Louisiana

Betting on Helping New Orleans

This story is from the NOLA Times-Picayune. It reminds everyone of the good work still being done by the church in New Orleans.

Heavens! Bishops taking game bets

But proceeds to go to Katrina relief
Friday, January 04, 2008
By Bruce Nolan
The Good Book states the battle is not always to the strong, nor the race always to the swift, but dubious Episcopal bishops in Louisiana and Ohio nonetheless are betting on the power and speed of their opposing Tigers and Buckeyes, inviting their flocks to join in — and promising the proceeds to Hurricane Katrina relief.

That said, there isn’t much smack talk involved — not yet at least, these being Episcopalian clergy.

But there is a promise by Bishop Thomas Breidenthal to put up $250 for every Ohio State touchdown and $100 for every Buckeye field goal in Monday’s Bowl Championship Series game. He is inviting more than 25,000 Episcopalians in his Diocese of Southern Ohio to make similar pledges.

Breidenthal’s call went out Sunday to 82 Episcopal congregations, including those in Columbus, Ohio State’s hometown. Diocesan spokeswoman Richelle Thompson said the invitation likely will be widened in the next few days to target Buckeye Episcopalians wherever they might be found.

In response, Bishop Charles Jenkins of the Diocese of Louisiana has called on Tiger fans to pledge similar dollars for LSU points. That announcement will go out from 54 Episcopal pulpits Sunday, the day before the game, but the call to ante up pledges against Ohio State is posted on the Louisiana diocese Web site now.

The bishops said all the money will go to Katrina relief administered by Jenkins’ diocese in southeastern Louisiana. The Louisiana diocese raises money for Bundles of Hope, with donation levels of $20 to $1,000 that buy goods and relief services in metropolitan New Orleans.

Breidenthal is new to Ohio. His biography suggests a cerebral churchman who last served as a chaplain at Princeton and before that as a seminary professor in New York.

“St. Paul tells us we are called to outdo each other in doing good,” he said. “Competition is sanctified when it does good things for communities and brings people together.”

In truth, though, the idea for the challenge came from a Breidenthal aide “who’s a big Buckeye fan,” Thompson said.

“Clearly, the Buckeyes are going to win. This is just going to make it a little easier for Louisiana to bear,” she said. “If you want smack, we’ll just leave it at that.”

Jenkins, a Louisiana native whose wife, Louise, once taught agronomy at LSU, said he willingly took the bet.

“I am concerned Buckeye fans won’t have to buy very many Bundles of Hope,” the Louisiana bishop said. “We know they will have a hard time scoring any points against our Tiger defense.”

. . . . . . .

The Diocese of Louisiana Web site is www.edola.org. The Diocese of Southern Ohio Web site is www.episcopal-dso.org.

Bruce Nolan can be reached at bnolan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3344.

Podcast – Katrina Two Years On

Jul 25th, 2007

by Christian Brady.

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Cross-posted from my SHC blog:

I have just uploaded a podcast recorded in mid-April with Karen Swensen, Scholar class of 1991, and former WWL-TV anchor. Karen lived in New Orleans from 1992 until early 2006 and she remained in NOLA during Katrina, as did her husband, a homicide detective with NOPD. She is now living near Boston and is an anchor for a cable news network and last year completed a documentary on Katrina.

We are fast approaching the second anniversary of the greatest natural disaster to occur in United States history. There are great things happening on the ground in NOLA but not as much as should or could be happening. Karen and I reflect on those terrifying days and the slow progress since that fateful weekend in August.

Podcast Show Notes:

Recorded April 19, 2007.

Karen Swensen, Penn State Scholar BA 1991 and MA in Journalism 1992, and former SHC board member, sat down with me this past spring to discuss and reflect upon the effects and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Karen was for 12 years an anchor at the WWL, the CBS affiliate in New Orleans. My wife and I often watched her evening news broadcast during our 9 years living in NOLA.

In our conversation I mention the book by Chris Rose, Times-Picayune columnist. It is “1 Dead in Attic.” This book is a gut wrenching and direct series of articles and is a very important read for anyone and everyone. Find out more at his site http://www.chrisrosebooks.com/.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (12.3MB)

The Chronicle: Daily news: Future Looks Brighter for Many New Orleans Campuses as Projected Enrollments Rise

May 8th, 2007

by Christian Brady.

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I am thrilled to hear that Tulane and NOLA are on the way back. There is much, hard work left to do, but it also means great opportunity for students. They have the rare chance to be a part of the rebuilding of one of the most distinct cities in the world.

The Chronicle: Daily news: 05/08/2007 — 01: Future Looks Brighter for Many New Orleans Campuses as Projected Enrollments Rise

After a dismal year for colleges and universities in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the enrollment outlook for this fall is looking a lot brighter.

Tulane University reported on Monday that 1,375 high-school seniors had committed to attending the university — a 56-percent jump over last year’s 882 new freshmen.

(BTW, 1450 was the ideal target size before Katrina, although we often over shot by 200-300, so the fact that they have nearly 1400 committing, take away ~7% for “summer melt,” is great news indeed!)

New Orleans Cooking & Comics

Feb 22nd, 2007

by Christian Brady.

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Jimmy Johnson, who creates Arlo and Janis also lives in the Gulf south and is a fine friend of food. I visit his site everyday where he shares the odd (sometimes very) thought and usually three comics from the past. Today’s retrospect deserves sharing:
A&S Creole
Be sure to go to his site to read his running commentary with these cartoons (there are three that he put up in this series).

Tornado Update

Feb 13th, 2007

by Christian Brady.

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From EDOLA (Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana).

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

Many of us awoke this day to learn of another tragedy in and around New Orleans – several tornados touched down around 2:30AM, causing damage ranging from moderate to severe in the areas of the Westbank, Carrollton, and Gentilly. Many others were awakened in the middle of the night by the storm itself, forced to find shelter and safety where possible. Our prayers go out to all whose lives were touched by this event, and I am sure you join with me, and Bishop Jenkins, in a determined spirit to help those in need.

Let me update you on what we know so far (please keep in mind that these are early reports which may certainly change over the coming hours):

The most serious damage to diocesan locations known so far seems to be at a house on Prytania that the ODR has rented for use by interns who have come to town to do hurricane relief work. Most of the windows blew out, with the shattered glass landing on the sleeping interns. Two of their cars were damaged, but thankfully no one was seriously hurt. The students are emotionally shook up, to be sure. Katie Mears (who supervises the interns and runs our house gutting crews) is in contact with AJ Heine at St. Aug’s, and is going to relocate the interns there and other places.

… [Personal names and situations removed for privacy, but no reports of injury.]

May God watch over us and bless us this day.

Peace,
Mark+

The Rev’d Canon E. Mark Stevenson
Canon to the Ordinary
The Diocese of Louisiana

UPDATE: This note is from Bishop Jenkins late yesterday:

“It has been a long day. Our interns who lead our house gutting and house building crews were in their residence on Prytania and had all the windows blown out and several of their cars destroyed. All the young folks are OK but shaken pretty badly. I have spent most of the day around St. Andrew’s Church, New Orleans. Archdeacon Dennis McManis brought the St. Anna’s Mobile Medical Unit and the Mobile Ministry Unit into the neighborhood. After setting up at St. Andrew’s we were asked by the police to move closer to their command center. So the Mobile Ministry Unit is sitting on the neutral ground on Carrollton. St. Anna’s Mobile Medical Unit has gone to Gentilly.”