Newark Bishop Mark Beckwith and Marilyn Beckwith joined most of the other bishops, their spouses and invited guests as they put down their pens and microphones and picked up work tools Sept. 22 to lend a hand in Gulf Coast recovery efforts during a break from the House of Bishops and bishops’ spouses meetings in New Orleans.

"God bless your family in your new home. We love you."

That was one of the many prayers and Bible verses that cover the walls of the framed-up house on Sixth Street, one of the devastated streets behind Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral on St. Charles Avenue. The words were written by the people who have worked on the 10th house that Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative has built.

Jericho Road, begun by the Diocese of Louisiana and funded in part by Episcopal Relief and Development, aims to develop new or newly renovated homes in New Orleans' Central City neighborhood as it brokers larger low-income housing collaborations with funding partners and residents.
While the work done on Sept. 22 contributed to the efforts of New Orleanians and Mississippians to rebuild their lives and their communities after the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005, the day had other purposes as well.

At a news conference the day before, Mississippi Bishop Duncan Gray said he hoped that the Day of Service would be helpful in "interpreting the discussions within the context of mission." Louisiana Bishop Charles Jenkins said he hoped the work day would show that "people of good will and faith stand for the dignity of humanity, … [and] even in the midst of our disagreements we stand strongly for all of God's people."

Beckwith, pausing from his work at the Sixth Street house, said the previous two days of meetings with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and members of the Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates of the Anglican Communion had brought the bishops "a lot of information to digest" and the work day was giving them "some breathing space to sort that through."

"This is what the gospel is about," Beckwith said, pointing to the bishops and their spouses, some Louisiana State University honor students and crew managers at work on the home.

“Jericho Road has been very creative not only in building houses, but in building relationships in this city to make the best impact and have the best possible outcome in terms of housing development and community organizing so that people in the city can not only claim their neighborhoods but represent their neighborhoods and speak for them,” Beckwith told Episcopal Life Online. “There’s been a real vacuum of leadership in local neighborhoods, I’m told, and this is one example how that might be built up in a good way.”

The Day of Service, organized with the help of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, faced some uncertainty earlier during the House of Bishops meeting as weather forecasters and the meeting's planning committee began to monitor a weather system in the Caribbean. However, the storm weakened into a tropical depression before it hit land about 10 miles northeast of Pensacola, Fla., around 10 p.m. local time on Sept. 21. The next day dawned sunny with a few clouds, and the work day proceeded as planned.

Bishop Mark Beckwith laughs with Brad Powers of the Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative during a break from house-building work Sept. 22 in New Orleans during the House of Bishops' Day of Service. ENS photo/Mary Frances Schjonberg

Bishop Mark Beckwith took up his hammer on Sept. 22 in New Orleans during the House of Bishops' Day of Service. ENS photo/Mary Frances Schjonberg

Bishop Mark Beckwith and Marilyn Beckwith (in pink shirt) work with Arizona Bishop Kirk Smith's wife to staple Tyvek to a house they helped build Sept. 22 in New Orleans during the House of Bishops' Day of Service. ENS photo/Mary Frances Schjonberg

Bishop Mark Beckwith and Marilyn Beckwith joined other bishops and their spouses to help build one of Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative's homes Sept. 22 in New Orleans during the House of Bishops' Day of Service. ENS photo/Mary Frances Schjonberg

Marilyn Beckwith gets some steadying hands as she climbs a ladder to hit the high spots while installing Tyvek to a house she helped build Sept. 22 in New Orleans during the House of Bishops' Day of Service. ENS photo/Mary Frances Schjonberg

Bishop Mark Beckwith helps unroll Tyvek for a house he and others helped build Sept. 22 in New Orleans during the House of Bishops' Day of Service. ENS photo/Mary Frances Schjonberg