Clear Lake Methodist Church is accepting donations for flood buckets, school supplies for children who are here from NO and will be enrolling in school, and other supplies. They’ve already created a disaster relief committee to coordinate their church’s efforts and maximize the help they can give. In addition:
Bishop Huie has asked the Houston East District, which includes Clear Lake United Methodist Church, to help feed the Astrodome folks on Thursday, September 15. Our church’s goal is to have 100 volunteers support this effort. Other United Methodist churches and districts will cover other days during the week of September 14-20. There are three daily shifts: 4am-10pm/ 10am-4pm/ 4pm-10pm. Our combined task will be to prepare, serve and clean up 75,000 meals/day. It will require 720 trained volunteers per day. State law requires that every volunteer must be trained (2 hours) in food handling. Training dates are: Sat., Sept. 3 @9am; Sun., Sept 4 @ 2pm, and Monday, Sept. 5 @1pm. These training events will be held at Second Baptist Church(NOTE: Second Baptist is one of those “mega-churches people are asking about) (6400 Woodway).
Southern Baptist churches in the Houston area that have opened shelters.
Gateway Community Church is collecting non-perishable food, water, baby items and bedding to send to hurricane victims. They have three tractor trailers in their parking lot for sorting, collecting, and distributing donations.
Calvary Chapel is an official collection point for the Salvation Army. They are collecting all sorts of donations. They are also forming teams to serve meals and to go to Louisiana to help with rebuilding as soon as that is possible.
St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church and School, Nassau Bay are assisting in supplying food, clothing, miscellaneous supplies and volunteers to the Red Cross shelter at Gloria Dei Lutheran. St. Thomas School has offered to educate the children while at the center and the children are invited to use the school’s playground. Nine-year-old student and church member, Garrett Howard, gave an impassioned request for monetary funds while attending his neighborhood civic club with his mother. He was given a check for $1000. The church will be collecting donations for Interfaith Caring Ministries Sunday morning, September 4 and will help transport donated materials to an offsite distribution center beginning Saturday.
Archbishop Fiorenza of the Catholic ArchDiocese of Houston-Galveston will celebrate Mass at 10 AM Sunday in Reliant Park (part of the Astrodome complex) for evacuees and their families. Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston are welcoming displaced Catholic school students taking refuge in Houston from Hurricane Katrina. For more information call the Catholic Schools Office at (713) 741-8704. A special collection will be taken up at all Masses at all parishes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston this weekend. All donations will be given to Catholic Charities USA which is one of the primary responders at this time. Several Catholic churches are designated Red Cross shelters and are already sheltering evacuees.
There’s much more. I am making these lists because I want people to know that The Church (made up of many, many loving and hardworking Christians) is mobilizing and sacrificing time, energy, and money to meet the almost overwhelming needs that have come to our doorstep. This list only scratches the surface.
To be continued.
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