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Survivors
Storm Story: Pastor Terry
Surviving the Hurricane
Pastor Jerome N. Terry of Bethlehem Lutheran Church lived on Louisa Drive and did not evacuate when Katrina hit, so he would be able to aid his congregants that did not have the means to evacuate themselves.
On Monday evening (the day of the storm) the water subsided, but as darkness fell the streets began to flood again. Pastor Terry and his wife slept in total darkness and stifling heat that night and hoped for restored electricity the next day. When they woke up on Tuesday morning, their house was flooded with six inches of water and rising. Deciding to evacuate, they gathered a few essentials and left the house in the hopes of finding their daughter, who worked as a civilian police employee and was still in the city.
Walking from their home to access Interstate 10, one of the only dry routes above the floodwater, they encountered water which was chest-high for Mrs. Terry. As they made their way towards downtown New Orleans they asked a nearby officer to radio their daughter and tell her they were all right, but the officer informed them that radio communication was down. A second officer offered them a ride to wherever they wanted to go, so Pastor Terry asked to be driven to the Post Office where he’d worked, but it was locked when they arrived.
“Where do you want to go now?” the officer asked.
Distraught, Pastor Terry replied, “Man, I have no idea.”
The officer brought them to the Police Command center on Canal Street. Once Pastor Terry got out of the car, he was tackled by his daughter. Reunited, the three and 10 young women who were also civilian employees of the Police Department remained in the city for one more night.
Evacuation
The next day, a police officer came with the word, “A bus is coming to take everyone out.” But when asked when the bus would arrive, the officer admitted he didn’t know. “See ya,” Pastor replied without hesitation. He, his family, and three of the 10 young women began to proceed out of the city towards the Mississippi River bridge leading to the West Bank.
A cab driver saw them walking up the ramp to the bridge and took them four miles out of the city. Soon he dropped them off; two more trucks took them a total of 27 miles.
A final truck driver brought them all the way to his home, 70 more miles to Centerville, LA. His wife cooked for them and they took showers and rested. Pastor Terry rented a vehicle in Morgan City and later that evening drove to Houston, TX to find his other two daughters, grandchildren and son-in-law. They spent the night in Houston and the next day drove to Dallas where they united with more family.
After staying in Dallas for a week, the Terry family drove up to St. Louis, staying with friends for a week. They were then surprised by a 3-bedroom apartment, fully furnished, at the Concordia Lutheran Seminary.
“They provided us with a place we could call home,” says Pastor Terry. “And I am ever so grateful to Concordia St. Louis.”
Rev. Terry now leads his congregation, Bethel Lutheran, in worship at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (next to Camp Restore) along with members of Prince of Peace. Bethel’s church building, heavily damaged by Katrina, was demolished in 2009.