News from the Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples Alliance

Contents: October 2005

GLAD Council Responds to Hurricane Disaster

[EDITOR'S NOTE: At press time, Hurricane Rita was slamming the Gulf Coast, only weeks after Katrina. Here's the latest on the response to Katrina, with more news to come on Rita in future editions.]

NEW ORLEANS - As Hurricane Katrina survivors huddled for days without food and water in New Orleans, the GLAD Council made an emergency grant to Week of Compassion of $1,000 and worked to raise awareness of the special needs emerging in the lgbtq community displaced by the storm.

GLAD Council members contacted leaders of Week of Compassion and the Disciples Refugee and Immigration Office after reports emerged of discrimination against lgbtq evacuees. The calls served not only to remind these leaders of the additional burden faced by this group, but also to offer sanctuary for those displaced by the disaster.

Disciples O & A congregations are being encouraged to offer shelter to displaced individuals and families, via the Refugee and Immigration Office. To find out how to offer shelter visit http://www.discipleshomemissions.org/RIM/.

"We're not a relief agency," said Rev. Patricia Case, GLAD Moderator, "but we do have a responsibility to make sure Disciples relief efforts account for additional challenges faced by the lgbtq community in a case like this. Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, where most of the refugees sought shelter, are not exactly known for their openness to sexual diversity."

Meanwhile, in Houston, Rev. Todd Williams and New Covenant Christian Church, an O&A new church start in the metropolitan area, reached out immediately, sheltering a gay couple that was turned away from a Red Cross family shelter because they weren't considered "family."

Case was scheduled to arrive in Houston in late September where she has been called by Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston as an unpaid volunteer to help with disaster relief. Case will spend three months in the area, under the auspices of the Church Federation of Indianapolis. She is responsible for her own food, lodging, transportation and other expenses. Find her weblog at www.prcase.blogspot.com.

For more information on providing financial and other support to evacuees, visit www.weekofcompassion.org.