Navigation Back Search
Search

Disaster coordinator recalls Katrina

By Lilla Marigza
Aug. 1, 2025 | Bay St. Louis, Miss. (UM News)

The Rev. Terry Lynn Hilliard worked as a disaster relief coordinator following Hurricane Katrina. She also directed UMCOR’s response from Gulfside Assembly. She talks about how the tragedy touched the hearts of both survivors and volunteers. Video by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

E. Dwight Franklin helps with the gutting of his parents’ home in New Orleans six months after Hurricane Katrina. Virginia Tech student Ivy Gorman (background) was part of a team from her school working through the Louisiana United Methodist Storm Recovery Center during their spring vacation. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

The Rev. Terry Lynn Hilliard was the pastor of Pass Christian First United Methodist Church in Mississippi when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005. Hilliard and her husband had two small children at the time and their parsonage was destroyed.

Despite these challenges, Hilliard stepped up to become the United Methodist disaster response coordinator for the Mississippi Gulf Coast area. She also directed the construction of the volunteer center at Gulfside Assembly, which was vital to recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina. She reflects on how the storm touched the hearts of survivors and volunteers.

Marigza is a multimedia producer for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.

Related Tags

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now
Local Church
Volunteer Kalvin Davis helps a family select a tree from the artificial “tree farm” at Faith Community Church of Coopersville, Michigan, a United Methodist congregation. Video image by Lilla Marigza, UM News.

Artificial tree farm brings joy to families with special needs
United Methodist ministry provides a unique experience for families living with sensory issues, allergies or physical disabilities.
Local Church
Lisa Bowser (left), lay leader of Marshallton United Methodist Church in West Chester, Pa., speaks with Christian Boehnke as church members Neal Bowser and Jonah Eckert work in the background to renovate a disability access ramp at St. John United Methodist Church in Bridgeton, N.J. St. John is the fifth-oldest historically Native American church in the denomination. The two congregations have been sharing in ministry and fellowship since 2024 as part of Marshallton’s efforts to address racial injustice toward Indigenous people its area. Photo by David Eckert.

Church addresses historic injustice to Indigenous neighbors
A white Pennsylvania congregation has adopted a land acknowledgment statement and is walking alongside a Native American church in ministry and fellowship.
Faith Stories
The Rev. Øyvind Helliesen, a member of The United Methodist Church’s top court since 2016, died Nov. 25, 2025. At the time of his death, he was the Judicial Council’s vice president. Photo by Kristine Helliesen.

Øyvind Helliesen mourned as ‘sage’ amid tumult
The Rev. Øyvind Helliesen served on The United Methodist Church’s top court — providing crucial guidance to the denomination in a time of division and disaffiliations. He died at age 69.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2025 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved