Home  Sitemap  Rector	Worship Services  Directions  Make a Stewardship Pledge  Contact Us
	Gulf Coast Mission Trip

Mission Trip to New Orleans: Update 

Quick Summary: 

• The Mission Trip will take place from June 24^th through July 2^nd
• We will be working and staying with Resurrection House, New Orleans rebuilding homes for residents who are too elderly, disabled, or impoverished to rebuild by themselves. 
• Schedule

-                     June 24^th arrive in New Orleans

-                     June 25^th -27^th work full days rebuilding homes and doing necessary chores

-                     June 28^th work a half day and then enjoy Audubon Park and the Garden District

-                     June 29^th is a day off.  We will worship with our sisters and brothers from New Orleans, and spend the rest of the day enjoying the French Quarter and eating some fabulous New Orleans style food.

-                     June 30^th – July 1^st work full days.

-                     July 2^nd leave New Orleans and arrive at Logan Boston

• The Cost will be $730 per person.  Scholarships will be made available for St. Stephen’s members and for members of our parish who are unable to afford the cost of the trip.
• Commitments for the trip need to be made by March 16^th 
•  A mission/fundraising committee needs to be created
• On Friday, April 11^th we will hold a mission support party
• Other Mission Fundraisers need to be planned.  May 4^th is a possible date for a Bake Sale / Fresh Donut bake off. 
• The Mission Team will report back to the parish in the fall 

 Expansion:

The mission trip will take place from Tuesday, June 24^th through Wednesday, July 2^nd.  We will be flying out of Logan Airport and arriving in New Orleans on the 24^th.  We will then pick up two 15-passenger vans and drive to Resurrection House.  Resurrection House is located in the heart of the city and is only about half an hour from the airport.  Because we are so close to the airport, it would be possible if for some unavoidable reason you were unable to arrive or depart with the group, we could work around your schedule.  Please talk with me soon if this is the case. 

From Wednesday forward, we will be working with, and staying in, Resurrection House.  Resurrection House canvases neighborhoods (especially in the Lower Ninth ward) for elderly, disabled, and other people in distress (there are so many) that require assistance with rebuilding their homes.  We will be working with Resurrection House doing what ever needs to be done.  Those of us who have some construction experience can take on more difficult chores.  Others of us will be cleaning, painting, bringing water to workers and neighbors, and many other different tasks.  We also will be visiting with people, and hearing stories about what happened during and after hurricane Katrina.  We will be forming important pastoral relationships with the people of New Orleans.  Many citizens of this once great city desperately want to tell their stories.  They want to know that they haven’t been abandoned, and many want to share how God has been present with them through it all. 

Mission is also a great way to build relationships with your fellow church members.  Many of us only see each other on Sunday mornings, but this trip will provide an opportunity to really get to know the people whom we sit next to in church.  We will learn to work, pray, and have some fun with each other.

Mission trips are also a great opportunity for spiritual retreat.  I find it very rewarding to step away from the desk and work with my hands.  Much of the ministry that you and I do is rather abstract.  Ministering to people’s basic human needs, like building shelter, is very clear and concrete.  Mission trips give us a chance to step away from our busy lives and gain some perspective.  After witnessing what we will see in New Orleans, we will not come back the same people. 

We will be working full days at Resurrection House Wednesday, the 25^th through Friday, the 27^th.  Based on the workload at the time, Saturday may be a half-day, and Sunday will be a day off.  On Sunday we will have a chance to worship with our sisters and brothers in New Orleans.  This should be a great experience.  We will also be broadening our liturgical mindset (they do things a little differently down there).  For the rest of the day, we will enjoy New Orleans.  We can do a little shopping, eat at Café Du Monde (there Beignets are delightful), and walk around the French Quarter.  In the evening, we can enjoy some tasty Creole / Cajun / New Orleans food. 

The next morning we will be back to work.  Monday and Tuesday the 30^th and the 1^st will be full work days.  We then will travel back home Wednesday morning, July 2^nd.  During the evenings, when we aren’t working or listening to some new friends share their stories, we will have some time to relax.  We will definitely go to Audubon Park, which is a great place to throw a Frisbee, or just sit and watch the birds (Audubon park, as the name implies, has some very interesting birds).  We can also enjoy the beautiful architecture of the garden district. 

The trip should be fun and reenergizing for your faith life.  I hope you all will be able to come.  The cost of the trip is $730 per person.  This includes airfare, ground transportation, housing, and food.  We also will be joined by members of the parish of St. Stephen’s in the South End.  In order to help provide scholarships for them, and for those in our parish who may need a little assistance, we will be sponsoring some mission support events. 

The most important fundraiser is Friday, April 11^th.  This will be a New Orleans Mardi Gras style party (perhaps with less wanton debauchery, but no less fun).  I would love, and appreciate, help in putting this together.  Please let me know if you have any interest in doing this.  I would love to have a few auction items, but I am a bit out of my depth on how this is best done. 

We will also be having a few smaller fundraisers.  A bake sale including a donut-making event is in the planning process, but if you have another great idea, just let me know. 

I would also appreciate a small group to serve as a mission committee.  The committee will work as an advisory council.  There may not be a need to actually meet very often, but it would be helpful for me to be able to bounce ideas off a small group.  Please let me know if you have any interest in serving in this capacity. 

Thank you for your interest in mission work at the Redeemer.  We hope to build lasting mission partnerships from this event, and look forward to establishing a positive culture of mission that we can build on for years to come.      

Yours in Christ,

Marc