'Reach down and show mercy'

Catherine Keen, wife of Patrick Keen, pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran, an African American congregation in downtown New Orleans, is struggling with the terrible predicament of members and neighbors, friends and family.

She feels guilty that she has a roof over her head but still worries about what lies ahead for herself and her husband. For now they are staying with her sister in Houston.

No longer is Keen concerned about material things, like her house. “Why should I worry about my house? It doesn’t matter. I’m just praying and asking God to please reach down and show mercy. I need him to make this go away. I feel like he has forsaken us.”

Keen, who has cancer, wonders if she will ever go back home to New Orleans.

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