Area churches are pitching in to give aid and comfort to victims of the hurricane. "There are no distinctions," one rabbi says. "Everyone shares the same fate."
By SHERYL KAY
Published September 9, 2005
Her voice cracked and tears well up in her eyes as Khadijah Rasheed, like so many, recounted the unknown fate of her relatives from New Orleans.
"I've lost half of my family," she said. "We haven't spoken to any of them since the day before it happened. No phone calls, no e-mail, nothing."
And so, Rasheed, as administrative assistant at the Islamic Center of Tampa, turned to her faith, for strength, and for ways to help.
In the week following Hurricane Katrina, Rasheed said, the center at 7326 E Sligh Ave. raised $50,000 which, along with all future donations, is going to the Red Cross relief effort. The center also assembled a team of local nurses and doctors who volunteered to go wherever they might be needed.
"There's a large Muslim community in New Orleans, and there are just a lot of people down there who need our help," Rasheed said.
As different as religious institutions can be, their local response to the disaster is undeniably similar.
"There are these occasions when everyone is equalized," said Rabbi Joel Wasser of Congregation Kol Ami in Carrollwood. "There are no distinctions. Everyone shares the same fate, the same destiny, regardless of their religion, their faith, or their culture."
Members of Kol Ami, at 3919 Moran Road, received an e-mail just a few days after Katrina hit, asking them to donate online to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (www.uscj.org) the association of conservative Jewish congregations in North America, which has set up a separate hurricane relief fund.
For Jews, Wasser explained, pikuah nefesh (saving a life) and tikkun olam (repairing the world) are two of the most important commandments to follow.
"We don't often have the opportunity to fulfill these in a practical way, but this gives us a way to do that," he said.
At the Baha'i Faith Worship and Community Center of Greater Tampa, members are being encouraged to contribute to established relief organizations and to volunteer whatever services people can offer, explained Leah Roberts, a member of the center's Spiritual Assembly.
"We have a lot of Baha'i friends out there and we're working on that network now, not only to find out how people are doing in the affected areas, but also to find out what their needs are and what we can do to help," Roberts said.
"We've already found people in Indiana who offered their home, and we found a displaced family who is now going there."
Parishioners at Messiah Lutheran Church will start a special collection Sunday, with all money going to the Lutheran World Relief fund (www.lwr.org) In addition, the congregation will speed up work on a special disaster relief trailer that was started last year in response to the four hurricanes that hit Florida. "It's a clearing trailer, equipped with chain saws, helmets, gloves, any tools that are necessary for clearing up the mess after these disasters," Pastor Scott Burmeister said.
Messiah Lutheran, at 14920 Hutchison Ave., also will have a special collection made for Pastor Eric Hollar, his family, and his church in Biloxi, Miss. Hollar, a former classmate of Burmeister, lost his home, and his church sustained major damage, all known to Burmeister through second- and third-hand accounts.
Burmeister said people's overall responses have not surprised him at all. "It really speaks to the human condition," he said.
"One reaction really brings out the worst in people, and unfortunately we saw a little bit of that in New Orleans with random looting and that kind of thing. But the other response brings out the absolute best in people, and thankfully we are seeing a lot of that."
Although members of his church have been repeatedly called upon for disaster relief donations in the past 12 months, Burmeister has no fears of a negative impact on donations now.
"We understand that money in the form that we have it is a stored service, and it's no good till it's redeemed," he said. "When the call comes out for this kind of need, it's a wonderful opportunity for us to take this stored service and put it into action.
"It may mean making a sacrifice and taking money away from other things, but people will put those off for the more meaningful and beneficial service to all of us."
