to you. We need funds to rebuild, we need strength to face each day. We need friends to come to our town and put their shoulders to the wheel so that we may rest awhile. Help us become the South's new pioneers, rebuilding an entire part of America. And we need help to respond to the desperate needs of the people suffering after the earthquake in Pakistan. Please, Lord, help America and the world send help to them now!

Mark Shepherd, stalwart "mayor" of our little volunteer tent city on the church lawn, reminds those interested in helping us recover from the damage of Katrina that we need checks mailed to the church. Another perfect way to help is to send us gift cards for either Lowe's or Wal-Mart, where everyday we are purchasing rebuilding supplies.

Gautier Report for 10/25 - An Easy Way to Help

2005-10-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Easiest & Best Way to Help: Send Wal-Mart or Lowe's Gift Cards

And the help just keeps on coming. We're so grateful for the volunteers from around the country who've come to work. What an inspiration it has been to see so many Presbyterians working up a sweat helping Gautier. And we can't forget the thousands of "Stormin' Mormons", Baptists, Catholics and all people of faith who are reaching out to help the Gulf Coast.

Here at our Gautier PDA Tent City (sorry, that's "Volunteer City" in Presbyterian-speak) our operation is made so much more effective with the talents of "Mayor" Mark Sheperd. Mark travels with two cell phones ringing all the time while his fingers fly on the computer's keyboard while he carries on two conversations on each point of the compass simultaneously and while he stacks supplies and repairs things. You get the idea...the poor fellow's pretty busy coordinating things but its all working out! We're grateful for his long term committment on this. We've had many blessings carried by the waves of the storm and Mark's one.

Mark was asked yesterday for his Number One priority on what we need donated here at Gautier Presbyterian and in fact, for the entire area we're helping. Easy answer. Mark needs gift cards from Wal-Mart and Lowe's. These stores are nearby and have pretty much everything needed to do our work. Our Lowe's SuperCenter meets nearly every requirement we have and their folks have been good to us. We note that Lowe's recently donated over $6,000,000 for Katrina!

Mark says, "We are always restocking our tool shed inventory and as we progress towards the rebuilding stage other tools will become necessary. We will also need large amounts of sheet rock/insulation, electrical and plumbing fixtures, carpeting etc. Each day down here brings a new set of challenges and a gift card provides the flexibility required in a disaster response."

Mark has already had a response to his appeal. The Disaster Volunteer Team from Salem's First Presbyterian Church is sending a $250 Lowe's gift card, on top of the $500 they've already given for the operation of the tent city. Now, Mark needs thousands and thousands more. Send your checks or gift cards using this address:

Mark Shepherd c/o Gautier Presbyterian Church
100 Hwy 90, Gautier, MS 39553

If you want to get a gift card right away for Mark and the Gautier team, here's the link to the Lowe's gift card site so you can order online with a credit card:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productAccess&referurl=giftCard%26view%3Dhome&lpage=none

Here's the link for Wal-Mart's gift card: http://www.walmart.com/giftcards?adid=1500000000000002547100&dest=110783

Mold. Will it ever go away??