Surely there is not one of you who have not witnessed the stories and pictures of Hurricane Katrina and its nearly incomprehensible devastation. The unspeakable suffering of so many is heart wrenching.

And we know it may get worse before it gets better. We may be unable to take in the magnitude of the destruction and we may be confused and angered by what seemed to be the delayed response of our government.

However, now is the time to act concretely to help those most in need. Now is the time to put feet to our prayers. Please join us in making a financial contribution to the disaster relief effort. There are many worthy organizations—choose one and make your contribution now if you haven’t done so already. There are many ways to help, but unless you are able to go and volunteer, all the aid organizations are saying what they need most is cash.

We would like to suggest two options for your support:

• MCC has established a Hurricane Katrina MCC Relief Fund. All donations to this fund are tax-deductible under U.S. law. You may make a generous donation to this fund right now by visiting www.mccchurch.org and follow the links to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Center , or you can simply click on the "Make A Donation" link and then select "Disaster Relief" under "Campaigns."
  
  Checks and money orders may be sent by postal mail to:
  
  Hurricane Katrina MCC Relief Fund
  Metropolitan Community Churches
  8704 Santa Monica Boulevard, 2nd floor
  West Hollywood , CA 90069

• The American Red Cross is already in action, and will continue to provide food, clothing, shelter, transportation and medical supplies over the coming weeks. You may make an on-line donation at www.redcross.org.

Thank you for your continued generosity and for the many ways in which you show your support.

Peace,
Kharma