Title: Tornado Killed ELCA Member in Southern Minnesota ELCA NEWS SERVICE April 1, 1998 TORNADO KILLED ELCA MEMBER IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA 98-077-MR CHICAGO (ELCA) -- An 85-year-old member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America died March 31 from injuries sustained in the March 29 tornado in southern Minnesota. Tornadoes also damaged a college of the ELCA, Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. "Louis Mosenden, a member of Lake Hanska Lutheran Church, was thrown 200 feet from his rural home in Hanska," said the Rev. Lawrence R. Wohlrabe, a synod minister for the ELCA's Southwestern Minnesota Synod. "Mosenden was taken to a hospital in Mankato and died in the afternoon," according to the Rev. Robert F. Vedell. "Two thousand windows were blown out on the campus buildings of Gustavus Adolphus College, and about 90 percent of its trees on campus are gone. Damage estimates are increasing," said the Rev. W. Robert Sorensen, executive director for the ELCA's Division for Higher Education and Schools. According to Sorensen, "The risk management folks have been working with Gustavus Adolphus College since the night of the storm." "This is one of the great liberal art colleges of the ELCA and also of the nation. It will come back from this and emerge even stronger. We are waiting for the college to identify areas of greatest need, and we will be responding to those needs. The other ELCA colleges are ready to respond as well," Sorensen said. "The town of Comfrey is still without utilities," reported Wohlrabe. "City residents are, at this point, restricted to coming into town between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. I mention this to encourage others to stay away from Comfrey until the community is opened up again or unless you are with an official group of volunteers with permission to enter town," he said. "In Comfrey, Faith Lutheran Church has lost a significant portion of its roof and Salem Lutheran Church has also suffered major damage," said Wohlrabe. "All the downtown businesses have been destroyed or heavily damaged. There are ironies as one walks around town. Newer buildings like the city's fire department and the grain elevator are destroyed. Nearby, older structures like the city's newspaper office and the city's water tower stand unscathed. Everywhere there is debris ... twisted tree limbs and downed power lines," said Wohlrabe. "About a dozen families from Lake Hanska Lutheran Church have had farms and homes damaged or destroyed in the tornado," reported Wohlrabe. "Albion Lutheran Church, about 12 miles north of St. James, Minn., also has about 12 families with damaged or destroyed farms," he said. Our Savior's Lutheran Church and Christ the King Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minn., report no damage. Relief efforts are being coordinated by Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota and Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. "An initial grant of $10,000 has been sent for immediate financial assistance," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, associate director for Lutheran Disaster Response. "To help set up the local relief operation, Lutheran Disaster Response is bringing in two members from a newly-formed disaster response team. They will live on site for several weeks to help get the local response coordinated and focused," said Furst. "Counselors from Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota are also being deployed to the area," he said. For information contact: Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html