Getting ready for New Orleans

In less than two weeks, three other CDSP students and I will be in New Orleans. We are spending our Spring Break there; leaving California on March 23, and returning on and around March 31. We are getting our assignments sorted out; the only one I'm sure of is my own, as it was given to me this morning. I will be working in a women's shelter for the week, because I have experience as a Catholic Worker in Olympia. We will be staying in volunteer housing run by the Common Ground Collective, and going to the work sites they have given us during the day. We plan to write about our encounters with others, with the landscape, and with God in this disaster zone. We also will hold events to educate our home communities when we return. Watch this space for updates.

I got my tetanus shot last weekend; I was overdue for it anyway. The ache in my arm makes this even more real. We are meeting with each other regularly, making plans, dividing up projects, praying, sharing Compline. We are getting to know one another as co-workers and friends. I am getting excited around the edges; I think I can say the same for all of us.

Please consider supporting our trip, by clicking the donations link in the sidebar. We have set a fundraising goal of $6000. Any amount beyond what we use (for transportation, contributions to our hosts, and unforeseen incidentals) will be donated to the people of New Orleans.

Thank you.

Loving God, we commend to you the people of New Orleans.
We thank you for the strength they have shown
in rebuilding their community,
and for their graciousness in hosting volunteers.

We lift up also those who are traveling there only for awhile.
Keep them strong, to do the work that is set before them.
Open their hearts to see you everywhere they go,
and open their minds to what they will experience.
Help them to serve Christ in everyone they meet.
Encourage them to live in your joy,
and bring them home safely when their work is done.

All this we ask in the name of the One who creates, redeems,and sustains us all. Amen.