Become a member
of this relief organisation for New Orleans, please.
INVITATION for membership in our enlarged Support System for New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS still needs our HELP
Dear musicians, singers and colleagues.
Dear jazz fans and friends of the Afro-American culture.
After a very busy 2006 French Quarter Festival in New Orleans and a moving Jazz Ascona Festival under the direction of Nicolas Gilliet and Flavio Mazzoni we have now started what we've been thinking of since we met the wonderful people of the St. Augustine Catholic Church of the Tremé. Together with Lillian Boutté, Sandra Gordon and Sheik Richardson we've been planning to found a Relief Organisation over here in Europe and link it to the others that are already on the way.
July 22nd 06 at IHP Brunnenhaus (Bergisches Land) we founded this benevolent non-profit corporation that basically has two missions:
Fristly, to keep the eldest Afro-American St. Augustine Church (scarcely believable but in Tremé since 1842) alive as an intercultural Catholic parish-church.
Secondly, to provide support for the wrecking and resurrection of musicians' homes in those neighbourhoods of New Orleans that were destroyed by the hurricane Katrina aftermath, for example 9th Ward, 6th Ward, Lakeshore, Arabi, Gentilly, Chalmette, ...........
Mission 1 will succeed if we can "collect" about 500 external (membership paying) parishioners for the St. Augustine Church by the end of September 2007.
Just to remind you: This parish is more than a regular church. This parish laid the good ground for many a famous jazz musician who then went into the world and brought us the wonderful gift of JAZZ - and for many jazz musicians of today St. Augustine still is THEIR parish, although they may have moved somewhere else.
We regard St. Augustine Chruch as the headquarters of Afro-American culture. Father Jerome leDoux has always kept the doors of his church open also for people who are not Catholic but love the intercultural community under his guidance and belief that before God we are all equal.
Those who had the honour to celebrate with Pastor leDoux will also understand
Pope John Paul II when he said in September 1987 "All churches should be like St. Augustine's". For further detailed information please look at:
www.staugustinecatholicchurch-neworleans.org
&
www.savestaugparish.org
Mission 2 will be achieved through donations, benefit events like gospel masses, and New Orleans talks in the style of those that were done from the very beginning.
The raised money will go to the New Orleans AWK Arabi Wrecking Krewe Incorporation that now has officially been established since September 2006 by an act of the State of Louisiana.
AWK works on the houses of known musicians and other artists of the Afro-American culture. AWK deals with mould, garbage and rebuilds the houses.
AWK will also give support with rebuilding the psyche of those who were touched by post-trauma-stress phenomena.
If we have aroused your interest in becoming a member, you are now invited to print the membership form , fill in your data and send it via regular post to our adress in Germany. Please also complete the secon form showing your bank details.
This will allow us to create a
Standing Order / Direct Debit Authorizationhip
authorizing your bank to pay the membership fee automatically once per year.
Paying this fee by standing order with your bank will be an enormous help administratively since we run the organization volutarily.
Membership fee is 5 EUR per month / 60 EUR per year.
Meanwhile, you can be assured that your membership and/or donation will be an invaluable contribution towards the resurrection of the Afro-American culture in New Orleans Louisiana.
Kind regards,
Dagmar & Klaus Lumma (alias Fats)
Ofiicers St. Augustine & AWK International e.V.
Benevolent Relief Organisation for New Orleans Louisiana
