Title: Lutherans Plan Recovery Efforts after Granite Falls Tornadoes
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 28, 2000

LUTHERANS PLAN RECOVERY EFFORTS AFTER GRANITE FALLS TORNADOES
00-179-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response has provided a
$10,000 initial grant to Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota to help
manage recovery efforts in Granite Falls, Minn., after 13 tornadoes
struck the town on July 25.  Lutheran Disaster Response is a ministry of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).
     The tornado killed one person.  Initial assessments indicate that
100 homes were destroyed and more than 230 others were damaged in a 
40-block area in Granite Falls, said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director of
Lutheran Disaster Response.
     Staff of Lutheran Disaster Response and Lutheran Social Service of
Minnesota are working with Lutheran pastors in Granite Falls and staff
of the ELCA Southwestern Minnesota Synod, Redwood Falls, and LCMS
Minnesota South District, Burnsville, to provide emergency assistance
and support for tornado survivors.
     "Immediate needs and damage assessments will continue," said
Furst.  "Local volunteers are being coordinated to help with the initial
clean up efforts," he said.
     Members of Granite Falls Lutheran Church, a congregation of the
ELCA, are providing meals three times a day for the community, said the
Rev. Stanley N. Olson, bishop of the ELCA Southwestern Minnesota Synod.

-- -- -- --

DOMESTIC DISASTERS:

Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to survivors
of major disasters inside the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S.
Virgin Islands, please include:
                 Lutheran Disaster Response
                       P.O. Box 71764
                   Chicago, IL  60694-1764
                        800-638-3522

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html