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Dear Christian Friends,
"Where are Jesus' arms?" I blurted out as I looked at photos of the
destroyed St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Spencer, South Dakota. As
Pastor Bob Berndt, along with Bishop Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl, searched for
clues to the site where the church had stood for 86 years, they spotted a
statue of Jesus in the rubble. This figure, which had once graced the
chancel, was found by several teenagers who are grandchildren of the
congregation members. They explained that they had found the statue and
propped it up. "We thought these people needed to see that Jesus is with
them," they said. When I looked at the photo, it seemed that the statue
had no arms.
As I spent two days in Spencer and the surrounding farms with Jim Barclay
(President of LSS-South Dakota) and Rose Kormann (LDR Coordinator for South
Dakota), I soon had the answer to my own question.
I saw the arms of Jesus busy at work in the nearby town of Salem, where the
Orphan Grain Train had delivered a tractor-trailer full of food. Here were
the arms of young teenagers, sorting out boxes of food items and getting
them ready for distribution to the townspeople of Spencer.
I saw the arms of Jesus offering comfort and love, as Rose hugged and
comforted the Steinmetz family who had lost eleven farm buildings,
including most of their house--and the Papendick family, living out of a
little camping trailer, as we watched their farm buildings and equipment
heaped in a pile and burning.
The arms of Jesus are busy in the surrounding farms, as hundreds of
volunteers pick the fields and clean up debris, so farming can resume.
And yes, there were Jesus' arms reaching out in consolation, as Jim spoke
with Tom Chistopher, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS), offering
insight into the dynamics of a disaster and how it is affecting the members
of that parish.
The arms of Jesus are here, present through the ministry of Lutheran
Disaster Response. In addition to the immediate response of counselors and
volunteers following the chaotic first week after the tornado, LDR is
providing a grant of $10,000 to be distributed among the members of the
Lutheran congregations of Spencer. As modest amounts are distributed to
our brothers and sisters who are trying to get their lives together...many,
if not most, moving to new towns...they are a reminder that Lutherans are
people who care, that prayers and support will continue, that Jesus is with
them, that the arms of Jesus are reaching out and encircling them.
If you would like to help underwrite this grant and the LDR response to the
people of Spencer, please send your contributions to
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response
PO Box 71764
Chicago, IL 60694-1764
and note on the memo line "Spencer, South Dakota, tornado."
If you can volunteer: call Rose Kormann, 1-800-568-2401.
"Where are Jesus' arms?" I saw them here in Spencer, as you and I, the
church, are here--in prayer, in love, in work, in giving. Thank you for
helping the church, the body of Christ, to roll up its sleeves, and reach
out to those affected by this totally devastating tornado.
In Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on Wed, Jun 10, 1998, at 9:54 am)
Associate Director, ELCA Domestic Disaster Response
Internet address: [log in to unmask]
For more information, click on our web site: www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
