Wow, what a week! I’m writing this bulletin column on the fly as we are all reeling from Hurricane Harvey and the aftermath of the flood waters in our area. Please forgive me if it is a bit more jumbled than usual.
First, my prayers go out to all in our community who have been impacted by the storm and flood waters. I know a number of our families had to evacuate their homes and still many more suffered water damage and flood in their houses. You are in our prayers, and our community pledges it support to help you now and in the weeks to come.
I’m right there with you, too, as while our rectory and parish buildings remained water-free (save for a few pesky leaks in the church), my mother’s home flooded. She and my sister, who is her primary caretaker, evacuated in advance of the rising waters and are staying with me at the rectory for the time being. Fr. Ralph now lives with three Horrigans, not just one. Pray for him!
Like many of you we spent countless hours this past week watching the events unfold in our city and were moved to tears at times at the selfless love and service that was shown. In midst of overwhelming destruction, the best of humanity was on display. I’m always proud to be a native Houstonian, but this week I’m just a little more proud than usual. What a great city! Together, we will rebuild and move forward in helping hands with one another.
As for us at CtR as I said our campus escaped any flooding. School was out the entire week and our offices did not re-open until Thursday (and even then, we’ve been running on a skeleton crew). We hope to get back to semi-normal operations this coming week. We ask for your patience as we get up and running. Clearly some parish meetings and ministries will have adjusted schedules.
Our chief priority now is helping others. On Wednesday of this past week I met with several staff and parish ministry leaders to begin to organize our response. The energy was palpable in the room as we got ramped up, and in just a few hours we had the operation launched. If you follow us on
social media or on
Flocknote, you know what is happening, but if you haven’t been online, here is what we are doing. This will be our parish’s primary focus for the next several weeks.
We are calling it the
CtR Community Clean-up Response. We aim to be a resource center of manpower and supplies for those who are in need of help drying out their homes, removing wet carpet and drywall, and general cleanup of their property. Our Community Center at the front of our campus has transitioned into an Operation Center to collect supplies and to serve as center for volunteers who wish to lend a hand.
What is needed?
We are in need of supplies and donation of materials to send out into homes. Among items needed are cleaning supplies, bleach, mops/buckets, carpet and drywall cutting knives, dollies, trash bags/cans, etc.
A complete list is available on our website.
We also seek to know who among us is in need of assistance. We have created a database for entry of information. If you know of a family or home in need of help,
please see the parish website for a link to enter information or just tell us in person at the Operation Center in the Community Center.
While the need is great now, we know that it will only grow in the coming days and weeks, so we ask for patience as we respond. This is fluid operation that will develop as time goes on. We want to address the immediate needs of helping people begin the process drying out and repairing their homes, and we want to be there in the long run as they begin to rebuild their lives spiritually, emotionally and physically.
Much more to come soon. Let us continue to pray and work for all those in need. I also ask for your prayers for our brothers and sisters at St. Ignatius of Loyola parish in Spring which suffered massive water damage, as well as the parish communities of Shrine of the True Cross in Dickinson and St. Peter the Apostle in Huffman that also took on water. So many people, institutions, and businesses from Corpus Christi to Rockport to Houston to Beaumont have suffered greatly in these days, but together with God’s grace and our generous hearts and hands we can and will work to unite and rebuild as a sign of His love.
Our offices are closed tomorrow on Labor Day (but the
Community Clean-up Response will obviously be at work). Please keep all who labor in your prayers as we honor the dignity of human work. We pray also for those searching for gainful employment in these times. Remember that
CAM has a vibrant job placement program and stands ready to assist people in finding their way back into the work force.