Katrina Prompts Comparisons Between Religious and Federal Relief Efforts
by Allie Martin, Bill Fancher, and Jenni Parker
September 20, 2005
(AgapePress) - The head of the American Family Association of Michigan, his son, and other volunteers recently joined in relief efforts for hurricane victims on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Twelve people representing several denominations traveled from Michigan to Mississippi delivering ten tons of donated food items to hurricane victims. Gary Glenn, president of the AFA of Michigan, says while national media is focused on New Orleans, the damage from Hurricane Katrina is even worse in Mississippi. The place that got hit the hardest by the storm itself, he asserts, was in the Magnolia State, a town called Waveland that he says was "wiped clean" by the storm.
"The only thing standing in Waveland," Glenn notes, "is a stone wall with a mural of the city painted on it, and a bronze plaque on a bronze pole that says, 'From the citizens of Waveland, with appreciation to all those who helped us rebuild from Hurricane Camille in 1969.' It really is kind of tough to imagine what it would be like to be one of those people, to come back to where they used to live, and nothing at all be there."
The Michigan group pitched in to help those displaced or otherwise affected by Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, Glenn observed that the national media has continued to emphasize race as a factor in the pace of delivering disaster relief. Yet he says he saw no racial division or animosity in southern Mississippi. Nevertheless, the pro-family leader says he has emphasized telling the victims of the hurricane, African Americans in particular, "that we've come all the way from Michigan to tell them that we care about them, and love them and want to help them."
And in many cases, Glenn notes that he recognized a spirit of cooperation and camaraderie among the disaster survivors, among whom he often saw "black folk and white folk in the same car, coming up and asking for help." He says he made a particular point of telling these people, "don't believe what you hear on national television ... we do care about you. It doesn't matter what your skin color is. We care about you and want to help you."
Glenn's son turned 15 during the relief efforts. He and his father and the other volunteers sometimes worked 12-hour days in food distribution lines and doing other tasks. The AFA of Michigan spokesman says victims' response to the aid and the message of caring has been "overwhelming -- very appreciative."
Religious Relief Response -- Evidence Favoring Faith-Based Federal Aid?
Among the many groups that have responded to the needs in the Katrina disaster zone are many religious groups. Rev. Bob Reccord, president of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, recently told Associated Press that his and other faith-based charities responded more quickly than government agencies to help victims of the hurricane.
"We've proven we're much faster," Reccord noted. "When Katrina was coming in, we were mobilizing on Saturday and Sunday, we were getting in place on Monday, and we were feeding on Tuesday." He believes religious groups are able to help in ways the government cannot.
"Our people are doing what they do because of the spiritual heart that they have," the Southern Baptist leader says, "and so they carry that passion, that desire to help and meet all needs both physical, spiritual, and emotional. And a lot of situations in government would be focused just on the physical."
Reccord and other religious relief groups' leaders are hoping their prompt aid to Katrina survivors will build new momentum for President Bush's faith-based initiative. As Rev. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, points out, "long after the Red Cross pulls out and FEMA pulls out, the churches are still going to be there."
Reccord says he has urged Senate to pass the Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which is part of Bush's faith-based initiative program. "The CARE Act would provide some 83 million Americans who presently don't itemize to be able to deduct their charitable contributions. That's a biggie," Reccord says. "In addition, part of the CARE Act would provide incentives that would yield an estimated two billion dollars worth of food donations."
Southern Baptist and Salvation Army officials have testified before a Senate subcommittee on behalf of legislation that would offer tax breaks and other incentives for charitable donations. Also, Bishop T.D. Jakes, who preached at a Washington National Cathedral service for hurricane victims, has urged Bush to channel more money directly to religious relief efforts.
Learning from Katrina to Avert Homeland Security Disasters
While Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney concedes that the experience of Hurricane Katrina was a terrible way for the government to learn lessons, he says that is exactly what has happened in this case. Romney told a Heritage Foundation audience this past week in Washington, DC, "One of the key lessons that will come from Katrina is the need to understand who is in charge."
Romney answered that question unequivocally, as far as the Bay State is concerned, saying there "it's me; the governor's in charge." Still, he asks, if the answer for any other state is not the governor, then "who is it? Who is in charge of calling all the shots to get all the resources to move as quickly as humanly possible?" The Massachusetts governor says leaders must be prepared to make quick decisions or have people around them who can.
Romney believes the lessons from the hurricane also apply to U.S. homeland security issues. The New England political leader says he has learned quite a bit about homeland security over the past few years. "Based upon the work that I've done, it is virtually impossible to have a homeland security system based upon the principles only of protecting key assets and response," he contends.
"The key to a multi-layered strategy begins with effective prevention," the Massachusetts governor adds, "and for me prevention begins with intelligence and counter-terrorist activity."
However, Romney does not believe the U.S. is spending enough time, money, and effort in this area. He is convinced that if America steps up efforts to gather intelligence, it will be possible to deal lethal blows to terrorist organizations.
