In response, I confidently point to the good work of the Church in Mississippi and Louisiana and note that if we do not stand for the poor, no one will. If the Church does not raise a cry for justice, no one will. If the Church does not continue to feed the poor, house the homeless, heal the sick and give hope where it has been washed away, no one will. I think our efforts in Louisiana are exemplary as are those good works done in Christ's name in Mississippi. I think the work of the Church in Mississippi and Louisiana is a work of which Episcopalians can be proud. I think our stewardship of all that is entrusted to us, most of which is for relief work, is exemplary.

"Darkness into Day," the national campaign taken up with the generous support and help of the Episcopal Church Foundation and the blessing of our Presiding Bishop draws to a close, at least as it currently structured. Something different may be tried. It is a hard sell to convince Episcopalians to invest in the Episcopal Church in some third world Diocese in the USA which they think to be hobbled by corrupt politics and all of which they assume lies below sea level. The facts do not seem to matter much. My home on Lake Pontchartrain, which took 1.5 to 2.0 ft of water, is six feet higher than the Rectory in which I sit as I write. The Cathedral in New Orleans, which had no flood water, is on a ridge and is higher than many coastal communities in this country. Bishop Gray seems much better at making this plea and connection than am I. I seem to be able to excite people about our work in Louisiana but I cannot make the connection between the Church and ministry.

A group of Church leaders from a parish in the northeastern part of the country travelled to New Orleans earlier in the year. After listening to us and looking around, they decided we were not viable and invested their generosity elsewhere. I am glad they were generous but I was devastated. I had a certain satisfaction when we recently reopened the Church and School which had been deemed not viable. I don't want to be hard on those brothers and sisters in Christ, for they may well be correct. In many ways, the Church in New Orleans is not viable; certainly not as we have seen it in the past. And yet, looking with another set of eyes, I see a viability that goes beyond numbers, income and attendance. I pray to God that I am looking with "Kingdom vision" and with those eyes I see a viability of which I believe Jesus approves. I believe we are faithful to Jesus' commands as regards the poor and needy; such faithfulness bestows a viability beyond the riches of this world.

Please keep me in your prayers as this phase of our efforts, "Darkness into Day" closes. The road is long and potholes as big as those of my beloved home city.

---Bishop Charles Jenkins is the Bishop of Louisiana

FOOTNOTE: It is sad and tragic when a church like the Episcopal Church which is so wealthy, spent $9 million on General Convention, promotes Milleniumm Development goals and does not want to bring those goals to a context in the United States where the neediest are trapped by natural disasters, poor government and a sense of hopelessness from the rest of the country. I have been to this diocese, I have seen the good work being done by this bishop and one of his parishes. The Episcopal Church has no business writing this diocese off. It is an outrage to high heaven.
David W. Virtue DD