By Gary D. Myers  

NEW ORLEANS -- Cleanup efforts at New Orleans Seminary have caught the attention of the New Orleans media. WWL-TV, the local CBS affiliate, aired a five-minute segment about the seminary Nov. 17.

Veteran New Orleans news anchor Sally Ann Roberts interviewed NOBTS President Chuck Kelley during one of his recent visits to campus. The segment also was broadcast over the Internet on the station’s website, www.wwltv.com

During the segment, Roberts showed the damage to campus housing caused by Hurricane Katrina. She also focused on the trustee board’s decision to return to New Orleans and the ongoing efforts to restore the campus to normal operation by August 2006.

During the interview, Roberts asked Kelley about the role of the seminary in the recovery efforts of the city. Kelley’s answer was unflinching -– the seminary will offer help and hope to the community in the name of Jesus Christ.

“I know our students and faculty will be out in the neighborhoods helping people rebuild their lives and their homes,” Kelley said.

On offering hope, he said, “It’s sometimes difficult to look up when everything around you is pulling you down ... but we know we have hope through Jesus Christ. We know our hope in Christ assures us that no matter how bad the present chapter is, that last chapter is going to be good.”

Kelley told Roberts he is excited about the opportunity to rebuilt and renew the city and the eagerness he senses among the faculty and students.

“I can’t imagine a more exciting time to come to New Orleans and be a part of shaping one of the major cities of the world,” Kelley said. “Those who are here and those who come back are going to get to do something nobody has every done before -– start a city over again.”

Roberts said she had noticed the seminary’s lighted Leavell Chapel steeple surrounded by darkness in the early days of the recovery. She asked Kelley about the steeple’s significance.

“People have commented about what an encouragement it is to be driving along in this ocean of dark ... and seeing that steeple,” Kelley said. “That’s why it’s there –- to be a sign of encouragement.”

Roberts concluded her interview by announcing the seminary plans to begin spring commuter classes on the New Orleans campus starting Jan. 23.

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