ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 3, 2005

Lutherans Continue Response After Hurricane Dennis
05-140-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran Church-
Missouri Synod, continues to identify families in need of
assistance following Hurricane Dennis.
     "Hurricane Dennis sloshed inland up the Mississippi Valley
July 10, dumping large quantities of rain over parts of Alabama,
Georgia and Florida before stalling over the lower Ohio Valley,"
said Heather L. Feltman, director, Lutheran Disaster Response and
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response.
     "Flooding is a major concern for many communities.  Homes
that have never flooded are now experiencing flooding because of
Hurricane Dennis," said Feltman.  Residents who were still
recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan just 10
months earlier were also affected, she said.
     Feltman traveled in southern Alabama, southern Georgia and
the panhandle of Florida, July 13-17, to meet with Lutheran
Disaster Response coordinators assessing damage from Hurricane
Dennis.  She said Lutheran Disaster Response is providing grants
to purchase cleaning supplies and building materials for home
repair, coordinating volunteers, and offering emotional and
spiritual care to church leaders and other caregivers as needed.
     "The real story is Georgia," Feltman said.  "No federal
declarations were made in the state, so the response has been
charged to the faith community," she said.  More than 1,000 homes
without flood insurance sustained heavy damage in southern
Georgia following Hurricane Dennis.
     During her trip, Feltman said she heard many stories about
families losing valuable, irreplaceable items; people in their
50s having to walk away from their destroyed homes and realizing
the need to "start over;" and people living along the poverty-
line having to decide whether to pay regular bills or use funds
to repair their home.
     "This is where the church needs to be," said Feltman.
- - -
Domestic Disasters:
Editors:  When listing organizations receiving funds to aid
survivors of major disasters inside the Unites States, Puerto
Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:

ELCA Domestic Disaster Response,
P.O. Box 71764, Chicago, IL 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