Bloggers around the country were inspired by a call from Hugh Hewitt to "set a day for a unified blog beg" to help those effected by Hurricane Katrina and the resulting floods. Blogging ecosystem tracker NZBear has risen to the occasion and organized the Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day Weekend fundraiser for Thursday September 1, 2005 through Monday September 5, 2005. As of this writing, over 300 500 600 800 blogs are participating from three eight 11 countries, and each blogger is encouraged to adopt a charity. Self-reported contributions reach well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Over at The Black Republican, we've chosen to support the American Red Cross. But as a Catholic blog, it should be no surprise that The Black Madonna asks you to support Catholic Charities USA, which has dedicated a page just for information regarding their Katrina relief efforts.
As Hurricane Katrina continues to make her trek northward, Catholic Charities agencies from around the region, such as agencies in Florida and Baton Rouge, are poised to send technical assistance teams to help the local Catholic Charities in the impacted areas with their response efforts. Once the all clear is given that it is safe to return to those communities hit by the devastating hurricane, the damage and needs assessment will begin.To help out Catholic Charities USA, please mail checks to:While local agencies along the Gulf Coast anticipate that they will be provide some type of emergency assistance in their communities, Catholic Charities' niche in disaster relief is to provide long-term recovery work. In fact, Catholic Charities agencies in Florida are still providing services to help people recover from last year's devastating hurricanes.
Catholic Charities USA
2005 Hurricane Relief Fund
PO Box 25168
Alexandria, VA 22313-9788
or call (800) 919-9338. You can also use the link above to go directly to CatholicCharitiesUSA.org, where you can make a donation by credit card online.
If you'd rather donate to another organization, Glenn Reynolds has a comprehensive list of other charities you can choose from. If unable to provide financial assistance for Katrina victims, please consider giving blood at your local blood bank, or check with your local chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Hugh Hewitt also made a specific plea for Catholics to support our sister parishes in the stricken area:
Longer term, I hope my own congregation finds a partner church with the idea of staying the rebuilding course with that church, offering much more personal care over the long haul, and that Catholic parishes from far off states do the same for Catholic parishes throughout the region, West LA synagogues for synagogues in the Gulf region hit by the storm, etc etc. The student body president of a Catholic high school wrote me last night to say that his school was hoping to partner with a Catholic high school they had identified but could not contact. From such connections long term commitments will spring.This is a great idea, and I encourage my fellow Catholic bloggers to get out there and make some connections between parishes. Any parishes sending information to me about needing or offering help will certainly be introduced to one another.
One last request: pray for the people in the Gulf States. Pray the Holy Rosary, especially. Catholics around America and all over the world should be praying daily, offering the fear and suffering to Jesus and asking Our Lady for her intercession in this most desperate hour for so many. Hard work and money are needed more than I can express, but only through prayer can we be sure that God will provide for all those who need the most help, and that everyone can come through this disaster with faith, hope, and love in tact.
*Updated 7:30am, 9/1
http://www.detnews.com/2005/editorial/0509/03/D07-302335.htm
Fr. Robert Sirico
Steve has information that John Roberts has been replaced by an alien robot. Though not quite so good looking as the others I've seen, I think it's probable he's actually a cylon.
The good news: Jimmy Akin says it's okay with God to "lock and load" on robots. The bad news: the theology gets murky if the robots have a soul, so we'd better send in Dean, since he's an orthodox atheist. Then again, even Dean might have a problem with the idea.
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=17394_Prayer_Returns_to_Public_School
Charles Johnson
I saw the following on a google ad on my other blog this morning:
Reappearance of ChristHow awful it must be to be a Protestant, and not know that He has been here with us, every day since the time of the Apostles, in the Eucharist.He is physically in the world now & will soon be seen by everyone!
