 |
 |
Slowed Title: Lutheran Disaster Response Reports St. Thomas Rebuilding Slowed ELCA NEWS SERVICE NEWSBRIEF July 30, 1996 ST. THOMAS REBUILDING SLOWED Rebuilding on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, has slowed again after the island was hit by Hurricane Bertha, reports the Rev. Leon Phillips, Jr., director of Lutheran Disaster Response. Phillips met with pastors, disaster staff and visited Reformation Lutheran Church, Estate Tutu, on July 23. Hurricane Bertha badly damaged the remaining roof at the church. Volunteers are putting tarps on roofs and cleaning up debris. Thousands of people are without roofs over their heads, and the housing situation is so desperate people have no choice but to live in their damaged homes, said Phillips. "We have a long way to go on St. Thomas and St. John, much longer and more difficult that it appeared last month, before Hurricane Bertha struck both islands head on," he said. "Our church has a promise to keep in this oldest Lutheran settlement in the Americas -- that we will not abandon our brothers and sisters." Reformation Lutheran Church held special services July 25 for "Hurricane Supplication Day" -- the traditional day of prayers for deliverance from the coming hurricane season. For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service, (312) 380-2958; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312) 380-2955; Lia Christiansen, Asst. Dir., (312) 380-2956