It's not just the Baptists

In earlier posts, I noted that "every local Baptist churh will load up their vans to help, and often take youth groups with them".

That is because most of the Bible belt is full of Baptist/Methodist/Assembly of God/Bible churches of all sorts.

However, Lousiana is an enclave of Catholics, so the link is a note on the Catholic resonse:
* Catholic Community Services of Baton Rouge has implemented its disaster response plan. They have trained volunteers in place in parishes that will be providing emergency assistance to those in need, and have begun refugee assistance efforts.

* Because of the conditions in New Orleans, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans had to evacuate. Staff is operating out of the offices of Catholic Community Services of Baton Rouge to coordinate response efforts.

* Teams from the Catholic Charities agencies in Florida and the Florida Catholic Conference are already providing advice and guidance to agencies in the impacted areas. These teams will be going to Mississippi and Louisiana next week to start proving technical assistance on the frontlines.

* Catholic Charities in Memphis is just one of the local Catholic Charities agencies working with other groups in the community to assist the thousands of people who have come to Memphis for refuge. The agency is currently working on making housing arrangements in one of its facilities for families to stay as long as needed. They anticipate providing housing, clothing, food, counseling for 100 to 150 people.

* Recovery work is underway in Dade County, FA, where Katrina caused extensive flooding when it struck there last week. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami has already distributed a large load of baby items, food, and other supplies to victims. Other aid that they will be providing includes assistance with food, shelter, rent, medicine, utilities, and mental health counseling.

UMM...Dade County Florida? Yup...with all the stuff on New Orleans, we foget that Baton Rouge, Biloxi, and...Florida were also devestated....

LINK

I am all for prayer...but why has the Governor of LA asked last Wed for prayer, but didn't proclaim a state of emergency until Saturday?

ON the other hand, although in Heaven there is no beer (as the song goes) in Catholic heaven, the bars are open...

LINK
Only a handful of patrons were at Johnny White's Sports Bar Saturday night, all of them residents of the immediate neighborhood. Locals make a joke about Johnny White's: They say it was built without a door because it never closes.One of the patrons, Viana Stradar, says she made a point of coming to the bar. She says it's only right that the bars in New Orleans would re-open before the churches do.A call to the Catholic Archdiocese on Saturday indicated that most, if not all, churches in the heavily Roman Catholic city will remain closed on Sunday.