A family devastated by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina has found a blessing in the congregations of New Hope, Jamaica, and Resurrection, St. Albans, Queens.

      Stan and Lisa Pryor had been relocated from New Orleans to New York City via Houston after their home was destroyed. They were being housed through a Red Cross program in a hotel near these two churches. At the end of October, when the housing program ended, the family had nowhere to go, and ended up on the street. Mom was due to deliver her baby, Fantasia, any day.

      A neighbor of New Hope told Pr. Brenda Smith about the family and the church couldn't help but respond. Pr. Smith, known for her social action and response to those in need, immediately contacted Pr. Marcia Parkinson at Resurrection, which had an empty apartment.

      "I can't tell you the pain and suffering we went through until we met Pr. Smith and Pr. Parkinson," said Stan Pryor. He and his wife were worn out from all the turmoil in their lives since September. They only got one meal a day at the hotel, weren't receiving clothes promised to them, and didn't know where other family members were. "We were very tired," recalls Stan, "I didn't want to go on anymore."

      But meeting Pr. Smith and Pr. Parkinson was the work of God, they say, and has made all the difference in their lives. While the Pryors had lost faith in God years ago and had stopped going to church, coming to New Hope was like coming home.

      "God brought me to a place in New York where I didn't know anybody. Then I met Pr. Smith. The first day walking into New Hope, I saw a bright light, and it was like I was home," said Pryor.  "I was in a new home, but it was like this place had always been my home."

      From this moment, the Pryors started rekindling their faith. Said Pryor: "I started reading the Bible. Pr. Parkinson gave me literature about the works of God, and I started believing again."

      And the people of New Hope and Resurrection were thrilled that their kindness made a difference for the Pryors.

      "If we say we are the church, then we can't turn people away,"? said Pr. Parkinson. "We looked at this as our ministry, and the church members realized that this could happen to any one of us."

      Since the apartment was in need of some TLC, members from both churches pitched in to paint and spruce it up.  For the past two months, the family has been happily living at the Resurrection apartment, relying on the church to pay utility and phone bills.

      In gratitude, the family has been worshipping at the churches, splitting their Sundays between services at New Hope and Resurrection. They hope to join New Hope soon.

      They're happy now to call Queens home now, and look forward to making a new life for themselves.

      "Our whole time of decline and suffering is dissipating. I couldn't have done this without Pr. Smith, Pr. Parkson and the two congregations," said Pryor.

      "I wish I could make clones of Pr. Smith and spread her throughout the world. There'd be more respect and love in the world, and more people would believe in God. The world would be a better place."?

      These two churches are just one example of the many ways MNYS Lutherans have responded to Katrina needs. MNYS Lutherans have donated more than $45,000 to the Katrina response, and even more to Lutheran Disaster Response, which has established itself as a leader in the response efforts.

      Donations from the Atlantic District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod totaled more than $15,000.