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Franciscans in Action
May 2008 e-newsletter
Franciscan Service on the Gulf Coast
Sister Karen J. Hartman and volunteers from Cincinnati
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi is less than sixty miles east of New Orleans. A pretty town of just over 8,000 souls it is nestled on the Gulf of Mexico. Bay St. Louis residents take great pride in their town’s famed restaurants, lovely homes, and breathtaking beaches. They are also painfully aware of its vulnerability to nature’s wrath. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina walloped Bay St. Louis severely. Many people died and property damage was extensive. The process of recovery would be long and hard.
In 2008 this process still continues. Sister Karen J. Hartman, a Franciscan Sister of the Poor, has been making return trips to Bay St. Louis to help in the town’s renaissance. At last count, she had visited Bay St. Louis for the fourth time with volunteers from several Cincinnati parishes, which is where she herself lives.
The devastation in Bay St. Louis left behind by Hurricane Katrina was severe
On her most recent trip, Sister Karen and her volunteer group worked on over a dozen different projects in Bay St. Louis. Amongst others, these included painting the insides and outsides of houses and schools, laying floors, putting down electrical wire, hanging drywall, and insulating homes. The St. Rita Outreach and Recovery Program coordinated the projects.
Sister Karen has remarked that she is grateful for the opportunity to serve in Mississippi. With her help and that of other Franciscan-spirited volunteers, Bay St. Louis and the rest of the Gulf Coast will continue to recover and show that the human spirit will always persevere.
We encourage you our readers to send in stories where you see the spirit of
St. Francis at work in the world. Email your stories to Peter Rajchert at peter@franciscans.org.
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