Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Riders of the Storm


You've seen the footage. I have been in contact with lots of the friends and clients sweating and slogging through the wreckage of Houston. Though everyone I know personally sustained minor damage (blown down trees and fences, lost shingles from roofs, etc.) power is still out for most, few grocery stores are open (running on generators and limiting customers to entering 25 at a time) and even fewer gas stations (the gas is there but the power to pump it is not). They don't know when schools will be able to reopen. I've felt helpless in not being able to help. Then I got word that Chris Seay, the pastor of ecclesisa, the church we attended in Houston before we moved, is coordinating relief efforts through the church at Taft Street which is located centrally in the heart of Montrose.

I have copied from his letter the specific ways you may help if you are so inclined:

1)Relief Support - any donations to relief support will go to purchase chainsaws, tools, food, van rentals, water, generators, temporary employment for relief coordinators, and necessary items to support relief teams. We are estimating the immediate need for relief support to be more than 25,000 dollars. If you are able to purchase any of these items in your area and have them delivered to Houston, this would be preferred over local purchasing. However both can be accommodated.

2)Financial Relief – for those suffering financially because of loss of property and income, we would like to offer a short term assistance package. For countless families and individuals struggling to make it financially before the storm (hourly wage employees, immigrants, and single mothers), the last week has often been devastating. We hope that the federal government will improve in their response time, but the church is able and willing to fill this gap. If you would like to give specifically to this package we will distribute the following on your behalf. In the case of single mothers we intend to double the assistance.
$150 Mortgage/Rental Assistance
$100 Grocery Card
$50 Gas Card
$20 Basic Toiletries
Gospel of John (VOX)
We will attempt to continue or begin a long-term relationship with all assisted families and will offer this assistance to as many as possible.

3) Taft Street Coffee as a House of Hospitality - You may know that Taft Street Coffee (the coffee shop owned and run by Ecclesia) is rated each year as one of the top 3 coffee shops in the entire city. This morning we had our power restored and would like to re-open the shop as a site for those still without power. We estimate that over the next three weeks many would benefit from a centrally located house of hospitality that offers air conditioning, a free lunch, coffee drinks, Wi-Fi, phone service, children’s play space, and spiritual support. If you would like to sponsor the food and operational costs to run Taft Street Coffee as a gift to the community, we estimate that cost to be $850 per day.

If you have any questions you can contact me (Chris@ecclesiahouston.org / cell 713 539-9201) or our Mission Pastor John Starr (john@ecclesiahouston.org / cell 832 630-4267).

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

you shame me in your nobleness, here is the list to date, disjointed, indeed:

14er
A
accident
accomplishment
ache
aching
adhesive
affluent
aged
agricultural
alert
alley
alleyway
alone
aluminum
amish
andetc
angels
animal
animalrights
antiart
architecture
arizona
arousal
arrow
ars
arses
art
artbike
artgallery
artist
artists
asphalt
asphaltredpaint
ass
asymmetry
attack
authority
away
awning
B
babies
baby
babypin
backet
badlands
bait
bake
balloon
balloonblower
banana
bark
barking
bars
basic
bath
beam
bean
beard
bears
beautiful
beauty
been
beheld
being
believing
bell
belly
beloved
bhuddah
bicycle
bigomy
bike
bile
billboard
bingo
binoculars
bird
birdnest
birdofparadise
birds
black
blah
blanketpin
blashphemy
blather
blatherer
bleeding
blessed
blight
blind
blinds
bliss
block
blue
bluesky
blunderer
board
boat
bodies
boil
bolts
bondage
boobs
boots
boring
boris
bosoms
bossy
brass
breakfast
breasts
breeding
brick
bricks
brit
broken
bubble
bucket
budda
bug
building
bumblebees
bumps
burgular
bust
butt
butter
C
cable
caboose
cactus
cadillac
cage
cake
caketopper
camping
cannedfood
canoe
canopy
cans
cantbleeve
cap
car
cardbaord
cardboard
carpet
carrige
cars
carton
cartoons
cat
cats
cello
cement
ceramic
chain
chains
chalk
chaoticcacophany
chat
cheese
cheesegrater
child
children
chimayo
choose
christ
christian
christmas
church
circle
circles
city
cityhall
clarinet
claws
clay
clean
cleanliness
cleavage
clemens
climbing
clipper
clock
clouds
coal
cocacola
coffee
coffin
cog
coke
cold
colorado
colouring
combine
come
comeback
complete
complexion
computer
concrete
confine
confinement
consumer
contrast
conversions
convexion
corn
corrugatedcardboard
corrugation
cosmological
cover
cowboy
crack
cracks
craked
crayons
create
crinkle
crowd
cryptic
cuddly
cup
curdle
custard
cut
cute
cycleoflife
D
dam
danger
dark
darkness
dayofthedead
dead
deadtech
deargod
death
deathmask
decay
decayed
decoration
deface
deflection
delerium
delight
delightful
delusional
dense
depart
derision
design
desire
destroying
destruction
devotion
diaper
dice
diggings
dilletante
dirt
discovery
dismantle
display
disregard
distress
distressed
divinity
division
dogs
doll
done
donkey
door
doorbell
doorbells
doorway
doris
drain
drainage
drake
dreamer
dreams
drink
drippings
droolish
droppings
drpepper
dry
duck
dumpster
dust
dwell
dying
dysfunctional
E
earth
eccentric
ecstacy
eggs
egypt
el
elastic
elbows
electric
electrical
elegant
elephants
elephanttusk
elvispresley
emergency
england
entrolopological
envelopes
environmental
ephemera
erect
erectable
erecting
erection
erotic
escape
etc
etch
eternal
eternity
ever
exctasty
exhaustion
eye
eyeballs
eyes
F
face
faces
facialimpression
faith
familar
fantastic
farm
farmer
father
feet
fell
female
fence
field
figurines
find
findings
fingers
finished
fire
firehydrant
firewood
fishnetstockings
flag
flake
flamer
flames
flapjack
fleas
fleeing
fleshy
flitter
float
floating
flood
floodgate
florida
flower
flowers
flowing
flutter
flying
foliage
food
foodstamps
fool
foolish
foot
forever
fork
foul
found
fourteener
free
freedom
frenchfries
frog
fruit
fruition
fruity
frustration
fuel
funeral
fungi
fungus
funny
fur
furnace
G
gallery
gambling
gas
gash
gasoline
geared
getaway
ghoulish
gill
girder
girdle
git
gladys
glass
glasses
glimmer
gnostic
go
goat
goats
god
gogo
going
gone
goodcitizen
goring
got
graffiti
graffitti
grafitti
granite
grass
grate
grateful
grease
greatbritain
green
greening
greenletters
greet
grey
grief
grinder
grommet
groovy
gross
grotesque
growing
gust
gutter
H
hah
hair
hand
handcuffs
hands
handsome
happy
hardware
harmony
haroldofcardboard
hat
hay
head
healthfood
hearing
heart
heat
heaven
hell
her
here
hidden
higgins
highrise
hillarious
hindu
hinge
history
hit
hmm
hole
holes
home
homo
hot
hotels
house
humor
hunger
hydrant
hyphae
I
icecream
icepacks
iguana
immersion
impaled
impressed
imprisoned
imprisonment
inconsiderate
infant
inflecting
inhaled
innocent
insideous
instruction
instructions
instrument
instruments
intense
interior
internet
intertwineable
inversion
inverting
invincible
invisible
iron
irregular
J
jar
jeeps
jelly
jesus
jesussaves
jigsawpuzzle
jokes
joking
joy
joyous
K
kerouac
ketchup
kind
kindly
kingdom
kitten
kittens
knockers
kojak
krishna
krsna
L
lack
lacking
ladder
lake
lakestream
laptop
laughing
laundry
lead
leal
leave
leaves
legs
letterbox
liar
lickings
light
lighting
lights
limbs
lobby
logcabin
logo
lonely
longing
lookatmeaie
love
lovenote
ludo
lunatic
M
macabre
maddening
madeinchina
magestic
magesty
magic
magical
mailbox
makeshift
man
manefestation
manequin
manequins
manhole
manholecover
mannequin
manure
mark
marker
markings
marktwain
marmalade
masonry
mastery
matter
meaning
meat
melancholy
message
messy
metal
meter
microphone
milk
miniature
minimal
mirror
mirrors
misery
miss
missing
mistake
mites
mitt
mole
moon
mostaccio
mother
mountain
mountains
mousetrap
mousseron
moustache
mouth
mud
murder
mushroom
music
musical
musiccase
mystery
mystical
N
nails
naked
nappy
narcissists
natter
nature
needing
needle
neon
never
new
newmexico
newspaper
night
nipples
nomore
nonono
noodle
nose
nostrilsbutter
note
nothing
notthatinteresting
novios
numbers
nutjob
nuts
nutter
O
oars
ocean
old
ominous
orange
orchestral
ordinary
organic
over
oxygen
P
pain
paint
pajamas
paper
parallel
parents
passion
paste
patina
pavement
paws
peak
peel
people
pepsi
performanceart
perpetual
peta
petulant
pie
pigeon
pigs
pinballs
pining
pink
pipe
plain
plant
plaster
plastic
plate
play
playdoh
pleaseus
pleasure
plumbing
poems
poets
point
poison
pokes
poking
pole
policecallbox
politics
polystyrene
poodle
poop
porcelain
porn
pornography
poster
pricetag
primulaceae
produce
propaganda
proposterous
puddle
puddles
Q
queen
queenelizabeth
R
rage
railroad
railroadtracks
rails
rain
rainbows
random
rapture
rays
rccola
rebuild
reconfigure
reconstruction
recreate
recycledpaper
recycling
red
redhat
redletters
refection
refine
reflection
regress
religeon
religion
remorse
remote
remove
repetition
restarea
restaurant
restriction
retail
retention
retreat
reversable
rhubarb
ridiculous
river
riverbed
rope
rot
rottenfruit
rough
round
row
rowingboat
royalty
rubber
rubbish
rubles
rude
rugged
rules
runaway
ruppees
rural
rust
rustedcans
S
sad
saints
sanctuaryofchimayo
sand
sandals
sandwich
sandwiches
saved
scabies
scar
scary
scored
scratched
screaming
sculpture
seared
searing
seaweed
secret
seduction
seeing
seek
seen
serene
sex
sexy
shake
shaking
shame
sharp
sheetmetal
sheetmusic
shimmer
shimmers
shiney
shockvalue
shoes
shopping
shoppingbags
showing
shred
shrine
shudders
shufflecok
siddartha
sidealk
sidewalk
sign
signage
signal
silver
silvermine
silvermining
simple
sinners
sixpak
skeleton
skinwhoops
skirt
skit
skull
sky
slagpile
sleep
sleeve
slide
slip
slit
slurry
small
smell
smelly
smile
smokes
smoking
smoothy
snake
snakes
sneered
sneeze
sneezus
snoring
snot
snow
snowing
soaked
soaring
socialcommentary
soda
sodamachines
soil
sorrow
sound
soup
southdakota
splash
spoons
spores
spraypaint
spring
stairs
stalk
stand
star
starving
statue
steel
steelcable
steelplate
steelrope
stencil
stickybackplastic
stingrays
stitches
stolen
stopsign
street
streets
streetsign
strings
stucco
studio
stumped
stupid
styrafoam
sublime
submarine
submersable
subversing
subway
subwaystation
sugarsmax
suggestive
summit
sun
sunset
surrender
suture
suv
swim
swimming
swing
swings
swirls
swirly
T
tactile
tag
talk
tangentalst
tape
teabag
tears
teats
teeny
teeter
telephonepole
telephonewires
television
tell
telly
tellytubbies
tension
tent
terminated
tether
text
texture
thebeatles
thelord
themoon
thickskinned
things
thinkins
thread
tiger
tile
time
tiny
tiring
tits
toadstool
toast
toe
toenails
tomatoes
toothpicks
torn
touch
tough
toy
toys
tracking
tracks
tractor
traffic
trafficsigns
train
traincars
trains
traintrack
trainwheel
trampoline
trash
trashartbikeartbikewheelsbicycle
travelstop
treasure
tree
trees
trombone
trumpetplanasaurus
tub
tuba
tube
tundra
typewriter
U
ugly
undressed
universal
unmonkey
urban
urbandecay
utilitarian
utilities
utilitypole
V
vaseline
vegetables
vegetarian
venue
version
victor
vintagetypewriter
violin
vision
vivious
vlexindrone
void
vw
W
wackjob
wait
waiting
wall
walls
wanting
warning
wars
water
watertower
wayneleal
wear
weathered
weave
wedding
weeds
weeny
welding
well
wet
wheel
wheels
white
window
windows
winter
wire
wishher
wishing
withheld
wobblyknees
woman
womanslegs
wonderful
wondering
wood
word
words
worlings
worn
wound
wrongway
X
xtc
Y
yearining
yearn
yearning
yellow
yikes