A photograph by an Episcopalian in New Orleans is among the hundreds of images in “Documenting the Decade,” an online feature by The New York Times.
Cam Davis, a 16-year member of the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, photographed a Palm Sunday procession led by the Rev. Jerry Kramer.
His photograph captured a crucial moment in the life of the parish, which was devastated by flooding after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. In the photo, Fr. Kramer leads a small processional, including a girl riding a donkey, past a trailer parked near the church. A homemade banner on the trailer announces, “We Need Electricity.”
The city took several months to restore electricity service to many churches and residences. Annunciation bought two large trailers — one for worship, one for office space — and relied on gas-powered generators to generate electricity.
Fr. Kramer, who led the parish through recovery, rebuilding and vigorous outreach in the Broadmoor neighborhood, is now preparing for missionary service in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Mr. Davis, a former senior warden of Annunciation, took the photo as part of his work on the parish’s website.
“I didn’t do a lot of photography after Katrina because a lot of other people were doing it,” he said.
When Mr. Davis saw that the processional was approaching the trailer and its banner, he stood in the median (what New Orleanians call the “neutral ground”) of Claiborne Avenue to capture the image.
“It was fortuitous,” he said. “I would say that of the photography I did for the parish after Katrina, that was the most memorable image. It represents hope.”
View the original post
