Dateline: February 6, 2006

Hurricane Katrina! Everyone in America is familiar with the images that were burned into our collective memory: the frightening storms; the stressful evacuation; the broken levees and flooded city; the daring rooftop rescues; the desperate Superdome tragedy; the destruction and death. Those of us not from the Gulf region were horrified to watch the events unfold, but the TV and newspaper images only gave us a glimpse of the cold reality as families were broken up and scattered across the country — homeless, jobless and in dire need.

Five months later, recovery is far from over. There are countless stories that never made the evening news. This is the story of how teenagers in New Orleans picked themselves up from the hurricane's unsettling displacement and went on with their lives.

The high schools of the Archdiocese of New Orleans were, for the most part, damaged and unusable. Katrina hit the region just as football teams were preparing for the fall season. Many teens became homeless and separated from their parents, who were away seeking job opportunities in neighboring states. Faced with this instability, the archdiocese made the decision to get the students back in school as soon as possible, to keep them busy with their education. But, with most of the schools flooded out, where would the 3,000-plus teenagers go?

Archbishop Rummel High School in nearby Metarie graciously opened its doors to Holy Cross, Saint Mary's Dominican, Brother Martin, Usruline Academy, Sacred Heart, Mount Carmel Academy, and several other flood-damaged high schools. The new Archbishop Rummel Transitional School, nicknamed "Rummel T," began its first sessions in mid-September. Suddenly, students from all-boys or all-girls institutions found themselves studying side-by-side with school rivals in a first-time co-ed situation. In order to make it work, a unique schedule was utilized, with half the student body going to school from 6:30am to Noon, and the other half attending from 1:30pm to 6:00pm.

"We pulled this (transitional) school together, complete with faculty, students and curriculum, in about five days," said Gary Ault, a teacher of religion at Rummel T. "It has been a marvelous experience. The spirit is good and the kids are so cooperative as they cope day-to-day with the many issues of hurricane recovery."

With such a tight schedule and curriculum, there was no time for clubs and extra-curricular activities. Gary was trying to come up with a way to acknowledge and celebrate the students' accommodating spirit. A solution came when he chaperoned the teens of his parish youth ministry at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Atlanta last October. By pure chance, we bumped into each other at NCYC in the crowded exhibit area. Gary is a founding member of the Dameans, one of the original singing groups of the Folk Mass era in the 1960s (see sidebar story in my blog page). We hadn't seen each other in over twenty years and I invited him and his youth group to a concert that Jesse Manibusan and I were giving at the conference. After they checked us out, Gary invited us to visit New Orleans.

Jesse and I cleared our schedules shortly after the New Year so we could be with the students of Rummel T. Oregon Catholic Press took care of travel and other expenses. Jesse and I were given a tour of the area, and we were shocked to see how much of the city was still deserted, with no power and water, and countless homes with boarded up windows and tattered roofs. On January 5, we arrived at Rummel T to set up the concert.

You know how cliquish some students can be, always chilling with only their own crowd? At Rummel T, I was amazed to see students from different schools hanging out with each other in the lunchroom. How could I tell? All the students were wearing the uniforms of their home schools. The rainbow mixture of brown, red, blue, grey and other uniform colors was a powerful witness of their openness to each other.

The gym was filled to overflowing as we started the concert. At first, the students sat politely as Jesse and I launched into our opening songs. I was told that many of these kids had never experienced a Christian concert before and didn't know what to expect. They got into it soon enough, when we sang Lord, I Lift Your Name On High, with everybody joining us on the song's famous hand gestures. Eventually, even the reluctant ones sitting in the rafters were dancing along as the student body got into the celebration.

A Jesse & Ken concert is more than just music. We prayed. We told jokes. We shared stories. Jesse's tale of a man who had lost his sister brought nods of recognition from many in the crowd. I told my "Get the Door!" parable and encouraged the students to continue opening doors to others after their Rummel T adventure is over. Most of all, Jesse and I affirmed the young people in their brave journey. These five months had been challenging and difficult. It was time to celebrate! The multi-uniformed students on the gym floor rushed the stage as we all sang together Lean On Me, MC God, and Fish With Me.

I'm used to hearing compliments after concerts, with people expressing thanks for an inspiring time of praise and worship. At Rummel T there was a turnabout as Jesse and I gave thanks to our audience for the way they inspired us. I will never forget the students' enthusiasm, their openness, and their cheerfulness under such trying conditions. The Sprit of God was alive and well at Rummel T!