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This is a text that is your pastoral “grist for the mill” for a letter that you might wish to write to your congregation or community of ministry in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Clearly, you will want to personalize it and adapt it to your situation.   For those of you who are ministers in the directly impacted and nearby regions, communications are severely limited, so we realize that such a communication may be impossible.   To you, we extend our readiness to do all possible to act as caring colleagues and caring congregations.

Greetings to each and all of you, 

What a pleasure to anticipate your full return to church life on Sunday morning, September 11.  Yet I write you with a heavy heart over the news that continues to unfold in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Our nation and most especially our neighbors in the mid-South states are facing the worst natural disaster in decades to visit U.S. soil.    

First, please know that those among us who have lost family and friends are not alone.   I invite you to phone me [where and number].  As your minister, I am here for you and with you.  

Second, please know that we can all help in the massive effort to restore lives and livelihoods.   With the full support of our [Board of Trustees, Parish Committee, governing board if this is the case] we are dedicating our non-pledge plate offering of Sunday, September 11, to our UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund.   Our Unitarian Universalist Association has established this fund in collaboration with our Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.   All contributions will be distributed under the auspices of the Southwest and Mid-South Districts of our UUA and will be used entirely for hurricane relief.   You can make your checks payable to the “UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund.”   They will be sent along with a check reflecting all cash offerings. Note that the UUA is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your donation to the UUA-UUSC Gulf Coast Relief Fund qualifies as a tax-deductible charitable gift.    [You may also wish to include the following:] There may be opportunities to help out in physical presence through volunteering with the Red Cross or other relief agencies.  I am investigating those options.    

[Some of you may choose to plan a special service for meditation and the sharing of personal stories.   An example is:] Finally, we will hold a Service of Meditation and Sharing of Stories of Joy and Concern on [for example: Wednesday, September 7, at 7 PM in the sanctuary].   This will be a time to gather in religious community in the wake of harrowing loss.    

In the meantime, I urge you to read the statement of the President of our Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev. William G. Sinkford, which you can access on our UUA website (www.uua.org) and the statement of our Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry, listed as one of the resources following Rev. Sinkford’s statement.  You will find comfort and perspective in both statements. 

May our prayers be with all whose lives have been lost and whose lives have been turned upside down and inside out by this devastation.  May we be generous in spirit and in deed.  In this faith that we share during the best of times and the worst of times,

[signed]

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