Lutheran Care Impacts Lives!

10-4 Stories From:
Peggy  +  Kathy  +  David  +  Noel  +  Mark  +  Mary Ann

(Click here to view photos from the day)

From Peggy Contos Hahn
Assistant to the Bishop

Your response to Bishop Mike’s call to serve in Galveston, with less than a week’s notice, has come along side many grieving people in a radical way.  42 congregations- almost 400 people – showed up with gloves, masks, tools and a lot of heart last Saturday.  Another dozen people joined in the on-going clean up in Bridge City.  This is the TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod at its best! 

The ELCA has released a new slogan that we have embodied in the past few days:  God’s Work, Our Hands. 

Thank you for your generosity of love, time and resources.  You have launched a new era of synod life by taking initiative to step into the pain of other people.  Your response has honored God and inspired us all.

For those of you wanting more, and for those who were unable to participate but are eager to jump in, you should know that this is just the beginning.  When something this important happens, everything else gets re-aligned to move with the Spirit calling us into action.  So stay tuned for notice in the next few days of how you can continue or enter into this new way of being synod that you have started.

For now, we need your help with the following:

1) Check it out:  Go to futurewithhope.org to check out stories and pictures.  Create a blog for your congregation...

2) Stories & pictures:  Email your pictures and stories in one of the following ways:

-Send the photos to Pastor John Bade at john@futurewithhope.org

-If the photos are already on another site, send the link information (URL) to Pastor John  

-Register on the futurewithhope.org photo album www.futurewithhope.org/photoalbums/register.php.  It's a one-time only registration -- then log in, and upload the photos

This is the only way we will know how many people were cared for, how many homes were cleaned out or any other service you did unless you tell us!  Lutherans were all over the Island knocking on doors to help so send us your stories!  You might reflect on the following questions...

a. What did you do on Saturday to care for people, homes, churches, etc.?

b. What happened that has shaped your thinking, stuck in your memory or affected your prayer life?

c. Are there things you learned from the people you helped?  How is your life impacted?

d. Where did you see God in this experience?

3) Tools:  Please let us know if you have tools that are not yours.  Also, let us know if you are missing tools!  Already on the list are:  kbar knife and an antique shovel that we hope to connect to their owners.

4) Evaluation:  Help us improve our leadership by offering your thoughts on what would make this a better experience.  Please be constructive and specific so we can grow as a staff in supporting experiences like this.  We only had a few days to develop projects for Saturday, but as we move forward we want to do the best job possible.

I have pasted a wonderful reflection from Pastor Kathy Haueisen Cachen below to inspire you to share your own thoughts!

Please email or call me at 832-594-5016 if you have questions.  Thank you for making this important commitment as a synod to care for one another.

  Peggy Contos Hahn
Assistant to the Bishop
TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod

Peggy   +   Kathy   +   David   +   Noel   +   Mark   +   Mary Ann
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From Pastor Kathy Haueisen Cashen
Rapid Response Team Member - Gulf Coast Synod

Dear Gulf Coast Synod Leaders,

Kathy Haueisen Cashen writing to tell you it was a wonderful day in Galveston yesterday!

391 folks arrived starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. Groups registered and received a free t-shirt for coming. Bishop Mike welcomed and I led a devotion. Firefighter Anthony, a member of Zion gave safety instructions, and off everyone went to their tasks.

Work was done on all three Galveston congregations, and many homes. Folks from Faith Dickinson worked at Carlos Peña’s warehouse (ELCA VP). St. Paul’s was handled by a group from Living Word Katy, St. Paul’s Columbus and some people from Conoco. The work included hauling things out to the curb, cleaning things and tearing out flooring and walls. It was hard, dirty work. At times emotions ran high.

My husband John and I took “mold juice” – canisters of mold remediation solvent from Carlos Peña’s warehouse – to use at Zion (member Rudy Halverson, Pastor Beth Marie Halverson’s father-in-law is a trooper!), St. Paul’s (Pastor Sharon Burns  is hanging in there!), the  home of Karen  Campbell (Zion member), a neighbor on Pine Street, and a neighbor of Karen Tirquit (Zion member), where folks from New Hope Missouri City were working. Folks from several congregations helped First get ready for their Oktoberfest, which they are going ahead with, and renaming “Ike’s Overfest!”

Crews worked at places like the home of Lutisha Hayes where team from St. John’s in Bellville were working, at Karen Campbell‘s home, where volunteers from  Covenant Houston worked, and Gus Allen park where Chris  Marquart and his  volunteers from Celebration Cypress labored.

IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE! Nice job, Peggy and all who helped pull it together in one short week! Many asked, “When are we going to do this again?” So, we’re talking about a possible November date, with more time to plan.

It was a good day to be a Lutheran. I’m so proud of our ELCA people! We do darn good work and we do it with good humor and grace and humility and  usually high levels of cooperation. Garrison Keillor would be proud.

Pastor Kathy Haueisen Cashen, Rapid Response Team

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From David L. Hansen
Pastor, St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill

On 10-4, six members of Saint John Lutheran (Prairie Hill) met up with two members from Immanuel (Wiedeville) to car pool to Galveston. We were lucky enough to have been loaned a truck from a local car dealership, which cut down on our travel expense for the day.

We arrived just as the morning devotions were ending, and received our assignment to a home on 53rd St. As we arrived, there was some effort to sort out what needed to be kept and what needed to be thrown away from the home. By noon, the owner had given up on attempts to sort out his belongings, and the rule of thumb was that everything went to the curb. The owner was an antique dealer, with an online business and a shop off the Island, so there was a large amount of stock stored around the house, including the garage. The garage sustained about 6 feet of water, the home itself about 4 feet.

As with many of the homes in the area, this home had gotten backed up with sewage. The combined smell of rot, sewage, and mold as we worked through the day was overwhelming. A couple of our workers noticed that as you left the house and walked down the street, you could tell the houses where the sewage backup was particularly bad just by walking by.

It was, for myself and for our volunteers, heart-breaking to throw this man’s life away. We watched as water-logged photo albums, books, clothes, and everything else went to the curb. Later in the day, I walked to our truck, and picked up a picture off the ground. It was a 70 year old picture of the owner’s father, which had drifted off of the trash pile. Who knows how many memories and irreplaceable keepsakes were taken away that day.

I recall visiting my in-laws in Southeast Texas following Rita. I was, then, over-awed by the piles of debris piled along the road. I remember them being huge piles along every road – but they were, at that point and in that area – almost entirely tree limbs and other yard-type debris. Standing on 53rd St on 10-4, there was a never ending pile of debris – a pile outside of every home. But it was not limbs or yard waste at all. Each pile was a person’s life, piled up by the side of the road for everyone to see, and for the city to cart away.

In this coming week’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells the Pharisees to give to God those things that are God’s. Sure we, as Americans, cling to tightly to our possessions when they rightly are God’s and not ours. Yet the storms of the Gulf Coast require people to let go of possessions in ways that are unimaginable. It is not the expensive things – the TVs, the computers, and the stereo equipment. No, it is the truly valuable things – the objects which embody the memories of a lifetime – which are painful to see sitting out on the curb.

Already, on my first week back, I have members asking me when we will take another group to the Island to work.

The Rev. David L. Hansen
Pastor, St. John Lutheran Church of Prairie Hill
"A Place to Call Home"

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From Noel Kahl
Director of Teen Life Ministry -- Living Word Lutheran Church
Katy, Tx

Thanks for the opportunity to serve in Galveston. Here is a little about my experience there…

As we were cleaning the Alley near St. Paul’s a lady poke her head out of her Gate and asked what we were up to. I informed here we came to help clean up the city, and I asked her how she was doing, she said alright, she had people coming to help move some stuff tomorrow. I informed her, that I could help with anything today, so after further conversation, she said come on in. Another girl and I helped move a bunch of boxes into the garage so her house could begin the repair process. In the midst of the working and the moving of boxes she shared about her journey the past few weeks and what is yet to come. She is overwhelmed and exhausted—hoping to be back home in 3 months. After working they offered us water and soda, so we graciously accepted, as fresh conversation was much needed.

As I was I was walking down the block back to the church I saw a man sitting outside is garage, I acknowledge him and asked him how he was doing, he said alright, just taking it day by day. I asked if he needed help with cleaning anything and he said he’s down to the garage and going through stuff there. He continued sharing about going through his belongings, his memories, sharing the joy in remembering some of the personal items he and his wife cherish, but are now sitting on the curbside. I could hear the sadness in his voice, as he talked about the Christmas tree he and his wife had for 40 years, now waiting for the garbage truck. In the midst of all going on this guy really just wanted to share. After a few stories, I went on my way.

I cleaned moldy books, and rotting wood and tree branches, but I saw God in the moments of the in-between; the moments that fill the gap between the sweat and work and the stories and conversations; God links all that is happening; by the power of the Holy Spirit there is hope. I’ve been reminded to slow down, to cherish the story that is told, to listen to the stories being told; and this is sharing Jesus with the people in Galveston. Lending a hand is love, but deeper than that the hearts of the people yearn for someone to remind them of the hope that is in the darkness and this happens through the caring hearts and conversations that take a minute to ask them how they are really doing. I truly saw the gospel being shared with hands and hearts in Galveston and this was a reminder to slow down and share the gospel in that way each and every day.



Thanks for the opportunity to serve the people in Galveston.

Peace be the journey,

Noel Kahl
Director of Teen Life Ministry
Living Word Lutheran Church
Katy, TX

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From Mark England
Pastor, Youth and Family Ministries
Kinsmen Lutheran Church, Houston, Tx

Our Work Day experience

A small group of seven from Kinsmen participated in the Synod work day. Like everyone participating, we were assigned some jobs and found some jobs on our own. Instead of a “Before/After” day, our work took us from an “After repairs” household to a “Before repairs” household. We began the day at the home of Carlos Pena’s father-in-law. There had already been significant work done to his household. The damaged dry wall, flooring, and insulation had been removed. Our task was simply to carry in dry wall and insulation from the trailer into the house for installation. Although we could imagine the damage that storm had done to his household and see his remaining belongings in the garage, it was a household that appeared to be on the road to recovery with new dry wall and insulation to be installed soon. It was a hopeful task to be a part of construction rather than destruction.

After we accomplished this heavy but relatively short task we joined the groups working at St. Paul Lutheran Church. We joined the groups salvaging what was usable in the Nave, Fellowship Hall, and Kitchen and tearing out and hauling to the curb that which could not be salvaged. It was a disheartening site to see the insides of the building on the outside by the curb. There is something about damaged and discarded pews and hymnals piled up in the street that sticks in your mind. Towards the end of our time at St. Paul, some of our group began to wander the neighborhood and offer their work services to neighbors of St. Paul. It was a hopeful site to see so many working at St. Paul’s and know even more were scattered throughout the neighborhoods planting seeds of hope with their labor.

Our last task was the most difficult by far, both in muscle-ache and heartache. Towards the end of the day we entered a house that had only recently been entered by the home owners since the storm. The householder and her family had just begun work that day to begin clean up. The carpets were soaking wet, the furniture and walls were covered with thick mold, the smells from rotting food and mold were overwhelming. This was the closest we had been to the storm damage that day. We began the messy task of ripping up carpet and padding, cutting into walls, removing insulation, removing drawers of dressers still filled with water and belongings covered with mold, and sorting through the kitchen. The insurance company apparently would not let us throw anything out if reimbursement was expected. So we pushed the moldy furniture and belongings to the center of the house. It was hard work not only because wet carpet and padding is as heavy as it is moldy but also because we were finishing the destruction of this woman’s belongings. It was the same feeling I had doing work around New Orleans after Katrina. The hurricane had come in and violated this person’s home and here we were doing the necessary job of methodically ripping apart and removing the remnants of her worldly possessions. Yes, possessions are just “things” and we are not to store up treasures on earth where thieves or rust or mold or hurricanes destroy. But, still, sorting through remnants of moldy pictures and homemade dresses does make an impact. It was also depressing to know that we were not going to be able to come to a stopping point before the day’s end. When we left her house we had made some progress but there was still more destruction that needed to happen before construction.

As we drove out of Galveston, we made the same observation that many did. We complained in Northwest Houston about piles of branches being left in the street. In Galveston, we passed, not piles of branches, but piles of belongings. In Northwest Houston, we have begun to move on beyond recovery. Some of our members are still recovering; one family is living in a motor home because their house was damaged significantly by falling trees. Many of us have blue tarps, downed fences, and other evidence of the hurricane. But for the most part, we are returning to normal. By comparison, it was jarring to drive through Galveston, see piles of belongings on the street, seeing so many businesses closed and without electricity, knowing that many are not living on the island but returning to the mainland before curfew. Water is as powerfully destructive as it is life giving. No wonder God uses water as a sign of the Kingdom. Followers of Jesus are a hopeful people who see the possibilities of new life in the midst of destruction. We see new order coming out of watery chaos, new peoples passing through parted waters, and new life rising up from the waters after the old self is drowned. I hope our participation in the work day brought some hint of this hope and this new life to come in Post-Ike Galveston. I hope that in some small way we were the answers to someone’s prayer.

Peggy   +   Kathy   +   David   +   Noel   +   Mark   +   Mary Ann
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From Mary Ann Doyle
Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, The Woodlands, Tx

Eleven members of Spirit of Joy, The Woodlands traveled down to Zion Lutheran to perform jobs for the less fortunate afflicted by the water surge in and around the Zion Lutheran neighborhood. Our first assignment was a resident Patricia Bloom, when we arrived at her home she was not there and also found that an additional team had been assigned to her. We went back to the church for a new assignment and found they were all given out, so we went into the neighborhood on Lasker Rd and asked if anyone else was in need.

We found a couple who told us that their cousin was in need and he was handicapped so we moved on to help him on Wimcrest Street. He had a modest little home that had succumbed to 6 ft of water and needed to be completely cleaned out and gutted. His name was Lee Rhames, he had had 4 heart surgeries and had, with in the last year, lost 100 lbs. He had two children (I believe) and a wife. He was extremely thankful for the help and guided us through the destruction of the house.

We cleaned out closets of wet clothes and shoes, children's games and toys. We emptied the kitchen of all pots, pans and dishes stored in the cabinets, we took out carpet and removed wet sheet rock. We broke down the remnants of his furniture and took it to the street for pick up.

I know we made a difference, but we all felt saddened to leave him with the remainder of the mess. As we parted we all said our goodbyes and brought Lee to tears. I left him with the name of our church and thought that maybe after all was said and done he might want to know who they were that helped him in his time of need. Fortunately, for me personally I did because my husband left his toolbox at Lee's home and Lee returned it to Zion church.

I speak for our group at SOJ, this was an amazing experience for all of us. God Bless.

Mary Ann Doyle
Spirit of Joy, The Woodlands

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