Hurricane Katrina, blamed for wrecking New Orleans church buildings, homes and other structures, also is being credited with forcing down barriers separating predominantly black and white congregations.
BATON ROUGE –
Hurricane Katrina, blamed for wrecking New
Orleans church buildings, homes and other structures,
also is being credited with forcing down barriers separating predominantly
black and white congregations.
That’s the
experience of leaders and congregants of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church of New
Orleans and its partner churches in Baton
Rouge, Istrouma Baptist and Florida Boulevard Baptist.
It’s an
experience church leaders want to see continue.
“I am constantly
amazed at how welcoming both congregations (Istrouma and Florida Boulevard
Baptist) have been,” said the Rev. Fred Luter, following a recent afternoon
service held for his predominantly black congregation in the sanctuary of
Florida Boulevard Baptist. “This is a testimony that there should be no color
lines in the body of Christ.”
That sentiment is
shared by his deacons.
“I don’t think we
could have been treated any better,” Deacon Olia Rodney said. “The doors have
been opened wide to us.”
Deacon Winzer
Jimerson agreed, saying: “Both churches asked us ‘how can we help you?’ They
have helped us a lot in the midst of our people being scattered from here to Houston to New
Orleans.”
Franklin Avenue
Baptist was the largest Baptist church in Louisiana, with more than 6,000 members
before Hurricane Katrina. Now its members are scattered across the nation with
sizable groups holding services in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Houston.
Since Katrina,
Luter estimates he’s driven at least 60,000 miles from his temporary home in Birmingham, Ala., and
flown many thousands more visiting his far-flung flock in Atlanta;
Memphis, Tenn.;
Bentonville, Ark.;
Austin, Texas;
and Dallas. He
and his wife, Elizabeth, hope to move back into their rebuilt Kenner home in the next few weeks.
Last month he
turned over pastoral duties in Houston to
longtime Assistant Pastor Sam Young who leads about 1,000 members meeting there
at FirstBaptistChurch,
also a predominantly white church, according to a recent Baptist Press report.
Istrouma Baptist
was the first to serve as Franklin Avenue Baptist’s Baton Rouge host, serving in that role during
2006.
About 600
Franklin Avenue members gathered there, but over time many returned to New
Orleans, where about 1,200 of them meet each Sunday morning at First Baptist
Church, another predominantly white church.
By January, the
Baton Rouge-area congregation had dwindled to about 200, and they moved
services from Istrouma Baptist to the more-intimate FloridaBoulevard
BaptistChurch.
Luter preaches a 7:30 a.m. service at First Baptist in New
Orleans, then drives to Baton
Rouge every other Sunday for an afternoon service with
his Florida Boulevard Baptist flock.
The Rev. Stuart
Rothberg, former senior pastor at Istrouma Baptist and now pastor of ministries
at SagemontChurch
in Houston,
said the decision in 2006 to welcome Luter’s congregation was “a no-brainer.”
“We decided we
must open our doors,” Rothberg said. “The black-white issue was not even an
issue. The vast majority of our congregation was so happy they were there.”
Istrouma Baptist
employed its electronic message marquee overlooking Interstate 12 to publicly
welcome
Franklin Avenue
members. A large banner hung in the foyer with photos of both buildings
heralded another welcome.
“When I walked
into Istrouma and saw that banner, I said to Elizabeth, ‘This is just incredible,’ ” Luter
said.
When Rothberg
introduced Luter and about 600 of his members to Istrouma’s congregation, a
thunderous standing ovation delayed the service for several minutes.
The Rev. Stephen
Trammell, senior pastor at Florida Boulevard Baptist until this month, is now
pastor of leadership at ChampionBaptistChurch
in Houston.
Trammell recalled
his experience flying with Luter over flooded New Orleans in an Army helicopter.
“He wept when we
got over the church,” Trammell said. “We already had a great relationship and I
immediately offered our assistance.
“Katrina broke
down some houses, but it also broke down some walls that separated people,”
Trammell said. “It’s been a refreshing experience.”
Rothberg agreed,
“Now that some of those walls have been broken down, we must never, ever draw
those racial lines again. We are all members of the family of Christ.”
The last time
Franklin Avenue
members met at Istrouma Baptist was Dec. 24, and it was another emotional
service. The Rev. Ron Lambe, Istrouma’s administrator and acting senior pastor,
presented Luter with a check for $50,000 to help in the estimated $8 million
renovation of Franklin Avenue Baptist, which is set to be completed in June.
More than
100 Franklin Avenue
members were called to the front, where they were surrounded by Istrouma
members who laid hands on them for a blessing. Tears flowed freely down white
and black faces alike as Lambe prayed for God’s blessing onFranklin Avenue’s future.
“I have never in
my life seen such love from one congregation to another,” Luter told the
combined congregations. He promised that when they move back into their rebuilt
church they’ll display a large photograph of Istrouma in the lobby to honor the
cooperation.
“We hated to see
them leave our services,” Lambe said recently.
When Luter and
his congregation met with the congregation at Florida Boulevard Baptist in
January, the reception was similar, said Gerald Wheeler,
Florida Boulevardadministrator.
“They got a
standing ovation,” Wheeler said. “Our people love Pastor Luter. He got us fired
up!”
Luter said he
believes the cooperation between his church and the four white churches that
have assisted his congregation can be a model for all churches.
“I think this is
a good start,” Luter said. “This is a good testimony to what can be done
between predominantly Anglo and African-American congregations. We are one body
in Christ.”