History of Pass Christian and Trip Overview
*** This post is a rough draft with some data that needs to be verified, and links and pictures updated. ***
October 20th, 2005, was a day that I had been anxiously (and somewhat nervously) awaiting. It was the day I was to leave for Pass Christian, Mississippi. Pass Christian was a quaint, very historically rich town of about 7,000 people in southwestern Mississippi. Known (but not too well known) for its culture and rich heritage, the Pass, as it was affectionately called by its residents, held a special place in the hearts of many people across the country.
Pass Christian was also memorable as being the hardest hit single town in the entire country during the onslaught of Hurricane Camille in 1969. Camille, the worst storm to ever hit the region, set the benchmark for hurricane resiliency in construction.
Unfortunately, Camille is no longer on record as the strongest storm to hit the Pass. On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina pounded the Pass with 130 mile an hour winds and an incredible 30 foot storm surge. Once again, this beautiful town in southern Mississippi was assigned the fateful title of hardest hit city in the country.
The devastation wrought by Katrina was worse in Pass than words can even really assign. Official figures listed residential destruction at 91%, and even for those few remaining structures, rising floodwaters and the storm surge wiped out most of the contents and lead to rust and mold on nearly everything in the town.
Trinity Church was one of several of the more beloved historical icons, until Camille destroyed the building. In 1971, Trinity was rebuilt. Katrina, however, did not spare the church, and all that remains is an empty shell. Although the physical church building was destroyed, the fellowship of Christ remained, and the church became a focal point for civilian/volunteer disaster recovery.
One of Trinity's efforts at recovery is a joint program with Campus Crusade for Christ, an international college-age ministry of Jesus Christ. Crusade has been organizing relief trips throughout the region, and the contact point at the University of Minnesota selected the Pass Christian trip for us to attend.
As the trip grew closer, I became both unbearably excited and somewhat nervous. As our team leader put it, we were walking into a huge "question mark." We weren't sure exactly where we would be working or sleeping, or what we would be doing. The only thing that was definite was that we would be dealing with absolute devastation.
October 20th, 2005, was a day that I had been anxiously (and somewhat nervously) awaiting. It was the day I was to leave for Pass Christian, Mississippi. Pass Christian was a quaint, very historically rich town of about 7,000 people in southwestern Mississippi. Known (but not too well known) for its culture and rich heritage, the Pass, as it was affectionately called by its residents, held a special place in the hearts of many people across the country.
Pass Christian was also memorable as being the hardest hit single town in the entire country during the onslaught of Hurricane Camille in 1969. Camille, the worst storm to ever hit the region, set the benchmark for hurricane resiliency in construction.
Unfortunately, Camille is no longer on record as the strongest storm to hit the Pass. On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina pounded the Pass with 130 mile an hour winds and an incredible 30 foot storm surge. Once again, this beautiful town in southern Mississippi was assigned the fateful title of hardest hit city in the country.
The devastation wrought by Katrina was worse in Pass than words can even really assign. Official figures listed residential destruction at 91%, and even for those few remaining structures, rising floodwaters and the storm surge wiped out most of the contents and lead to rust and mold on nearly everything in the town.
Trinity Church was one of several of the more beloved historical icons, until Camille destroyed the building. In 1971, Trinity was rebuilt. Katrina, however, did not spare the church, and all that remains is an empty shell. Although the physical church building was destroyed, the fellowship of Christ remained, and the church became a focal point for civilian/volunteer disaster recovery.
One of Trinity's efforts at recovery is a joint program with Campus Crusade for Christ, an international college-age ministry of Jesus Christ. Crusade has been organizing relief trips throughout the region, and the contact point at the University of Minnesota selected the Pass Christian trip for us to attend.
As the trip grew closer, I became both unbearably excited and somewhat nervous. As our team leader put it, we were walking into a huge "question mark." We weren't sure exactly where we would be working or sleeping, or what we would be doing. The only thing that was definite was that we would be dealing with absolute devastation.
posted by captomner | 6:30 PM
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