Lutherans Respond to Terrorism, Tornadoes, Tropical Storms
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

February 15, 2002

LUTHERANS RESPOND TO TERRORISM, TORNADOES, TROPICAL STORMS

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), continues to help survivors recover from acts of terrorism, tornadoes, tropical storms and other disasters across the United States. Response to a disaster is often carried out by a local team providing emergency supplies, offering pastoral care and counseling, coordinating volunteer efforts in relief and rebuilding, and providing grants to victims. This response is coordinated with other interfaith and community efforts.

"The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have had a dramatic effect on the entire world. Entire paradigms of life have shifted into new and unknown patterns. The events of that day also challenge the ministries of Lutheran Disaster Response," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, LDR director.

"So many of the natural disaster response norms do not apply specifically in this human-caused disaster," Furst said about the events of Sept. 11. "The scope of the response is also unprecedented. Seven of the ELCA's [65] synods and five [of the 35] LCMS districts have been directly impacted; nine social ministry organizations are directly part of the response," he said.

Furst said funds continue to be collected from members of the ELCA and LCMS to support recovery efforts in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. "At last count, nearly $8 million has been collected. Aid Association for Lutherans/Lutheran Brotherhood, a fraternal benefit society, has provided an estimated $10.7 million toward a coordinated Lutheran response."

In December, "I sent one check for $1.75 million to support the next three- to six-months' ministries in the New York City area. Not only was this the largest Lutheran Disaster Response grant ever, but it was larger than most totals for a full year of disaster response," he said.

Furst visited New York and New Jersey in January. "About 40 people a day are calling one of our responding agencies -- Lutheran Social Services of Metropolitan New York -- for assistance. These are individuals who lost jobs in the World Trade Center and individuals with immigration or refugee difficulties, for example," he said. "Scholarship support is being carefully provided for students in our Lutheran schools there."

"The counseling load continues to be enormous. Caseworkers are assisting people who lost loved ones to access the many funds specifically available for them funds often obscured by red tape," Furst said.

Response efforts in New Jersey are different, Furst said. "Many of the deaths in New York were people who commuted from New Jersey." LDR consultants will meet with people there to "help them make some theological sense out of their changed and sorrow-filled lives."

In Houston, LDR staff and volunteers continue to provide relief to survivors of Tropical Storm Allison. In June 2001 the storm struck an area from Texas to Florida, killing 43 people, 16 in Houston. Rain totaling 36 inches fell in Houston and 19 inches in Baton Rouge, La.

In January, Furst traveled to Houston and met with LDR coordinators. Staff of "Lutheran Social Services of the South is managing relief efforts in Houston on behalf of Lutheran Disaster Response," he said.

Disaster response volunteers are being housed at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas, Furst said. The congregation had 53 of its 200 families suffer flood damage in their homes; 10 families lost everything, he reported.

In Siren, Wis., LDR staff and volunteers anticipate a long-term recovery after a tornado struck the town June 21. Furst said the tornado "damaged or destroyed about 120 homes in the town of 900 residents." Staff of Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin is managing recovery efforts on behalf of LDR.

LDR recovery work continues in: + The Delta area of Mississippi, where tornadoes killed 12 people and destroyed homes February 2001. Lutheran Social Ministries of Mississippi is managing LDR recovery efforts in the area along with the local Episcopal Diocese. + Hoisington, Kan., where a tornado killed one person and injured 28 others April 21. More than 180 homes were destroyed, more than 50 others sustained major damage that is not repairable, and 400 homes had minor damage. + West Virginia and Southern Virginia, where a series of storms produced flood waters in July. More than 490 homes were destroyed and 1,543 sustained major damage. More than 4,670 homes were damaged by water, mud or are inaccessible because of streets impacted with mud and debris.

"As we continue with our present challenges and as we head into the unknown challenges of this new year, I am confident that you -- God's people -- will continue to work together in response to disasters, bringing help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ," Furst said

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