Katrina revealed this one caveat: there is already an infrastructure in place to deal with disasters that stike America.

While the federal government’s emergency organizations and the large private emergency organizations continue to “build up” towards feeding, housing, and helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina, churches and religious organizations are already doing the job down in the streets of America’s stricken areas along the Gulf Coast. In fact, they have been on the job since before Katrina hit land. Louisiana churches filled with evacuees fleeing the category 4 storm, as the majority of New Orleans area residents responded to the call to evacuate the parishes in the path of Katrina. Churches fed them; Churches comforted them; and churches welcomed them to stay when it became evident that the storm was catastrophic.

Even as evacuees-turned-refugees were being helped, local churches from throughout the South, along with religious organizations from around the country, flooded into the devastated areas to deliver food, water, and comfort. Meanwhile, the large federal and private organizations like FEMA and The Red Cross began the process of mobilizing for the massive job ahead. As their leaders made headquarters in the area and took control of the roadways, they began to refuse entry to church groups trying to move into the area with supplies and buses. Local groups were turned away. The big organizations told them their help was not needed at that moment…that access to the stricken areas was limited until they could establish security or create order. Those who watch the news reports concerning the early days of the relief effort know the rest of the story.

People are asking for commissions and calling for heads to roll in an effort to discover just where the process went wrong and what we can do to fix it. There is no mystery. The federal government and the huge private relief organizations simply have no way to be prepared to deal with a catastrophe of this magnitude expeditiously. Every state would have to build hundreds, maybe thousands of relief centers. Military bases would have to be built and the armed forces would have to quadruple in size. Thousands of trained workers would have to be paid year around on the chance that such an event would occur. Of course, such an event has never occurred before in America. The fact is that it takes time to put an infrastructure in place to deal with such a tragedy.

Katrina revealed this one caveat: there is already an infrastructure in place. The faith-based community was able to leap into action because there are churches on ever corner in every little town in the South. Church sanctuaries and fellowship halls were immediately turned into relief centers for the refugees. Food, water, and other supplies were immediately available for deliver to the homeless on site. Churches were already doing what the “professionals” had to gear up to do. It’s time the true story of Katrina be told. Five days after the disaster, the Houston Astrodome took on tens of thousands of refugees and the media has lauded their effort. Even before the hurricane hit, hundreds of thousands of evacuees were being housed by churches all along the highways and byways of the Southern states. Many are still there today. The Red Cross is taking control of many of these churches now, trying to catch up with what the faith-based community already had in place.

Those who fervently hold to the concept of a “separation of church and state” must be wringing their hands. There are no refugees calling for “separation” today. It appears that without the church, the state is helpless when it comes to dealing with the needs of hurting people when such a crisis strikes our land. The religious infrastructure of America is already in place and ready to roll when our communities need it. That has always been the truth and always will if the secularists stay out of the way. While the religious community was pouring help where it was most needed, where was the ACLU? Where were the liberal organizations that attack the faith-based community through the courts? In light of the performance of our religious institutions, I wonder if those offended by manger scenes and prayer will continue to stick to their “wall of separation” guns to the point of dismissing the lives of the many our constitution is designed to protect. It turns out that activist judges can’t do anything to help those who need it most at times like this. Maybe it’s time we learn to appreciate our faith-based community in the manner deserved.