Churches in Gulf Prepare for Gustav

Churches near the Gulf Coast, especially in New Orleans, are gearing up for Gustav, the potentially powerful hurricane developing in the Caribbean. Their actions on Labor Day weekend range from arranging for their members’ evacuations, setting up alternative worship centers, and mobilizing ministry and relief efforts for their communities. The alarm for the storm comes, fittingly, nearly three years to the day that Hurricane Katrina made landfall and devastated the region.

According to the Baptist Press, Pastor Dennis Watson of Celebration Church in Metairie, La., sent a warning e-mail to his congregation, writing: “Regardless of the projections, we want everyone to be prepared for the possibility of Gustav coming towards the New Orleans area. As always, we are first trusting in the Lord for His protection and provision. At the same time, as His Word instructs us to do, we are planning for any difficulties that may arise from Hurricane Gustav coming towards our city and region.” Celebration Church has arranged for evacuation housing at their five campuses across Central and South Central Louisiana. Housing is open to church attendees, their families and their friends for 3-4 days.

The Louisiana Baptist Convention has its disaster relief agencies and volunteers on high alert, said Gibbie McMillan, the men’s ministries and disaster relief strategist for the convention.

“We know from the past that it is in our interest to be prepared,” McMillan told the Baptist Press. “We have our DR force ready and in place to respond as soon as needed.”

Other large groups, including the American Red Cross and Salvation Army, have already set up evacuation camps, notably in Fort Smith, Ark. Volunteers plan to serve 310,000 meals per day. Ironically, thousands of the people who are evacuating are volunteers themselves, helping to rebuild structures damaged three years ago by Katrina.

According to weather.com, the storm could make landfall in the United States as soon as Tuesday and could hit anywhere from the Florida panhandle to South Texas. As New Orleans is seemingly in the center of that zone, most residents are on edge. The National Weather service said the severity of the storm could range from Category 3 to Category 5. As a tropical storm, Gustav claimed 70 lives on the island of Hispaniola, which is home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Another storm, Tropical Storm Hanna, is brewing Southeast of Florida and could hit the Atlantic coast of Florida as a hurricane within the next couple of days.