ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 22, 2008  

ELCA Global Mission Staff in China to Learn about Earthquake Recovery
08-072-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Peter K. Shen, consultant on
China, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Global
Mission, is in southwest China May 19 to June 1 to learn how the
ELCA may effectively support its partners there on the
reconstruction and healing of communities devastated by a May 12
earthquake that struck the Sichuan province there.
     "Pastor Shen is meeting with the bishop of the Taiwan
Lutheran Church and the general secretary of the Sichuan
Christian Council to develop a comprehensive plan for engagement
in response to the disaster," said the Rev. Rafael Malpica
Padilla, executive director, ELCA Global Mission.  The Taiwan
Lutheran Church and Sichuan Christian Council are "companion
ministries" of the ELCA, he said.
     The plan for engagement may include the deployment of
"ministry teams" to provide care and support for survivors of the
earthquake, said Malpica Padilla, adding that along with members
of the Taiwan Lutheran Church and the council, volunteers from
the ELCA may have opportunities to join the work of the ministry
teams.
     The Sichuan Christian Council continues to assess damage to
communities 100 miles north of Chengdu, a city located near the
epicenter of the quake.
     "ELCA Global Mission and the Sichuan Christian Council are
working in partnership with local church and community leaders
for the near- and long-term community reconstruction and
rebuilding efforts," reported Shen.  They are working to help
restore the water supply, provide support for children, and
restore clinics and health care facilities, he said.
     In Luzhou, a city in the Sichuan province, other ELCA
companions -- such as the Sichuan Seminary, and the Luzhou church
and hospital -- are "all involved and dedicated to immediate
rescue efforts," said Shen.  Some staff of the seminary and
hospital and members of the church are participating in relief
efforts in Mianyang, a city located 100 miles north of Luzhou.
     "Beichuan is the center of the earthquake region where
emergency rescue is taking place.  What's happening there is
beyond people's comprehension," said Shen.  The "Chinese
government requested that all people on the ground who are
working on need assessment and emergency relief exercise proper
self-protection," he said, adding that the Chinese government and
non-governmental organizations "are able and willing, with
compassion and sufficient resources and tools, to serve as
necessary."

INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS:
Editors:  When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to
survivors of major disasters outside the United States, Puerto
Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:

ELCA International Disaster Response, PO Box 71764,
Chicago, IL 60694-1764, 1-800-638-3522 and
http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/idrgive on the Internet.

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