Gulfside Assembly 20 years after Katrina

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.


In Waveland, Mississippi, on the Gulf of Mexico, there’s an oceanfront paradise that’s also a United Methodist Heritage Landmark. For decades during segregation, Gulfside Assembly was a retreat for African American Methodists who spent summers enjoying tent revivals and recreation. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina washed away the summer retreat, but those who remember Gulfside Assembly hope to see this hallowed place restored.

Support the current work of the Gulfside Association in the Community of Waveland, Mississippi, through Advance #760235.

Learn more about the documentary “The Sanctuary by the Sea: The Gulfside Assembly Story.”

Read related:

After hurricanes, Gulfside ministry marches on

Gulfside Assembly re-imagining future of historic site

‘We have to rebuild Gulfside,’ United Methodists say

Marigza is a multimedia producer for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.

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Graphic by Ben Ward, photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

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