More than a dozen churches came together today to distribute 38,000 lbs of food to families affected by the Gulf oil spill. Local fishermen can’t bring in their normal catch due to oil polluted waters in the Gulf resulting in low to no income, so today hundreds of families were treated to a week’s worth of free food. Angel Food Ministries provided the food but local Pastors coordinated volunteers to distribute the bounty. BlueStone was also a part of the distribution aiding Pastors and Churches in the coordinating and distributing of the food.

Estimators said that more than 650 families from the fishing communities were the recipients of the frozen meals. Steaks, chicken, hamburgers, and stews were just some of the items given away. Families were extremely grateful for the food and allowed the churches to pray for them as they went through the line. Not one Church took the credit for the event, but rather pointed out that it was the Church of St. Bernard showing the love of Jesus to our community.

Earlier local Pastors met to implement a crisis ministry for the fishermen and their families. Local Government has give us permission to enter restricted areas where fishermen gather four times a day for briefings and meals so we can offer them hope and provide a listening ear. A local Christian Counselor provided a refresher course on crisis counseling and the art  of active listening. 25 local pastors and ministers signed up to take part in the crisis ministry.

We are also working on holding three family events hosted by all the churches in St. Bernard to help bring the peace of Jesus to the fishing families facing the oil crisis.

It was a great day to be a part of the Church of St. Bernard. Psalm 133