hope and change

For our most recent meeting, we talked about our special interest areas for the Youth Gathering. Many of us will be working with environmental issues and some of us will be working with issues of wealth and poverty. Overall, we talked about what we knew about these topics and what has changed in the past few years. Since Katrina, one of the biggest changes has been that the problems are no longer hidden. This made people all around rethink how they connected with God's creation and with God's people.



We took some time to make a collage that reflected hope, change, the environment, and wealth/poverty. As we came to the end of our time, we talked about how we were each able to make a difference ourselves.



(click on the photo to see it larger.)

French Quarter: Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral

Jackson Square - a rectangular plot of land, approximately the size of a city-block, is the site of the original settlement of New Orleans by the French Mississippi Company.

At that time it was known as Place d'Armes. It was designed in 1721 and originally served as military parade grounds and later as a market place and site for executions. Today it is a well manicured park and the spiritual center of the French Quarter.

Surrounding the park is a pedestrian plaza. Diverse artists rent space and hang their works on the fence, and jazz musicians, tarot card readers, and clowns entertain tourists.

In the picture - Saint Louis Cathedral - the oldest, continuously operating cathedral in the United States and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.

King Cake

One of the most popular foods during Mardi Gras is the king cake. It is traditionally sold in bakeries, grocery stores and delis from January 6 to Ash Wednesday. Locals and visitors eat king cake for breakfast, coffee break, and dessert. The tradition of king cake dates back to the Middle Ages when a popular devotion during Christmas was placed on the Three Wise Men who followed the North Star to find baby Jesus. The twelfth night after the birth of Christ marks the end of Christmas and the celebration of Epiphany. Twelfth Night in some cultures became a time for pageants and giving special presents to children. Along with gifts came the celebratory cake, or king cake. Today's king cake is a confection made of braided Danish pastry, laced with cinnamon. It is always iced in the Mardi Gras colors of purple which represents justice, green which stands for faith and gold which represents power. Hidden in each king cake is a tiny plastic baby. The person who finds the baby must buy the next king cake or host the next party. Contemporary king cakes are often filled with cream cheese, fruit fillings, such as apple or strawberry, and other fillings.

Cresent City Connection

This is a picture of the Crescent City Connection which is also known as the Greater New Orleans Bridge. They are twin cantilever bridges that carry U.S. Route 90 Business over the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, they are the tied as the 5th longest cantilever bridges in the world.

"Misty Mornings"

In New Orleans, vintage electric rail cars are referred to as "street cars," never "trolleys." This distinct terminology reflects the pride that people from New Orleans take in being the first city west of the Allegheny Mountains to implement passenger rail service, which existed 60 years before the trolley. Of the several lines that run through the city, some feature maghonoy seats and exposed light bulbs, constantly reminding its riders of the town's rich history.

Photographer : Louis Sahuc

http://www.photoworksneworleans.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=267

Purpose/Photo

This was taken during my trip to New Orleans last year... we had just finished cleaning up our second lot. Yes, I had short hair back then.

As for the purpose of why I'm going back to New Orleans, I can say it in one phrase: the work is not done. It wasn't done when I left last year and it's not done now. Hell, it may never be done. But as long as work still needs to be done at all, people should do whatever they can.

superdome

Here's a photo of the Superdome, where people took refuge after Hurricane Katrina and where many of our youth gathering events will be taking place.

See the original photo here.