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Bishop T.D. Jakes and Rev. William H. Gray III Challenge All Faith Leaders
Affected By Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to Embrace Unity to Overcome Their
Tragedy
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/- In a stately ballroom at the Sheraton
New Orleans, packed to standing room only with more than 1,500 eager pastors
and spiritual leaders from along the Gulf Coast, Bishop T.D. Jakes and Rev.
William H. Gray III announced that the $20 million donation allotted to
rebuild houses of worship affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was only the
beginning of the rebuilding process.
"The greatest strength and the greatest resource in this room is not the
$20 million. It is the unity of each one of us as we move forward to rebuild
our churches and our lives," said Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of The Potters
House church in Dallas and selected co-chair of the Interfaith Rebuilding
Initiative. "It is going to be crucial in the coming days and months ahead
that we unite because we will run out of money before we are out of problems.
This is just the beginning. We need to reach out to banking and insurance
institutions and challenge them to contribute to this initiative and help
rebuild the Gulf Coast."
Pastors representing churches, large and small, from South Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, attended the two-hour meeting. Presiding
at the meeting were co-chairs Bishop T.D. Jakes and Rev. William H. Gray III,
13-year Congressman and former President of the United Negro College Fund.
Other board members in attendance were John C. Favalora, Archbishop of Miami;
Bishop C. Garnett Henning of Pearl St. AME Church in Jackson, MS; Rev. William
Shaw, President of the National Baptist Convention; and Bishop Roy Winbush of
the Church of God in Christ, First Jurisdictional of Louisiana. Board members
not able to be in attendance were Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of Windsor Village
United Methodist Church in Houston and Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas of the Faith Center
for Community Development in New York.
"The thing that was most striking about the leaders was not the concern
for themselves, mortgages or buildings, but their people," said Rev. Gray.
"More than 20 percent of those in attendance were displaced and still wanted
to come back to New Orleans to rebuild because that is where their people call
home."
Following the meeting, Bishop Jakes joined Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-
Lewis, whose district is the greatly ravaged 9th Ward, on a site visit of New
Orleans East, the 9th Ward district and the areas surrounding the broken
levee. Jakes said, "The damage was apocalyptic, but as we read in the Bible,
even after the apocalypse, a New Jerusalem will rise again."
The Board of Directors for the Interfaith Rebuilding Initiative have
already begun processing each information form that was filled out on
Saturday, and they expect to receive many more. "It is arduous undertaking,
but we must get back up on our feet to help restore our areas of influence,"
Gray continued. "Without churches, mosques and synagogues, you cannot rebuild
a community."
For more information about the Fund, visit
http://www.BushClintonKatrinaFund.org , or for spiritual leaders in the Gulf
Coast that were unable to attend, the board asks for all concerns to be sent
to the Washington Office at 1301 K St. N.W., Washington D.C., 20005 or call
202.289.2732.
About The Potters House of Dallas
A globally recognized church of more than 30,000 members in Dallas, Texas,
The Potters House strives to be the Voice and the Hand that encourages people
of all creeds and cultures to change their lives with hope, comfort and peace.
This church is led by Bishop T.D. Jakes, twice featured on the cover of Time
magazine as "Americas Best Preacher" and one of this nations "25 most
influential evangelicals."
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