Gautier, MississippiGautier (pronounced Goat-chay) is a little town of about 11,000 souls perched along the Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the West Pascagoula River. On August 29% 2005, Gautier was one of the many cities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Many of the coastal homes were either destroyed or flooded, and, even four miles inland from the coast, the storm surge reached over a foot of water. It is safe to say that of the approximately 4,000 households in Gautier, few escaped the perils of wind and water.
But folks who live in Gautier are made of stern stuff, have lots of courage, and they are beginning to rebuild. Church of the Palms was invited by the Rev. Chris Bullock, the pastor of Gautier Presbyterian Church, to join in a Covenant between Churches of Jesus Christ. The Covenant was adopted by Session on February 27, 2006, and it binds together congregants from Gautier Presbyterian Church and Church of the Palms in the following ways:
Gautier Presbyterian Church covenants to 1) regularly hold up Church of the Palms members in prayer; 2) care for our members when they bring work crews and mission teams to Gautier; 3) account responsibly for any financial gifts that are channeled through Gautier to members of the church, the church itself or members of the community whom the Church has identified as being in need; and 4) offer to share stories of the rebuilding process.
Church of the Palms covenants to 1) regularly pray for and with the Gautier Presbyterian Church; 2) establish and maintain a partner relationship through our Mission Committee via a Gautier liaison; 3) send work teams to Gautier; and 4) participate in the Adopt-A-Family Program by committing necessary funds to help one family (or more!) through the rebuilding process.
This Covenant provides many exciting opportunities for involvement by members of Church of the Palms. Many members of the 50/50 Club, formed after Katrina struck, have agreed to redirect funds made available through that special appeal to help rebuild. We have a family — Charles and Anne Roberts and their son, Andrew — to whom we have committed resources and work teams to help rebuild. Charles and Anne are both teachers. Their son is differently-abled, which made life challenging long before Katrina rose from the Gulf of Mexico, and ten times more so now that the Hurricane has deposited more than a foot of water in their home. 50/50 funds are being used to help them rebuild, but they also need our prayers and loving thoughts, not to mention plumbers and electricians and work crews!
Here is how you can be involved:
1) Be mindful of our congregational commitment to members of Gautier Presbyterian Church and the Roberts family and lift them up regularly in prayer:
2) Plan a trip to Gautier to witness to our mutual love through Jesus Christ of our brothers and sisters at Gautier Presbyterian and in the community. They need people to just come and listen! They need people to just answer the phone.
3) Join a work team trip to Gautier, especially if you are a tradesperson and double-especially if you are a plumber or electrician; or if you know a tradesperson, plumber or electrician who may be living in an "underemployed” place in the economy right now who might have some time to donate, talk to them about this mission opportunity and we will find a way to get them to Gautier.
4) Andrew likes hooks on weather and nature. lf you have any geared to an 8th or 9th grader, please let us know. Also if you have any non-violent video games for TV or computer, he would love to try them out.
5) From time to time, other opportunities may present themselves. Folks in Gautier need appliances and furniture and other household items, hut they cannot install them until after they have hooked up their plumbing and electricity. It will be a wonderful day when we can appeal for these items because it will mean the people in Gautier have climbed another rung up the ladder!
We have all seen and been tormented by the terrible pictures of devastation from Katrina. What is more subtle is that the pictures are only the tip of the iceberg: not only have the foundations of houses been uprooted, the foundations of society have washed away. Employment, education, health care, insurance, social services — everything that is a rock in our lives is a slippery quicksand in the lives of people on the Gulf Coast. But the most important rock, Jesus Christ, is one we share with people in Giautier. We cannot take on all of the problems of this storm, but we CAN focus on the problems of one small community, one small church. and one small family, and we CAN make a difference through A Covenant between the Churches of Jesus Christ. Where two or three are gathered, the Holy Spirit works. Believe It! Be a Disciple! Call today!
For information about the Roberts fomily, please contact Jeanne Armstrong at 378-2101. For information about work teams, please contact Brad Wilson at 922-5105 or Carl Meskimen at 343-9503. For information about witness teams, please contact Dave Thomas at 921-4058 - For any general or financial questions, please contact the Rev. Doug Gebhard at 924-1323, ext. 48.
News from our Covenant Church in Gautier , Mississippi
June 2006
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 at the end of the previous week. Presbyterians from Chicago were in transit to Gautier.
Brad and Patty Wilson and Janet Geyer helped touch up sheetrock and paint a home that was inundated with five feet of water after Katrina.
Out of Chaos, Hope, 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.
May 2006
The Rev. Chris Bullock recently explained to COP members Carl and Nancy Meskimen when they visited Gautier, that Gautier Presbyterian Church, while suffering its own calamities as a result of Katrina, has been active in outreach to the Gautier Community. They have been able to match 21 local families with 21 churches (in the same Adopt-A-Family relationship that Church of the Palms has with the Roberts family). They are also helping another 19 families with other outreach programs, including coordination of volunteer services for reconstruction of residences. They use the Church as a base. “They expect 200 volunteers at the Church in June including our own Brad Wilson and his work team,” says Carl. “Gautier Presbyterian has lost 30% of its members due to post-Katrina relocations, but there are many potential new members as a result of all those people the Church has helped.” Peace Presbytery is also sending a work team in July. If interested, please contact Jeanne Armstrong at 378-2101.
