Faith, Charity Help Louisiana Fishermen Weather Oil Disaster

Russ Jones | ChristianPress.com | Updated: Jun 02, 2010

Faith, Charity Help Louisiana Fishermen Weather Oil Disaster


June 2, 2010

People have fished for shrimp off the Louisiana coast since the 1800s, but this long standing tradition is now in jeopardy. Oil continues to gush from a British Petroleum-operated well 5,000 feet below the ocean's surface after the rig above it exploded on April 20. More than a month later, crude oil creeps further into the fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Memorial Day, a group of evangelical pastors ventured out into those murky waters by boat and shared the Lord's Supper together. Dr. John Dee Jefferies and several other church pastors in the St. Bernard Perish have come together to strategically minister to those impacted by the oil spill.

"We broke bread together and prayed for God to heal the waters," said Jefferies, who has been pastor of First Baptist Church Chalmette outside of New Orleans for 20 years. "God is a God of hope. I don't understand how God will work this together for good, but I'm confident that he will."

According to Jefferies, the area was still struggling to recuperate from Hurricane Katrina. Since the hurricane First Baptist Church Chalmette has distributed some 15,000 pounds of food per month, serving 400 to 500 families. With the oil spill the church is seeing an even greater need for both physical and spiritual guidance.

"My whole ministry has changed since Katrina," said Jefferies. "But now with the oil spill - I'm seeing 4 to 5 families a day come in who are wounded and their hearts are tender. God has opened doors to family after family."

After weeks of failed attempts to stop the flow of oil to the area, fishermen are trying to hold on to hope that life might get back to normal.

Kimberly Chauvin, co-owner of Mariah Jade Shrimp Company, has been part of the shrimping landscape in Louisiana for five generations. The town of Chauvin is named after her great-great-grandfather.

She says it's been over a month since her nets were filled with shrimp. Now most of her fleet is helping with clean-up efforts.

"BP had contracted someone, and through the Coast Guard, they found us through a class I had just finished taking in Galveston," Chauvin said.

Chauvin says they are fishing some areas of the western part of Louisiana, but they aren't unloading nearly the typical amount for this time of year. Her company recently received its first paycheck from BP, which helps balance the declining revenue from fishing.

While dealing with the oil spill has greatly impacted the family business, Chauvin says their faith remains strong. She says they find comfort in God and their Foursquare church, Vision Christian Center in Bourg, Louisiana.

"For us, we're just kind of keeping our heads above water, remembering who our provider is, and hoping that our government does the right thing in having BP held accountable." She adds that "it's one thing to say that they're accountable, and it's another thing to actually get them to be accountable."

Meanwhile, up the coastline, some fishermen are receiving badly needed assistance after BP donated $1 million to Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans. Catholic Charities currently operates four crisis centers to provide emergency food, assistance, financial aid and counseling for fishermen and their families in the region affected by the catastrophic oil spill.

Margaret Dubuisson of Catholic Charities reports the agency has served nearly 5,000 people since receiving the donation.

"It's allowing us to serve more people more quickly," she said. "We've hired additional case managers and counselors, and we're utilizing volunteers as well."

Second Harvest Food Bank serves 23 parishes in Louisiana with food distribution, education and disaster response initiatives. According to the organization, prior to the oil spill, 17 percent of households in the affected parishes were living below the poverty level. In the past year, parish officials have seen the number of cases for unemployment and requests for government assistance increase each month.

"This is the time of year we already see significant increases in need for food assistance," said Alan Allgood, Chief Operations Officer of Second Harvest Food Bank.  "BP America's donation will help ensure that Second Harvest can meet the increased need of the affected fishermen and their families during these uncertain times in addition to the existing need for food assistance across south Louisiana."

The Louisiana Department of Social Services (DSS) is also working to ensure that all impacted families apply for available aid, including the regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP outreach teams are working at 13 temporary registration sites in Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Jefferson, St. Tammany, Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes. Since May 3, the DSS teams have accepted nearly 800 applications for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.

"We're worried, of course, about our...natural resources, because it doesn't seem like there are enough supplies and hands to get these guys out there working," Chauvin lamented.

"But also, there's safety for their health. So there's a lot of concern from parents, from wives, from husbands, and the whole family setting, especially down here in our region. We're really close-knit in our families, and so we pretty much work together in the fishing community."

Individuals in need of ongoing assistance are encouraged to call Catholic Charities Care Line at 1-866-891-2210 or Second Harvest Food Bank at 504-734-1322.  Visit www.no-hunger.org for help locating a Second Harvest Food Bank member agency in their local community.

Crisiswiki.org has also provided a thorough list of organizations helping those affected by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. For more information go to http://crisiswiki.org/2010_Gulf_Coast_Oil_Spill#tab=Giving_Help.


Russ Jones is co-publisher of the award winning Christian Press Newspaper (ChristianPress.com) and CEO of BIG Picture Media Group, Inc., a boutique media firm located in Newton, Kansas. Jones holds degrees from the University of Missouri and St. Paul School of Theology. As a former NBC TV reporter he enjoys reporting where evangelical Christian faith and news of the day intersect. Jones is also a freelance reporter for the Christian Broadcasting Network, Total Living Network and a political correspondent for American Family Radio.  He may be reached at [email protected]

Faith, Charity Help Louisiana Fishermen Weather Oil Disaster