BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: This coming week marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation and despair it unleashed.

President Bush has designated August 29 as a National Day of Remembrance to honor those who died, those who lost their homes and livelihoods, and those who gave so much to help. Special prayer services and memorials have already begun across the Gulf Coast and around the nation. Meanwhile, recovery and rebuilding have been painfully slow. In New Orleans, officials estimate the population is only about 45 percent of what it was before Katrina. Many survivors still face overwhelming needs, and faith-based groups continue to play a central role in trying to meet them.

Kim Lawton and producer Gail Fendley have traveled often to the Gulf region over the last 12 months to report about Katrina's impact on the religious community and the massive but little-covered outpouring of faith-based assistance. Here is Kim's update.

KIM LAWTON : In the blistering summer heat of New Orleans, Southern Baptist volunteers are finishing new Habitat for Humanity houses. It's a welcome, but all too rare, sign of hope in the city's devastated Ninth Ward.

Just a few miles away, United Methodist volunteers are dragging out moldy carpet that has rotted inside a church sanctuary for nearly a year.

CHERYL WALKER (United Methodist Volunteer): I guess I wasn't aware that the devastation was still as bad as it was almost a year later. I thought more work had been done because of all the money you hear that has been pumped in.

ANGELE GIVENS (Community Activist): This was our dream house. And when we bought it we said we were going to live here for the rest of our lives. So, there goes your plans.

LAWTON : Community activists Joe and Angele Givens are caught in the uncertainty of many here, wondering if the levees will hold this hurricane season. They are waiting for their house to be demolished, but they haven't decided whether to rebuild.

Ms. GIVENS : You spend all your time fighting with FEMA and the SBA and the mortgage company and the insurance company, and it's exhausting. It's a hard place to live. I mean, I wake up some mornings and say, "Why do we still live here?" And the only reason we do still live here is because at this point we don't want New Orleans to come back without our help.

LAWTON : Twelve months after Katrina, recovery and rebuilding across the Gulf Coast have been severely hampered by political wrangling, bureaucracy, and the sheer magnitude of the task. Vast areas still look like ghost towns, overgrown with brush. In the midst of it all, religious groups have been playing a key -- and often overlooked -- role in the struggle to move forward.

Teams of volunteers across the religious spectrum continue to come down to help. In some places, they are still gutting houses.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER : Baby photos, Marine Corps photos, family photos -- I mean, the physical work has absolutely nothing on trying to remove this out of the house.

LAWTON : But elsewhere, they've begun repairs and rebuilding. In Biloxi, Mississippi, Presbyterians are helping Joe Marinovich finish fixing his house. Before them, the Mennonites and the Catholics helped him.

The Southern Baptists have already mobilized tens of thousands of volunteers, and more church groups are scheduled well into the future.

JIM BURTON (North American Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention): You can never overlook the importance of human capital. You know, as corny as it might sound, people are our greatest assets. And the depth that we have as Southern Baptists with our volunteers allows us to have a presence typically much longer than a lot of organizations.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER # 1 (To Resident): It's good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED RESIDENT : All right. Good to see y'all too. It's really good to see y'all.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER #1: Good to be seen, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED RESIDENT : It's really good to see y'all.

LAWTON : The Baptist-run Operation Noah has committed to rebuild 1,000 homes and 20 churches in greater New Orleans over the next two years. Pastor Jay Bruner and his Texas church group came motivated by their faith.

Reverend JAY BRUNER (Centerpoint Church): Christian means Christ-like. And when Christ walked this earth, he came to help those who were hurting and in need. And so it's a core value. It's just who we are.

LAWTON : Many neighborhoods like this one in New Orleans are still in limbo. Neighbors here say faith-based groups are the only ones getting something done.

MALCOLM RUSSELL (New Orleans Resident): What the volunteers been doing is coming in here and really helping the people to rebuild. You know, ever since the election I haven't seen a politician through here.

(Looking at House): It's still leaking.

LAWTON : Malcolm Russell is one of the many trapped in a bureaucratic quagmire. His house was badly damaged, and he says he isn't receiving any federal, state, or city assistance. He and five other family members sleep in two barely habitable rooms because they have nowhere else to go.

Mr. RUSSELL (Looking at House): And, here, you still have a lot of mold.

We're not asking for a handout from the government. They can do what they want with the money. Just help us to get our houses back together.

LAWTON : Operation Noah tells Russell they have him on their list, but they are waiting for a volunteer group with experienced roofers and electricians. On this day, he settles for a prayer.

UNIDENTIFIED VOLUNTEER #2 (Praying with Mr. Russell): Dear Lord, we just thank you so much that Mr. Russell and his family are heading on the road back to recovery.

LAWTON : The spiritual and emotional toll of the last 12 months has been huge.

Reverend DWIGHT WEBSTER (Christian Unity Baptist Church): We're still in a permanent state of emergency. We're still not whole. The stress is killing us -- so just not to be forgotten, not to be told, "Get over it."

LAWTON : Clergy, such as Reverend Dwight Webster, have been trying to help their needy congregations while dealing with their own losses. Webster still feels the pain of gutting his home.

Rev. WEBSTER : Books that I had been collecting and my lecture notes and my personal notes of over 30 years -- I couldn't even pick them up with my hands or with the gloves -- we had to shovel 30 years of my life up.

LAWTON : Cheryl Taylor is part of a special post-Katrina justice commission set up by a faith-based foundation. As a mental health expert, she's especially concerned about the impact of losing a home. She knows firsthand: she lost hers too.