SINES OF THE TIMES TOM SINE
Preparing for Katrina II Like the horrific September 11th terrorist attack four years earlier, the enormous catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina brought an immediate response of prayers and empathy from all over the world. In our own country, churches were among the first responders and received some of the highest marks for their compassion and effective help. As we look back, however, this crisis also raised serious questions about the apparent deep divide between America’s poor and the middle class. It is past time for those of us who live in the United States to take a much more serious look at those among us who live on the edge of economic crisis every single day. Join me as we travel back in time and place ourselves alongside the nearly 1 million Americans trying to flee the terror of Katrina. Most of the middle-class residents were able to escape the devastating flood in their cars, SUVs, and RVs, but many of the poorer residents didn’t have the means to get out of harm’s way and were the ones who suffered the greatest loss. The Pew Research Center offers the following statistics on how the disaster was viewed by blacks and whites: Seven-in-ten blacks [71%] say the disaster shows that racial inequality remains a major problem in the country; a majority of whites [56%] say this was not a particularly important lesson of the disaster. Most striking, there is widespread agreement among blacks that the government’s response to the crisis would have been faster if most of the storms victims would have been white; fully two-thirds of African Americans express that view. Whites, by even a wider margin
[77%-17%], feel this would not have made a difference in the government’s response.* There are reasons for this very different perception of the government’s response to Katrina.The top 20 percent earn over 50 percent of the income in America, and their share of the pie is growing while the poverty rate in the U.S. has risen for the fourth consecutive year to 12.7 percent. That means that 37 million of our neighbors now live in poverty, which is defined as a family of four trying to get by on $19,000 or less a year. African Americans had the lowest median income. Regionally the South had the lowest median income. This data helps to explain part of the reason that many African Americans responded so strongly to the Pew survey about racial factors in the Katrina response. Conservative commentator David Brooks, reflecting on Katrina in his September 4, 2005, New York Times column, “The Bursting Point,” was deeply distressed at the way the poor and the black were left behind: “The first rule of the social fabric—that in times of crisis you protect the vulnerable—was trampled. Leaving the poor in New Orleans was the equivalent of leaving the injured on the battlefield. No wonder confidence in civic institutions is plummeting.” Images of the abandoned reminded some of us of the images in the film Hotel Rwanda, where the white and privileged where transported out while and the poor and black were left to fend for themselves. I believe that one of the reasons for the different perception between American blacks and whites is that many middle-class, white Christians are in denial that there is “real” poverty in America. They ask, “How can there possibly be poverty in America when the so-called poor people have color PRISM 2006
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TVs and drive nice cars?” What many of those in the middle class don’t seem to realize is that a couple of flashy consumer items are all that many of these people have. Remember that many of the poor lost everything—including their loved ones, their meager possessions, their minimum-wage jobs, and their homes —to the devastation of Katrina. Unlike many middle-class people most of these folks have no insurance and absolutely no resources to begin their lives over again. The last presidential election was determined in part by “values” issues about which American evangelicals feel strongly. Compassion for the poor was not one of those that made the list, and concern for the poor was not a value most evangelicals even voiced. Surveys reflect that evangelicals were much more concerned about supporting tax cuts for the very wealthy. All of us who are followers of Jesus have been given the final exam question ahead of time. Listen to the words of the “righteous” as they express their confusion at the final judgment: “... ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick and in prison and go to visit you?’” (Matt. 25:37-39). Do you remember Jesus’ reply? “Truly I tell you,” he said, “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt. 25: 40). Of course, there are many Christians who were motivated to respond generously to those in need. While the government response to Katrina was inept, informal networks of churches sprang into action and made a huge difference for thousands. Jackson, Miss., became one of the major receiving areas in the Gulf with its population doubling to 1.2 million overnight. A network of Southern Baptists, Pentecostals, and
Catholics immediately collaborated to reach out to the displaced and homeless. Parkway Pentecostal Church sent their two Sunday school buses to the New Orleans Superdome to pick up 100 of those who were left behind and bring them back to Jackson. This was a step of faith since they realized they didn’t have resources to provide for the folks they were bringing back. But by the time this group of exhausted and hungry people arrived in Jackson, another church, Broadmoor Baptist, had sent more than enough cots, clothes, and food for the entire group. In fact, they served them a hot meal as soon as they got off the bus at Parkway Pentecostal. Churches were rated as some of the best first-responders—even though they weren’t prepared! Imagine how much more effective they could have been if they had trained their people ahead in disaster preparedness. In the state of Washington, North Seattle Friends Church is doing disaster preparedness, not for hurricanes but for earthquakes. I have also learned that a number of Presbyterian
churches located in the hurricane regions of the South have done extensive preparation for the 2006 season. If you would like to see your church prepare for disasters that may occur in your region so that they can more effectively model the compassion of Christ, here are some resources to get hold of and share with those in leadership. First, the Alban Institute has a very good article and helpful action list in the Alban Weekly, October 3, 2005, entitled “Disaster Preparation Response for Clergy and Congregations” (www. alban.org/weekly/2005/051003_ DisasterPrep.asp). Church World Service has developed some extremely helpful resources, which you can find at www.cwerp.org. The three I would suggest are: • A brochure titled Hope, Help, Heal • A booklet titled Why, What, How: Cooperative Faith-Based Disaster Recovery in Your Community • A manual titled Managing and Operating the Faith-Based Disaster Response Recovery Organization PRISM 2006
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Imagine the difference it would make if the primary value that evangelicals in America were known for was the value of compassion for the poor by: 1. Supporting public policies and candidates that favor the poor in our communities instead of the wealthy. 2. Our preparedness to respond to any disaster that impacts our communities in the name of Jesus Christ. It is just possible this dual response would persuade others of the authenticity of our faith and even cause them to consider a Christ who repeatedly called us to look out for our poorest neighbors. ■ Tom and Christine Sine, authors of Living on Purpose; Finding God’s Best for Your Life (Baker, 2001), share this column. Visit their Mustard Seed Associates website at msainfo.org. *Two-In-Three Critical of Bush’s Relief Efforts: Huge Racial Divide Over Katrina and Its Consequences,” The Pew Research Center For the People and the Press, September 8, 2005, http:// people-press.org.