In April, I got a call from a creative director based in Atlanta who is re-working the design and branding of byFaith, the magazine of the Presbyterian Church in America. He had a story assignment in New Orleans about a local church in the St. Roch District. Home to a young, diverse, and dynamic congregation, the St. Roch Community Church reflects the greater neighborhood, which has undergone big changes since Hurricane Katrina forced many of its residents to leave. Current members of the church have entered its doors through some pretty amazing circumstances, and the four characters for this story each have their own tales.

‘Gumbo Gospel’ (text-only) is hosted on the byFaith website, and I included a larger edit and the print layout here. I rarely get to shoot in black and white on assignment or work on something so close to home, and had a lot of fun meeting such a friendly and welcoming group of people.

On November 21st the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club rolled through New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward in their 12th Annual second line parade.

Born from the benevolent societies of the mid-1800s, traditional social aid and pleasure clubs supported their dues-paying members by defraying health care and funeral costs and financial hardship, and by organizing larger community projects and events. Nowadays, the clubs exist as a unifying presence and source of pride for some of New Orleans’ oldest neighborhoods, and their members still take to the streets in amazing threads and parade with some of the city’s best brass bands.

NPR featured the Nine Times Club back in 2006.

This year, they were joined by The Stooges and the To Be Continued Brass Band — five hours, nearly six miles, 90º heat, one hell of a time.