Monday, September 3, 2012

As Isaac leaves, Baptists arrive to cook, clean up, minister

NEW ORLEANS (BP) -- Southern Baptist Disaster Relief feeding units are in place more than 24 hours ahead of schedule, with plans to begin no later than Saturday serving 225,000 meals a day in Louisiana and Mississippi.

One site where long-term DR efforts will not be needed is New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, which sustained less than $300,000 in damage from Hurricane Isaac, according to initial estimates.

Nevertheless, SBDR's readiness to help in feeding, cleanup, chaplaincy and childcare for the victims of Isaac, which struck on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, is a true picture of Christian service, said Tom Long, the southeast region coordinator for Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief.

"I think this truly shows what the Great Commission is all about as far as reaching out to our own communities in our area," Long said. "Then the support we have as Southern Baptists from all across our convention, the gathering together of our workers and teams, has been tremendous. No matter what kind of problem may come up, we're able to respond and respond quickly."

The response adds to the goodwill Southern Baptists planted during Katrina and other disasters.

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Syria Refugees Find Hope among 'The Bible People'

Right rallies for 'Empty Chair Day'

The right rallied on Labor Day to celebrate “National Empty Chair Day,” a show of solidarity with Clint Eastwood after his rambling address to an invisible President Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention last week.
The action picked up steam on Twitter, where the hashtag #emptychairday began trending on Monday morning as users tweeted pictures of empty chairs in various poses.