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Dear friends in Christ,
I believe in angels! Not only do I believe in the major messengers of God
whom we know by name, such as Michael and Gabriel. I also believe in the
anonymous angels, the unnamed angels, such as the ones who appeared before
the shepherds tending their flocks, and those who were part of the heavenly
host, praising God at the birth of Jesus..
In these days before Christmas, Lutheran Disaster Response, a shared
ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod, is responding to tornadoes that struck four areas of
Alabama last week, leaving widespread damage and twelve fatalities.
Response efforts will be managed by Lutheran Ministries of Alabama, whose
president, Pastor Mark Cerniglia Danielsen, has already begun assessment
and response along with Eldon Zimmerman (LDR coordinator for Alabama.
LDR will also work closely with the ELCA Southeastern Synod and the LCMS
Southern District, as they seek to rally members and congregations to the
response efforts and to provide other support. Local Lutheran
congregations are already involved in distributing emergency supplies and
offering shelter. LDR is also working with the Episcopal Diocese of
Alabama, which was also a partner in responding to Alabama tornadoes in
1998.
Worst hit was Tuscaloosa County (in the west), where 199 residences are
severely damaged and 455 need repairs. Eleven lives were lost in this
county, mostly in mobile homes. Etowah County (in the east) has an
estimated 200 buildings damaged or destroyed. Assessment has been
difficult, due to closed roads and adverse weather. In Geneva County (in
the south), there was one death. There also was destruction in Limestone
County (in the north), mostly to secondary lake homes.
I believe in angels. They are reaching out in many ways to people in
Alabama who will have no homes in which to celebrate this Christmas. I can
see them, busy, across the country. They are sending special offerings and
individual contributions to ELCA Domestic Disaster Response or to LC-MS
World Relief. They are volunteering their physical labors. The angels are
ministering - spiritually, financially, physically, emotionally - bearing
the message that God does not abandon the people; that we are a people of
hope and new life; that Lutherans are people who care; and that God's
angels have charge of us, and the wicked one has no power over us.
To help support the response in Alabama:
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "Alabama Tornadoes"
PO Box 71764
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via the web: www.elca.org/disaster
LC-MS World Relief
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
In Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on Fri, Dec 22, 2000,10:02 am). Director for
ELCA DOMESTIC DISASTER RESPONSE (Division for Church in Society) and
LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493
Please visit our website: www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
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