Bayou Blue looks for
God’s light amidst disaster
By Edward Terry, The Layman, June 11, 2010
Images of oil-soaked pelicans are the most common examples of how the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is affecting the region.
The image that’s more difficult to capture, however, is the human toll – unless one visits the Bayou Blue Presbyterian Church in Gray, La. The small congregation derives its livelihood from the endangered marshes of southern Louisiana.
Local jobs have disappeared, dependable food sources have been harmed and the threat of hurricane season looms while the oil continues to spill from a damaged pipe at the bottom of the ocean.
Yet the Rev. Kristina Peterson, who is a long-time environmental activist, is preaching a message of hope at Bayou Blue, she said.
“We’ve been talking about how do we keep hope; how do we keep the vision of Christ in renewing not only ourselves, but not letting ourselves become bitter and angry,” she said. “We need to practice forgiveness … otherwise, we can become our own worst enemies.”
Grace and forgiveness toward the source of the environmental disaster is in short supply these days. Among the sad scenes that Peterson has witnessed is fishing boats, usually escorted by squawking seagulls looking for food, quietly trolling the waters skimming the oil from the water surface. 
Pre-oil spill, Ani Philippe, Rosina Philippe, Ruby Ancar, Gaynel Gassert and Shirley Laska sort shrimp on the Grand Bayou – a community event of sharing resources.
“The oil was dripping from the sides of these boats,” she said. “No birds could be seen anywhere. The smell was horrible. Where there should have been life and life-giving activity, it was silent.”
According to the Associated Press, an estimated 42 million to 100 million gallons of oil have flowed into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20. The Washington Post’s estimate is 53.6 million to 64.3 million gallons. The oil now washing ashore is threatening beaches, estuaries and especially wetlands along the Gulf Coast.
The economic disaster is quite real as well, and in places like Gray, La., the effects are long-term. South Louisiana Presbytery Interim Executive Marvin Groote, who came to the region earlier this year from Iowa, is seeing it first-hand.
“Last report I received was that many of them (at Bayou Blue PC) are now unemployed with no hope of continuing in the fishing industry in their lifetime,” he said. “There is no way we can minimize the impact on the people and the communities involved. It is more massive than anything I have ever seen in my life.”
The region knows about recovery. Still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and additional damaging storms that followed, the oil spill disaster comes at a precarious time. Funds for aid aren’t exactly abundant, and traditional “volunteer” opportunities aren’t readily available.
Groote traveled the region to determine what has to happen and said that the presbytery is working on ways to reach out to those affected. One goal is to establish a peer-to-peer counseling network, which would bring in staff to train people to deal with their own problems and the problems of their neighbors. Related Story
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“They would counsel each other,” Groote said, adding that the project would involve ecumenical partners as well.
If they need a good example, they can look to Bayou Blue for inspiration. Describing the small congregation as one of the most remarkable she’s ever worked with, Peterson said for years the group has been supporting hurricane recovery groups and each other.
By sharing resources and praying for each other, the community pulled through previous disasters, and plans to do the same through this one. Still trying to determine exactly what the region will need for its recovery, Peterson is focusing on a hunger program that assists residents with gardening and raising chickens, as well as the peer-to-peer work.
While the entire nation watches the Gulf Coast environmental disaster unfold, Peterson is hoping that aid on a national level will come in two ways: financial support of recovery efforts and prayer.
“We know this is going to be a long haul,” she said. “Prayer for discernment, wisdom and binding the entire region in God’s love is what we need.”