Chalmette Ward
Louisiana is a pretty Catholic place, and there aren't a lot of Mormons here. My town used to have two congregations (called wards), but when the oil companies scaled back their staffing in New Orleans, they rolled back to just one. So our stake (the Mormon equivalent of a diocese) is pretty small.
It just officially got smaller. The Chalmette ward, in St. Bernard Parish, has been dissolved. Any Mormons living in Chalmette are under the auspices of the New Orleans Stake (a different one from mine). I sobbed at the news. I was not alone, although I may have been the most vocal.
I've known this was coming, but I was still stunned at the news. Not so much that the ward is gone, because there aren't so many Mormons in Louisiana, and less than 15% of the population of St. Bernard has come back since the hurricane. The announcement was a bright neon reminder: a whole town - a whole parish - is gone.
I stuck around for the whole first meeting Sunday, for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was that I wanted to be with my husband. I mostly get through LDS sacrament meetings, when I attend, by not listening, but this week the final speaker caught my attention. He just got back in his house. He was buying breakfast a few weeks ago, before the kitchen was done.
A lot of people around here want to put this behind them, and are ready to move on. But others, for very concrete reasons (i.e., living in a tent) are not yet able to do that. And those of us who want to get over it need to be aware of this, and kind and patient and helpful to them.
A very good talk.
It just officially got smaller. The Chalmette ward, in St. Bernard Parish, has been dissolved. Any Mormons living in Chalmette are under the auspices of the New Orleans Stake (a different one from mine). I sobbed at the news. I was not alone, although I may have been the most vocal.
I've known this was coming, but I was still stunned at the news. Not so much that the ward is gone, because there aren't so many Mormons in Louisiana, and less than 15% of the population of St. Bernard has come back since the hurricane. The announcement was a bright neon reminder: a whole town - a whole parish - is gone.
I stuck around for the whole first meeting Sunday, for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was that I wanted to be with my husband. I mostly get through LDS sacrament meetings, when I attend, by not listening, but this week the final speaker caught my attention. He just got back in his house. He was buying breakfast a few weeks ago, before the kitchen was done.
A lady in line at McDonald's said to him, "It sure was cold last night."
He replied, "Yeah, we had to turn the heater on."
The lady said, "It would be nice to have a heater."
Speaker asked her, "Well...where are you staying?"
"We've been living in a tent about a block and a half away since the hurricane."
A lot of people around here want to put this behind them, and are ready to move on. But others, for very concrete reasons (i.e., living in a tent) are not yet able to do that. And those of us who want to get over it need to be aware of this, and kind and patient and helpful to them.
A very good talk.
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