Pastors Frustrated Over No Money Reaching Churches
Bishop T.D. Jakes is angry and frustrated that none of the millions of dollars of the Bush-Clinton Fund set apart for the Christian community affected by Katrina reached the victims.
One of America's most influential Christian leaders, Bishop T.D. Jakes, is angry and frustrated that none of the millions of dollars of the Bush-Clinton Fund set apart for the Christian community affected by Katrina reached the victims.
"I am annoyed. I am frustrated. I am angry," said Jakes, co-chairman of an advisory panel for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, according to The Washington Post.
Of the $110 million collected in private funds, the fourth largest share of donations received for hurricane relief efforts, former President Clinton and George H.W. Bush allocated $20 million for faith organizations and churches struck by the hurricane along the Gulf Coast. Jakes and the Rev. William H. Gray III were commissioned to head the Inter-Faith Katrina Relief Fund to aid religious groups which have been provided unprecedented assistance since the landfall of Katrina.
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Not a dime of the funds, however, has been allocated, according to recent reports.
"We need to focus more on rebuilding our country," said Jakes, senior pastor of the 30,000-member The Potter's House in Dallas, Tx.
The two pastors and other members of the advisory panel held hearings in December with more than 2,000 pastors from across the Gulf Coast region to discuss ways of apportioning the grant. Church leaders gave testimonies of the hardships faced in the wake of Katrina and filled out applications for a share of the funds, but they have yet to receive any money.
"It is really embarrassing," said Bishop Paul Morton, pastor of the 20,000-member Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, according to The Washington Post. "We had all of these preachers coming together, about 2,000 filled out applications and there is still no money. They are all blaming Bishop Jakes, but he doesn't have the authority over the money. It is not his fault."
Grants have already begun to reach universities and colleges along the Gulf Coast, with most of the checks from the $30 million having gone out, according to the Bush-Clinton fund spokesman Bill Pierce. A decision has not yet been made over which church or organization will receive the $20 million. Pierce said it was "a bit more challenging" to decide how to distribute the grants among the much larger number of churches.
Many criticized the sluggish federal response with President George W. Bush acknowledging the botches in a recent Katrina report. Criticism is now aimed at private funds that have followed the same snail trail. Gray credited Bush for remembering religious institutions are part of the building process, but stressed the essence of time.
"Every minute is critical," he said.
Jakes, one of America's most influential Christians, similarly echoed that things are moving too slowly in delivering help to the faith groups.
"The churches are the embassies that our people run to for help, and you have an unprecedented amount of people who now need help," he said, according to the Washington daily. "Children are displaced; they can't find their parents. The country should be embarrassed by its slow response."
Expressing frustration, he added, "We need this money. This is the tip of the iceberg; we need a lot more money than the Bush-Clinton Katrina fund can deliver."
