Tiny Turkey Creek United Methodist Church (at Mt. Pleasant, MS, about 30 minutes from Rev. Moses’ church where we are staying) has been in existence since the days of slavery, and serves the small, tight-knit community around it. Rev. Moses normally preaches here as well, but today is Fifth Sunday, so the laity has charge of the service. We all came, both groups of the NYAC Conference, and we pretty much filled up the church!
Because so many members of their church choir were absent this Sunday, all who were part of a choir in their own congregation were invited to come up to fill the choir’s pews, so there were some familiar faces!
Wonderful, rousing hymns were enjoyed by all, skillfully accompanied by a pianist and a drummer. Singing “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer” was a lot more poignant here than when we normally sing it. Our sermon, “The Junk In My Trunk,” (delivered by one of their lay speakers who also played the piano), reminded us that we all carry around a lot of unnecessary things, both physical and emotional, and that we would be better off to let them go. Good advice for us all.
After a hasty drive back to St. Paul’s UMC, we joined our second church service of the morning. A medium sized sanctuary was well filled by the regular congregation and our group. This church is far newer construction, and it escaped Katrina with mostly some water damage from leaks in the roof. The lovely modern interior included brick walls, a peaked roof, and greenery in wreaths and swags.
The choir here was impressive: 23 singers plus the director, organist, and several soloists. Only five were men, but the group provided the enthusiasm and volume for a rousing service led by Rev. Moses. Our own Rev. Mel participated by providing the Charge to the new leaders of this church, who were taking office today. We also witnessed the baptism of Malik Robert Ashley, the newest member of St. Paul’s UMC of Biloxi.
Observing the Sabbath, we didn’t head to our work sites for the afternoon, as many of us yearned to do! Instead, Cassandra led two vans on a tour of her old stomping ground in the Bay St. Louis/Waveland area, where her family had a fishing camp on one of the bayous (inlets). This is where the eastern wall of the eye of Katrina hit, the most destructive part of the hurricane. We followed I-10 west, between mile after mile of dying forests of Southern Pines. Many were broken off at about 15 feet; many are leaning, and many, MANY look like they are dying, with no needles regrown after they were stripped off by Katrina. The salt water might have helped as well. Visible between their trunks is the detritus swept there by the water and wind: washers and dryers, teddy bears, even a basketball high in the limbs of a tree at the church we visited.
Cassandra showed us some of the lovely beach communities, with a combination of richer homes facing the ocean, and block upon block of smaller homes stretching from the coast inland. A year ago, these blocks were filled with debris, with not a house standing. Most of the debris has now been cleared (signs offering debris removal and slab removal are posted everywhere), but very few homes have been rebuilt: block after block is empty except for an occasional FEMA trailer.
A few brand new homes stand out starkly, as do the few destroyed homes still standing. One Florida developer had built a group of homes designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane; this group stood out amongst the devastation, a clear lesson in forethought: they all survived.
We have heard that only about 20% of the damaged or destroyed homes in Mississippi have been rebuilt, and money is a large factor in that statistic. Insurance companies have refused to pay for complete loss, arguing that they are only liable for wind damage, not water damage, and that a house being gone means that the storm surge swept it away, not the wind.
The damage here is different from that of Biloxi. Biloxi had severe water damage, but many of the houses were left standing. In Waveland and Bay St. Louis, it is complete – a ‘clean sweep slab.’ Beth Nelson told the story of a woman she met whose mother had lost everything. While searching the empty lot, the woman found one single silver teaspoon that had belonged to her grandmother.
Many folks living here may be eager to move away, but need to sell their property to be able to go. Cassandra told us that prices are presently very high, with few buyers. She cited the cost of one lot: $250,000, still piled with debris.
Even houses set on posts were destroyed, as the storm surge was far higher than they had been designed for. This ‘tidal wave’ surge swept over this flat land.
Roads and bridges were also swept away, including two vital bridges now under reconstruction. This bridge would have dramatically shortened our trip; like everyone else now, we had to drive around the bay it spans.
On the way back, Cassandra told us about some of the communities in this part of the coastline. The ‘first responders’ trained for emergencies (firemen, police) sometimes had to swim for their lives, and many spent the storm holding onto trees. After the storm passed, they had no way to respond: every single vehicle was gone.
Paul, Dorrie, Fran (getting ready to take a picture), John, Rudy, Cassandra & Carol enjoying the delicious, but messy task of eating crawfish.
Our final ‘home cooked’ meal (we plan to eat out tomorrow night) included Cassandra’s boiled crawfish, a first for many here. Her recipes appear below, for those who have requested them.
Your journalists, Laurel and Carol
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John – our miracle working (2 houses - 1 day) electrician
