ELCA NEWS SERVICE
September 2, 2004
Lutherans Prepare For Strong Hit From Hurricane Frances
04-160-TW*
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Residents in the Bahamas and Florida were making
last-minute preparations Sept. 2 for Hurricane Frances, a powerful storm
packing winds of 145 miles per hour. The storm was moving through the
Bahamas and is threatening the southeast coast of Florida, a state that
just experienced the destructive winds of Hurricane Charley Aug. 13.
"Everything has changed so quickly," said the Rev. Edward R. Benoway,
bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), in a news release from the synod. "We've gone from
response [to Charley] to preparation practically overnight," he said,
referring to the new threat from Hurricane Frances.
Benoway traveled Sept. 2 to Oviedo and Haines City, both in Hurricane
Charley's destructive path in Florida, to meet with professional leaders
and representatives of Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) about the ongoing
response effort. Those meetings quickly turned to conversations about
preparation instead. LDR is a partnership ministry of the ELCA and
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).
Moving from one site to the other was also difficult because of the
more than 1 million people who had already evacuated their homes and
crowded Florida's highways, the release said.
"I-4 is a parking lot," Benoway said of the main artery between
Orlando and Tampa. He called into his office for alternate routes.
Another meeting scheduled for Sept. 3 with pastors in the hardest hit
areas around Charlotte County had to be postponed.
"It was a terribly hard decision to make because those pastors really
need to get together," Benoway said. "But evacuations and road closings
are making that difficult now with Hurricane Frances."
A 'Big One'
"This is definitely going to be a big one," said Ken Aicher,
assistant to the bishop for administration and coordinator for disaster
response, Florida-Bahamas Synod.
"We're already planning on much greater damage from this hurricane
than from Charley," he added, referring to his work with LDR-Team Florida.
The team had already begun brainstorming on how to respond to the two
Lutheran churches in the Bahamas, an ELCA congregation in Freeport and an
LCMS congregation in Nassau.
News reports indicated that Hurricane Frances was "the size of the
state of Texas," twice the size of Hurricane Charley and just as deadly.
Gena Granger, Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Freeport, Bahamas,
indicated that news reports predicted that the slow-moving storm would
take 10 hours to pass over the island with its 145 m.p.h. winds Sept. 2-3.
Supplies Sold Out
The Rev. Rick Armstrong, Lutheran Counseling Services, Winter Park,
Fla., said plywood, water and batteries were already sold out earlier this
week in the Orlando area.
"People here never thought a hurricane would hit them, since they
were inland – until Hurricane Charley came," he said. "Now everyone is
taking Frances very seriously."
'Emotional Overload' for People Affected by Charley
The Rev. Kenneth W. Barrios, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Port
Charlotte, Fla., said people there "are on emotional overload."
"So many people have no homes or still have holes in their roof with
just a tarp over it," he said. "They're asking, 'What do we do now?'"
Barrios and his wife, the Rev. Andrea N. Barrios, Holy Trinity,
experienced destruction in their own home when Hurricane Charley caused
ceilings to fall.
"People are becoming more and more frustrated. It's really very
challenging to be a pastor right now," he said.
Peace in the Storm
"At times like these, it's good to know that we are held in the hands
of God and bound by our baptism into community with one another," said the
Rev. David G. Mesenbring, Seafarer's House, Port Everglades, Fla. "I'm
taking heart in knowing that depending on what happens to us here, we'll
either 'be' or 'need' the helping hands of others."
"God truly is our refuge and strength," Benoway said. "We can count
on God to be with us in every situation, no matter how many hurricanes
batter us," he said.
---
* The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel is director of communications, ELCA
Florida-Bahamas Synod.
Hurricane reports and information about are available from the
Florida-Bahamas Synod at http://www.fbsynod.org and at
http://www.elca.org/disaster on the ELCA Web site.
DOMESTIC DISASTERS:
Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds to aid survivors of
major disasters inside the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin
Islands, please include:
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, P.O. Box 71764, Chicago, Illinois
60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via Internet: http://www.elca.org/disaster
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
