The Hobart Lectures, a series of annual addresses presented to acknowledge and encourage the pastoral ministry of the Church, were named after Bishop John Henry Hobart, the third bishop of New York (1816-1830).

Packard -- the Episcopal Church's bishop suffragan for chaplaincies, including those supporting the Armed Services - had just returned from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after surveying the damaged areas, and speaking with several chaplains and evacuees. "These conditions were worse than what I've seen in Baghdad," he said.

"When I got off the plane in Baton Rouge a week and a half ago, I thought of humility because they have nothing and because of the persistent dampness left over from the hurricane you could smell the earth," Packard said. "So those two experiences work at you."

Quoting Thomas Merton, a monk, poet and spiritual writer, who once wrote, "For like a grain of fire; Smoldering in the heart of every living essence; God plants His undivided power-; Buries his thoughts too vast for worlds; In seed and root and blade and flower," Packard asked what it was about humility. He said that if we trace it back to its roots, "we might begin to see then that there is an importance in a pastoral vigilance to any behavior that prevents us from being ultimately grounded."

Packard identified there being "four levels of trauma at work here: first, a flight from water and wind; second, transfer to an evacuation center; third, travel from the center -- one woman died on the roof, others grabbed for food and then at each other; fourth, a connection with the final, temporary home. Think of what effect all these cycles have on vulnerable populations like the frail elderly, the sick, and children."

The bishop quoted African American inventor George Washington Carver saying, "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these."

Packard told the story of a young girl who, left alone and separated from her parents during the disaster, went to a hospital across from her Episcopal parish church seeking help. Packard said she was given refuge in a hallway filled with dead bodies. He said the girl ran away and cared for herself until she found her way to St. Luke's Church, Baton Rouge, where she found support and comfort.

Packard described the work of two recovery areas: the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the greater metropolitan area in the city of New Orleans.

He said Mississippi's "Bishop Duncan Gray has marshaled resources quickly and is well rehearsed with his Lutheran counterpart bishop having done prior projects together. They are so far along so as to begin plans for the establishment of long-term work camps."

According to Packard, when "Katrina came ashore and walloped the Mississippi Gulf then receded," the hurricane hit Louisiana in the "low-lying areas even beyond New Orleans and caused evacuation, prolonged suffering and delayed recovery all because of standing water." He said Louisiana Bishop Charles Jenkins "has had to start from scratch."

Packard also spoke about the "unique population of priests who deploy from among us" executing their duties in extreme situations, devoid of the tools of their ministry, and how he has urged them "to think of themselves as ministry portable...carrying a presence with them."

"Hard work refers to prayer life, which discovers the gift of humility. It is the priceless gift for the clear minded and discerning," Packard said. "In that sense it's not work but the result of choice, the choice to wait and act only out of humility and therein for the gift of faith. As I said in Louisiana last Wednesday, in that capacity this area may be the wealthiest spot in Episcopal Church today."

"We're sending teams of two down to make inspections in the Gulf Coast and we're going to be sending follow-up teams after them," Packard explained after the lecture. He said the type of work they do is for "critical stress that shows itself three weeks to a month after the event."

Packard said he will return to Louisiana next week and also attend the House of Bishop's meeting starting September 22 in Puerto Rico. There he will recommend ways in which dioceses can adopt congregations, and how congregations can adopt families affected by the hurricane.