ELCA NEWS SERVICE
September 11, 2003
Lutherans Help Children Cope with Sept. 11
03-167-MR
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Many children from New York and New Jersey
are still affected by the terrorist attacks on the United States
Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Rev. Ann M. Tiemeyer. "New
Ground Day Camp," a children's day camp hosted by Lutherans,
provided a way for those children to deal with issues of trauma
associated with the events of Sept. 11.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, "kids are very sensitive and aware of
how their parents are much more on their toes. They're aware of
economic stresses in their families or family members who may
have gone away to war," said Tiemeyer, director of Koinonia, a
camp ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Koinonia
coordinated New Ground Day Camp. More than 30 Lutheran
congregations in New Jersey and New York hosted one or two weeks
of camp from July 7 to Aug. 22.
About 850 children -- kindergarten and grade-school age --
attended New Ground this summer. Using the 2003 ELCA Outdoor
Ministry curriculum, "Spiritlife," camp-goers "grasped the Holy
Spirit" and learned that "God is present with them all the time,"
said Tiemeyer.
New Ground featured morning and afternoon worship, games,
music, arts and crafts, Bible lessons, recreational activities
and mental health assessment. These activities were designed to
provide opportunities for "fun" and combine "typical camp
experiences" with prayer and faith discussions to help children
understand that "God is with them in the fun and in the tough
times," Tiemeyer said.
"Firefighters and emergency workers came in and as soon as
those firefighters appeared, the kids still had so many questions
to ask and process on what to do if in a building with fire. As
children continue to develop, new questions come to them. The
ongoing effects change as children develop," she said.
Congregations hosting a camp also invited teenagers and
others to participate and contribute resources. Local
restaurants provided food. Other "resource people" like a
"pottery group came to help kids make clay doves. Beyond the
number of kids, there were a multitude of people within the
[church] and community involved in the camp program," Tiemeyer
said.
Mental health workers with master's degrees or higher
attended New Ground and helped children to process their emotions
and guide them in their interaction with others, she said.
Mental health workers from the Lutheran Counseling Center, New
York, were also made available to the host congregations and
others in the community.
The Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director, Lutheran Disaster
Response, said the professional counselors and trained staff
engaged children in conversation and activities that allow them
to think and talk about their feelings. "Church settings are
places where children can bring their fears and joys," he said.
Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the ELCA and LCMS,
funded New Ground Day Camp.
Furst said, since Sept. 11, 2001, Lutheran Disaster Response
has been providing and continues to provide "sustaining ministry,
help and hope, to those directly impacted" in New Jersey, New
York and Washington, D.C. He said "care management" continues to
"help hundreds of people connect to the myriad of available help
and benefits. Tuition assistance for Lutheran schools is
available to children whose parents lost jobs. Emergency cash
assistance is provided to soup kitchens, food pantries and
programs run by Lutheran churches or organizations to help meet
increased demand. Counseling continues for individuals, groups
and congregations," Furst said.
Representatives of New Ground Day Camp, Koinonia, Lutheran
Disaster Response and others gathered Sept. 5 near the World
Financial Center, New York, to mark and commemorate another year
of working collaboratively to help people affected by the events
of Sept. 11, 2001. About 50 other disaster response agencies
serving New York and New Jersey, such as the American Red Cross
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, took part in the
commemoration.
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DOMESTIC DISASTERS:
Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds to aid
survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, please
include:
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response - 9/11: Comfort and Renew
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
