Tornadoes tear through Alabama - Anglican Rite Catholics help victims

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. 4 May 2011 (ACNS) - While most of America seemed to be swooning over the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and cheering the death of Osama bin Laden, most Alabamians were picking up the pieces after what was perhaps the worst tornado outbreak in history. As many as 150 or more tornadoes ripped through Alabama on the 27th of April. Some of these reached strength of EF-5, the highest category, with winds over 200 mph. Many people lost their homes. There were many deaths. All of North Alabama was left without power for days, and some without telephone. The devastation was immense.



What is left of a home in one of the worst hit areas.

Cardinal Johnson, Patriarch of the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church, was present throughout the day of storms, and while he escaped damage and injury, it brought back memories of his own experience as a tornado survivor more than twenty years ago. "We had an EF-5 tornado pass right over our house, imploding the windows and causing major damage," he said. "It picked up our dog, who survived with only minimal injury. It flattened several of the houses behind us down to the foundation. When I toured some of the most affected areas, it brought back many memories."  

A neighborhood ravaged by a tornado.

Even in the worst of time, the human spirit has a tendency to shine through. Well before FEMA started operations, Alabamians took care of the situation. The government, church and civic groups, and scores of volunteers turned out immediately to help out. Neighbors helped neighbors.

Cardinal Johnson arrives at a the scene
of destruction from an EF-5 tornado.

The volunteer spirit is immense. People volunteered their time and resources to use their skills to help those in need. Anglican Rite Catholics, operating largely through the Church's humanitarian wing, the Anglo-Catholic Relief Service, provided help in the affected areas through clean-up, information services, assistance for medical responders, food delivery, and more. Anglican Rite Catholic volunteers worked alongside those from other churches and faith based and civic organizations, as well as people who just walked into the volunteer coordination center asking what they could do to help.



The tornado and the resulting power outage left many with food and other supplies, even if their homes did not sustain any damage. Anglican Rite Catholics, including Cardinal Johnson, joined local volunteers at a faith-based organization in distributing food all over North Alabama.

Cardinal Johnson delivers food to those left in need
after the tornado, one of many volunteers helping out.

Relief workers have come from all over the country, even as far away as Los Angeles. Those who wish to contribute financially may consider a donation to the American Red Cross, marked for the tornado disaster fund. Much is needed to achieve a recovery, not the least of which is prayer. In time, the buildings will be rebuilt and the area cleaned, and life will return to normal. The memories and the emotions, however, will always remain.

Tornado Disaster Relief

MADISON COUNTY, Ala. 2 May 2011 (ACNS) - Members of the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church are participating in the disaster relief effort in Alabama following the devastating tornado outbreak last week. Unfortunately, both An Anglo-Catholic Sunday and the Patriarchal Easter Address will be delayed. Please consider donating funds to the effort through the American Red Cross. And, of course, contribute through prayer.

A GREAT new spiritual book!

A review by

Rutherford Card. Johnson

of

I have had very little time for discretionary reading these days, so when I not only read a book, but call it a page turner, that ought to say something. That is precisely what I would call A Time To... by Ronald Louis Peterson. The novel claims to be a baby boomer's spiritual journey, and it is just that. But, the message is one that ought to resonate with every man, woman, and child, no matter what their age.

A Time To... tells the story of Al Masterson, a man working in the World Trade Center on that fateful September 11th in 2001. He is trapped in the building, close to death, and is mysteriously taken on a journey of his whole life. It begins when he is a young boy who just moved to New York from Kentucky and continues on through being a Peace Corps volunteer to a media professional. He experiences many ups and downs, and even some personal crises and tragedies. He goes through several tries at self-discovery. As he progresses through his life, he becomes acutely aware of the deeper meaning of everything he experienced. Even those terrible times in his life turned out to be mechanism for spiritual growth that helped to make his life better. Al learns that what seems bad at one particular moment in time may actually have a greater purpose according to God's plan. We cannot hope to understand the vast magnitude of that plan, and thus must go forward in faith. This is the lesson that Al learns.

As the story progresses, Al comes back to the present time, where he is still trapped in the World Trade Center. I will not give away the interesting ending, as that would truly spoil the book. However, suffice it to say that he finds through the spiritual journey he took just what a great, wonderful, and positive impact his life experiences have had, not just on himself, but on those whose lives he has touched in ways he did not even know. 

Ronald Louis Peterson drew on his own experience growing up in New York, working as a Peace Corp volunteer in Ethiopia, and as a media and public affairs professional. This gives the book a great deal of realism. Also, the novel is filled with historical facts from the various periods of Al Masterson's life. While some younger readers might not know about all of these events, I do not believe this detracts from the message of the story at all. Whether young or old, and no matter where you are in your own faith journey, A Time To... will speak to your heart.

Statement by the Metropolitan on the Japanese Earthquake

Ash Wednesday Metropolitan Address released

9 Mar. 2011 (ACNS) - The video of the Metropolitan Address for Ash Wednesday has been released. In the address, Archbishop Johnson discusses success in church growth, social responsibility of people and especially of worldwide government leadership, and proposes a number of intentions that should be especially prayed for during Lent.

Failure is fast becoming an unpleasant reality

Editorial

By Keith Patrick Steinhurst

SAN ANTONIO 5 Mar. 2011 (ACNS) - Interestingly enough, the only word in standard English usage to have the letters UFA in order, in the word is "manufacture" - we don't do enough of that in our Country any more - in fact (based on the book, "Failure is Not an Option" by Gene Kranz, we could have gone to Mars based on our Apollo technology functioning in 1972, but we lost the will, got into the 'bus' business, lost the infrastructure as well as the engineers to fabricate a program, and no longer even posess a complete set of technical documents for the Saturn V heavy lift launch vehicle. If we started today it would take us more than 20 years just to get back to where we were in '72 - really sad . . .I find it a microcosm of the macrocosm - we are broke, morally, insitutionally, and sytemically - perhaps individually we can effect some small change within our own spheres of influence, but by and large, we are witnessing our national decline . . .

Our grandfather's generation was perhaps the single, most ingenious and prosperous generation in our Nation's history - in the words of my late bishop - the one who ordered me and was himself a member of that generation, a veteran of WWII and Korea - they 'built the machine,' 'understood it,' could 'operate' it, and as needed, 'repair' it - they passed it to the 'boomers' (our father's generation) who neither built it, nor understood it, but could operate it and perhaps fix it. It is now left to us, operating, but in a growing state of disrepair, the design and even the reasons for its creation largely unknown or misunderstood. This is the legacy we leave our children who don't know how to fix it as they do not know what is broken and are content to let it operate on cruise until it breaks as they seem oblivious to the potential danger in failure. This takes us back to Kranz's posit - failure is not an option - but it is fast becoming an unpleasant reality . . .

College fraternities raise ethical questions

Editorial

By Wanda Deffenbaugh, ORSS(T)

25 Feb 2011 (ACNS) - Mention a college fraternity, and the first image in the minds of many is a drunken collection of oversexed college men as seen in movies like Animal House. While fraternities typically claim to be about the character development of young men, the behavior of their members and of the organizations in general often raise questions about the true ethics of such programs. Fraternities in general have suffered problems that would be expected when such young men, barely more than children, are put in control of the local chapter frat house. Excessive hazing, even sometimes resulting in severe injury, psychological damage, or even death have occurred, especially during the 1980s and 1990s.

The '80s and '90s were known in the fraternity world for their out-of-control nature. A former member of Phi Kappa Sigma (aka "The Skull House") Alpha Nu Chapter at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) stated that things were well beyond wild there in the 1990s to the point that he would not consider it a worthwhile organization. Another student spoke of drunken parties he claimed to witness at the Phi Kappa Sigma house in which underaged drinking was allegedly promoted. Similar allegations were made against the Chi Phi fraternity by a student who witnessed freshmen pledges allegedly being required to supply alcohol, as well as apparent heavy promotion of underaged drinking. This same student witnessed a party at the Chi Phi house in which two police officers were standing outside the door, apparently blind to what was going on inside. Other fraternities at numerous universities have been expelled, suspended, or otherwise disciplined for excessive and underaged drinking. The matter was apparently so significant that some fraternities seemed to realize that they had better clean up their act or risk the future of their organization. The national office of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity instituted the so-called "Dry Skulls" policy, making it against the rules to possess or consume alcohol in the fraternity house.

Even ignoring the issues of drinking and hazing, the question still remains as to whether or not fraternities in general truly serve the purpose that they claim to serve. Critics of the "Greek System" in general say that fraternities are simply "buying friends." Indeed, while members of fraternities may forge lifelong friendships, there is no reason why those same individuals cannot make lifelong friends outside of a fraternity. Perhaps fraternities prey on the insecurities of young freshmen just arrived at college who have not, of course, yet developed a social network. Along these lines is the criticism of the recruitment process, saying that it is called "Rush Week" because they attempt to rush you into joining before you really have time to think it through.

Fraternities also are criticized for being nothing more than party organizations rather than service organizations. Their main purpose is social, and while they may engage in some charity or service projects, this cannot be used to mask their negative aspects. For example, Phi Kappa Sigma purports to be "Men of Honor," yet their earlier apparent drinking problems hardly lend credence to that theory. Neither did some of their apparent recruitment practices. One legacy reported that he was denied entry into the fraternity for apparent reasons of religious and other discrimination. Attempts to handle the matter with the national office were reported to be unsuccessful.

No organization is without its problems. Campus organizations, even fraternities, can be good experiences for students. However, all such organizations have a responsibility to behave in an ethical and legal manner in their recruitment process and in how they treat their members, new and old. For example, one fraternity, Delta Upsilon, is reported to have a "no hazing, no secrets" policy to help deal with these issues. Perhaps the other Greek Societies on college campuses should take a lesson from them.