Mennonite Central Committee

MCC workers moved by faith of evacuees in Houston

September 29, 2005

Worshiping in borrowed space in Houston Mennonite Church, members of Amor Viviente, a Metairie, La., congregation, who had evacuated to Houston because of Hurricane Katrina, thanked God for their own safety but also focused on how they would help the wider community, MCC workers report.

"People were just so moved, just so energized and full of spirit," said Nancy Rivera, regional assistant for MCC Central States Southern Tier office in Edinburg, Texas. She and Karen Spicher, regional associate for MCC Central States Southern Tier office, attended a worship service of Amor Viviente at Houston Mennonite Church in mid-September. Houston Mennonite, in addition to other outreaches to evacuees, has shared its worship space with groups from Anabaptist congregations from Louisiana.

Rivera said she was struck by how even those who had lost their homes were able to think of others. "They didn't so much focus on just them but on the wider community," she said. "They were worried about the community, how to help the community and how to help their neighbors."

Spicher said members of Amor Viviente are asking for prayers from the wider church as they begin to return to their community and work to uncover a vision for their response to the devastation and displacement.