Ice-bound Catholics get warm feeling

In a scrape

Catholics in the Albany Diocese have dug deep into their pockets to raise a record amount of money to help the victims of the January ice storm that left much of northern New York a federal disaster area.

"Next to the Sisters' Retirement Fund, this is the largest single collection in the history of the Diocese," Bishop Howard J. Hubbard said last week as he presented a check for $200,000 to Bishop Paul Loverde of the Ogdensburg Diocese. The money was raised through a diocesan-wide second collection that was coordinated by Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese.

"The response to this appeal has been overwhelming," Bishop Hubbard said. "It was the spontaneous response of the people of our Diocese."

Useful

The money will be used by Catholic Charities of the Ogdensburg Diocese, which was originally part of the Albany Diocese.

"We've provided food, shelter, clothing and fuel," said Sister Donna Franklin, DC, executive director of Catholic Charities of Ogdensburg. "We did it on faith."

Many of the services provided by her agency were purchased with her own personal credit. Part of the funds raised in the Albany Diocese will be used for these bills; the remainder will provide ongoing services.

Long-term effects

"This is the third disaster in our Diocese," Sister Donna said. "There are long-term effects."

Other disasters the Ogdensburg Diocese has weathered include the microburst storm two years ago and flooding last year, Sister Donna said. Those natural disasters are particularly difficult on the predominately rural diocese, they said.

"What tugs at my heart are the farmers of the North Country," said Bishop Loverde. "They have been profoundly affected; they've had to kill their cows. The maple sugar industry was also affected. There's some fear about the alfalfa crop."

Devastation

Asked to describe the destruction the storm caused, Bishop Loverde said, "You had to see it. It looked like someone had gone through and taken the tops of the trees with a giant weed whacker."

Sister Donna added, "The utility poles were down like dominos."

While many people have had their electricity restored, others aren't expected to regain power until Feb. 8, Bishop Loverde said. "The whole infrastructure had to be built from ground zero," he said. "Between 10,000 and 30,000 [utility] poles were needed."

While the storm that brought devastation to the 12,000 square miles of the Ogdensburg Diocese has long past, its effects will last quite some time. "Chapter one is over," Bishop Loverde said. "It was the emergency. Chapter two is the aftermath -- people trying to cope with finances and stress."

Problems to face

Sister Donna said that many people have gone without two or three paychecks and now have cash-flow problems. Many farmers had to kill their cows because they weren't able to milk them. Other people chopped up furniture and decks in order to burn the wood for heat. Sister Donna expects many families to be in need of counseling services to deal with the stress the storm has caused.

Bishop Loverde said people hold their breath with each weather forecast. "The Farmer's Almanac predicted another ice storm was coming [that was] worse than the first," he said. "People were frightened."

Despite the destruction, people kept their spirits up. Bishop Loverde spoke of his visits to countless shelters and command centers, and said, "I did not hear one complaint. People said, 'We are warm and cared for.' One 80-year-old woman said: `It's rather like an adventure.'"

Spirit of love

The Bishop related stories of farmers who had generators lending them to farmers who didn't so that they could run the equipment used to milk cows; of the military personnel who worked countless hours; and the utility company employees who worked around the clock to restore service. Sister Donna added, "We had Amish going to the farms that relied on electricity to milk the cows."

While Bishop Loverde was impressed by the spirit of the people of his Diocese, he was also touched by the generosity of Catholics from the Albany Diocese.

"I don't know what words to say thank you," he said. "I am overwhelmed by the generosity. This local Church has revealed to us the love of God. We've been embraced in a sea of love."

Ogdensburg pitches in

The storm that devastated much of northern New York in January affected all aspects of people's lives, including their faith life.

Bishop Paul Loverde of the Ogdensburg Diocese said the Church tried to meet the spiritual needs of the people in some non-traditional ways.

"Immediately, we sent out word that the obligation for Sunday Mass was lifted," he said. "In some areas, this lasted for a second weekend. The priests went out to the shelters to hold ecumenical services and prayer services. There was a presence."

While the Ogdensburg Diocese continued to meet the spiritual needs of the people and is providing ongoing assistance through Catholic Charities, it was involved in the aftermath of the storm in other ways as well. "Our Catholic schools became shelters," the Bishop said.

He even sheltered people at his own home. "The city of Ogdensburg had various amounts of outage," he explained. "The Cathedral was out of power, but the house I live in was out for only seven hours. I was personally not out in the cold." (MM)

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