July 17, 2006

Remembering Katrina

Nearly 750,000 people were acutely impacted by flooding and storm damage.
An estimated 2,000,000 people were displaced by Katrina & Rita, and displaced persons could be found in all 50 states.
More that 1,300 bodies have been found. An additional 2,300 persons are missing.
450,000 job losses were related to the storm.
The direct economic loss is estimated to be more than $34 billion.
More than 350,000 homes were destroyed by the hurricane and an additional 170,000 homes received major damage due to the storm.

….and six months later:

377,000 residents have not returned to the New Orleans area.
Only 7 of 22 hospitals are open and emergency room wait times are reported to exceed six hours.
Only 61% of the region’s 324 schools are open.
Only 17% of the City’s 368 buses have returned to service.
The proportion of mortgages in delinquency in Louisiana has quadrupled since Katrina. In Louisiana, 1 out of 4 mortgages is at least 30 days delinquent
Approximately 55,000 families in Louisiana are waiting for temporary housing units, but only 2,700 of the 25,000 temporary mobile homes dedicated for Katrina evacuees have been set up for displaced families; most sit empty and deteriorating in Arkansas due to FEMA’s rules that do not allow mobile homes to be located in flood prone areas.
The estimated time of recovery for the region is 7-10 years, assuming that no other devastating event takes place.

It has not even been a year since this terrible disaster. We cannot forget all of those who still need our help. There has been an emergency nationwide call from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) for immediate help for the Gulf Coast. There are far fewer groups scheduled for the summer and fall than first predicted. I received a call from our Gulf Coast Volunteer Coordinator, Pete Berlowitz, asking us to put out our own call for volunteers from the Presbytery Of Baltimore.

The presbyteries of Baltimore, National Capital and New Castle are organizing a work team for the week of October 15-21 to stay at a PDA volunteer village. Pete has more information about how you can help or he can schedule other worktimes for you. Pete can be reached at pberlowitz@baltimorepresbytery.org or 410-440-6715.

Peace & blessings-

Deb Milcarek

Inside this issue

Take Note/Act Now

§ Special Worship – New Imani

§ Mission Yearbooks

§ Product/service Databank

§ Pulpit Supply List Updates

§ Youth Council Help Needed

§ Christian Ed. Conference

§ Ecumenical Institute

§ Excellent Web Resource

§ Peacemaking Conference

Prayer Concerns

Covenant PC

Churchville PC

People

Charles Forbes is resting and recovering in Star Lake, WI, following unexpected, yet successful heart surgery on Saturday.

Halleluiah! Alice McGee has recovered well from her hip replacement surgery and is back in the office.

Sarah Schmidt, John Schmidt’s daughter, will be ordained July 23^rd and has accepted a call to Westernville, NY.

Prayer Concerns

Covenant PC

asks for prayers:

· As they determine the direction of the church for the future

· As they find ways to raise money to take care of several pressing property needs

· As they find new ways to minister to their current members and reach out to new members

Churchville PC

asks for prayers:

· As they seek to strengthen their Christian Education program and may have to adjust their resources to meet the needs of the congregation

· As they seek to reach out in new directions to their college-age, singles, and younger families to more fully minister to them in the life of the congregation

· As they host a county-wide evangelistic event, RISENFEST, at Harford Community College in August

· As their session and congregation begin to study the PUP report and actions of the GA

Take Note/Act Now

Baltimore Presbytery Items

There will be a special worship service on Friday, July 21^st at 7:30pm. Rev. Ronald N. Johnson, the newly-designated Organizing Pastor of New Imani Church, will preach. The service will be at New Imani Community Church, 9019 Liberty Road, Randallstown, MD, 21133. 410-496-6525 www.newimani.com.

This is the last chance for churches to place an order for Mission Yearbooks through the Presbytery of Baltimore. The deadline for order submittal is July 20, 2006. If interested in ordering, please complete the form and return along with payment. Mission Yearbook Order form.

In an effort to provide even wider resourcing services, the Presbytery is compiling a Databank of Products and Services that congregations can recommend to each other. If you know of a vendor who has provided excellent service to you or your church and would like to recommend them, please email that information to Wanda Morgan at wmorgan@baltimorepresbytery.org.

The updated pulpit supply list is available in the “Downloads” section of the Presbytery website.

Youth Council is looking for Adults. We need more adults to help the youth with planning and running the retreats and rally. For more information please email Marla Youkers at myoukers@comcast.net.

Synod and GA items

Sankofa is a conference for all persons serving in educational ministry, hosted by the APCE. The conference will take place at the Philadelphia Marriott from January 31- February 3, 2007. For more information, see APCE’s website: http://apcenet.org

Other Resources and Articles

The Ecumenical Institute of Theology offers accredited master’s-level theological education (courses, certificates, degrees) to women and men throughout the Baltimore area. Auditors are welcome. Registration for the fall term has begun and will continue until the term begins September 5. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. For more information please contact fellow Presbyterian Patty Rath at 410-864-4200 or prath@stmarys.edu or visit the website at www.stmarys/ei.

Cathedral College has a web page containing an extensive list of links to useful online resources for preaching and congregational leadership, denominational websites and more. Check it out at: http://www.cathedralcollege.org/pages/lnks.shtml

Other Events

Friends School of Baltimore and Stony Run Friends Meeting are co-sponsoring a one-day conference for educators, parents and concerned citizens: Peacemaking at Home, School & Community on Sat., Nov. 11, 2006 at Friends School in Baltimore, MD (info flyer).

Also on our website

Don’t miss all the new Local Church Announcements at: http://www.baltimorepresbytery.org/announcements.html Presbytery Yearly Calendar

Past Issues of Tidings are available at: http://www.baltimorepresbytery.org/midweekmail.html.

Peter Nord, Executive Presbyter

pnord@baltimorepresbytery.org

Bill Millen, Associate Executive

bmillen@baltimorepresbytery.org

Deb Milcarek

Associate of Mission and Justice

dmilcarek@baltimorepresbytery.org

Charles Forbes, Stated Clerk

cforbes@baltimorepresbytery.org