Cold rain, sleet, snow, empty store shelves and persistent cold temperatures have made the past few days quite challenging for area residents. For our fellow citizens without adequate shelter or heat, the weather poses a deadly threat as rain worsens the effects of cold. Hypothermia and carbon monoxide have already claimed several lives in Louisiana.
The pastor and congregation of Natchitoches’ Trinity Episcopal Church saw a need and stepped in to fill it. Volunteers turned the church hall into a warming shelter where anyone is welcome to come in out of the cold. The church is also serving hot meals to anyone in need as well as helping with coats and blankets. Donations of coats for adults and children, sleeping bags and blankets have come in from residents and churches all over the city. It is truly a community effort.
In addition to Trinity Episcopal Church, the Red Cross is operating a warming shelter located at the Martin Luther King Recreational Center. The center is staffed by volunteers from the local area and from as far away as Baton Rouge. The center’s gym has been converted into a dormitory with cots and bedding.
One of the best things about living in a small town is that when trouble comes, so do your neighbors, ready to help. In a church hall and in a gym in Natchitoches, Louisiana, there is a microcosm of everything that is right and good about our country. People of every race and walk of life saw what needed to be done and came together to help their fellow Americans in need. On a bitterly cold night with freezing rain America was at its best.
