Dispatch From Kirstin In New Orleans

Kirstin has quite a moving post at Barefoot and Laughing on a day in her (temporary) life in New Orleans. The quote below is from her visit to St. Anna's Church for the Wednesday evening celebration of the Eucharist.

We went back up for healing, immediately after Communion. The last time I was here, I was a sobbing mess, in shock from lack of sleep and the ruin of the city, floored because people could suffer so much and still be beautiful. Yesterday, this experience was joyful. We were an arc of people stretching all the way across the altar, holding hands; it didn’t matter that many of us didn’t know each other. The musicians played "Were You There," which I thought was contrived for the occasion, but I lost myself in the music nonetheless. Bill went around and laid hands on each of us, prayed for us, anointed us. It wasn't the prayer I knew from school, but similar, and he varied it; he thanked God for my life and ministry. He wore a ring that held the chrism, which I didn't see until he was almost right next to me; I couldn't figure out what he was doing with his thumb on top of people's heads.

Please pay a her visit to read the whole thing. I am so absolutely grateful for all the folks who volunteer their help in New Orleans and who take the time to tell their stories.