RECENT STORIES

Brad Korb speaks at Glendale Community College ( Brad Korb )
9th annual MVP Basketball Camp in Burbank ( mike graceffo )
Art in motion: serene and seductive ( Jackie Houchin )
‘Every 15 Minutes’ shows drinking-driving dangers ( Brad Korb )
‘Proud to help’ with HOBY sponsorship ( Brad Korb )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Burbank \\ Stories \\ Faith \\ Church News

Local church to make Katrina-Rita rebuilding trip

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Vicki VanDenHandel on 6/15/2007

First Presbyterian Church of Burbank has prayerfully commissioned a group of 10 rebuilders to travel to Houma, La., June 9-16.

The trip is organized under the auspices of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), the disaster outreach arm of the Presbyterian Church, USA. PDA has two Work Camps in the Gulf Coast, with a multi-million dollar commitment to rebuilding since the devastating storms there in 2005, and has approved a new plan to further ramp up efforts to the point of rebuilding 350 homes anually in southern Louisiana.

Led by Mark Pierce, Ph.D., the team from First Presbyterian is comprised of laypeople from all walks of life: graduating high schoolers, a college student, artisans and professionals, some of whom have building and remodeling experience and some who do not.

The church is grateful for this natural opportunity, through a well-organized work camp, to deploy it's people into ongoing home "mucking" (interior demolishing) and rebuilding. They will pick up their jobs from the point at which they were left by the previous week's volunteers.

Rebuilders are housed in air-conditioned (a must in the sweltering Gulf Coast!) Quonset huts. They will share a communal breakfast and devotional time, caravan off to the various worksites, labor under the supervision of a construction supervisor and then return for a communal evening meal, clean up and retire for the night.

To date, there have been some 18,000 volunteers under PDA's auspices moving into the hurricane-ravaged areas of south Florida and the Gulf Coast for these short-term demolishing and rebuilding efforts.

First Presbyterian's rebuilders hosted a Cajun cook-off for about 150 congregants on Sunday, May 6. They also sold silicon prayer bracelets so that the congregation would be reminded to support them in thought and prayer during the week of June 9-16.

For more information about the team and its mission, please see its blog, www.missionsfpcb.blogspot.com.

For information about the church, please go to www.firstpresburbank.org orcall (818) 842-5103.

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story