Title: Lutherans Perservere in Red River Valley
Recovery Work
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 16, 1997

LUTHERANS PERSEVERE IN RECOVERY WORK
ALONG THE RED RIVER VALLEY
97-29-084-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) --  "I spent the first day of
autumn breathing in dust
and mold.  There is dust in the air and a heavy
smell of mold and mildew.  But
there is something else -- the sweet smell of
fresh-cut lumber, the new smell
of wallboard and spackling, the sounds of
hammering and the words, 'thank
you,'" said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, associate
director, of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America's Domestic Disaster
Response.
     The record snowfall and floods of the
1996-1997 winter and spring
seasons caused catastrophic conditions along the
Red River Valley.  "The
devastation was so incredible that recovery will
be a long-time endeavor,"
said Julie K. Aageson, Nora Lutheran Church,
Perley, Minn., in an interview.
"There is still such a sense of vulnerability
among people because the floods
were so devastating.  People are afraid of the
upcoming winter ... there is
fear that it could all happen again," said
Aageson.
     "There is so much yet to be done in
Northwestern Minnesota, North Dakota
and South Dakota.  The floods have receded in the
Red River Valley, but
thousands of homes still stand in need of repair,"
reported Furst.  Furst
visited rebuilding sites in Grand Forks, N.D., and
East Grand Forks, Minn.,
last month.
     The Rev. Robert L. Dahl, Our Savior Lutheran
Church, East Grand Forks,
N.D., told of 30 families in his congregation
whose homes have been completely
demolished.  Most of these families have been
living in trailer parks set up
for flood victims since April.  Others live in
half destroyed homes, with
basements still full of water.
     "My husband and I volunteered at a
congregation in which the foundation
was completely destroyed," said Aageson.  "The
basement can no longer be used
for fellowship and to teach Sunday school classes.
 Instead, the basement is
now completely sealed off, so worship during the
upcoming winter season can be
warm.  The church will need to be moved; the
existing foundation is beyond
repair," she said.
     "The primary needs in our recovery efforts
have not changed.  They are
prayers and cash," said the Rev. Rick J. Foss,
bishop of the ELCA's Eastern
North Dakota Synod.  "But the need for volunteers
has suddenly become the
number one need.  There are hundreds of homes that
require skilled volunteers
to help rebuild," he said.
     Foss said the past year has been "confusing
and chaotic" for most people
in the greater Grand Forks area.  "The weather has
wreaked havoc with
schedules, plans, property and our sense of
security and community."  Foss and
others are using a four-stage description for
their situation.
     "The heroic phase, where the adrenaline flows
and the sandbags fly, is
the first stage.  Here, people do whatever they
have to do.  There is a sense
of adventure for some and it works ... for a
while," Foss said.  The second
stage is the "honeymoon phase."  People are
grateful for surviving. They are
helping, praying and offering, he said.
     "The disillusionment phase, where things are
still a mess, recovery is
slower than expected, furnaces may or may not get
in before winter, nerves are
frayed and frustrations abound, is the stage we
have now entered.  Within the
last five weeks, pastors report they are doing
more counseling than ever
before, and the most common issues are marital and
family stress," Foss said.
     The final stage is the "recovery phase,"
where a "steady return to
normal (albeit a very different normal than
before) is taking place," said
Foss.  "But the disillusionment piece will be the
predominant theme.  After
the next spring season, the recovery phase, I
think, will begin in earnest,"
he said.
     By July 30, 1997, the ELCA and Lutheran
Disaster Response "had provided
more than $1.5 million in assistance throughout
Minnesota, North and South
Dakota," reported the Rev. Leon A. Phillips Jr.,
executive director for
Lutheran Disaster Response, a joint ministry of
the ELCA and the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod.  "Lutheran Social Service
agencies in each of the three
states worked closely with Lutheran Brotherhood,
Aid Association for Lutherans
and others," said Phillips.  "The ELCA assisted
its congregations and pastors,
helping congregations meet urgent and necessary
expenses and supporting
pastors whose homes had been destroyed," he said.
Lutheran Brotherhood and
Aid Association for Lutherans are fraternal
benefit organizations.
     Representatives of Lutheran Disaster Response
and Lutheran Services in
America signed "a statement of understanding
outlining respective
responsibilities in disaster response."  The
signing took place at the
Lutheran Disaster Response board meeting in Fargo,
Sept. 24-25.  Lutheran
Disaster Response "maintains partnership
agreements with many social ministry
organizations, relying on them to manage local
disaster efforts," said
Phillips.  "This agreement potentially mobilizes
the resources of the entire
LSA network of social ministry organizations as
part of our Lutheran Disaster
Response," he said.  LSA is an alliance of the
ELCA, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and their
280 social ministry organizations.
     In addition to cleanup, rebuilding and
organizing, Lutherans address
both the spiritual and emotional needs of flood
survivors.  Seminars are
scheduled this fall to bring pastors and other
care givers up to date on grief
counseling and the emotional needs that follow
disaster.    "Pastors and care
givers will need to offer more at the very time
they have less resilience and
energy," Foss said.  Resources, workshops and
"people to help with care for
the care giver" will be at Lutheran churches in
eastern North Dakota.
Workshop topics include stress management,
post-traumatic stress and lay
leadership.
     Ten ELCA congregations in the greater Grand
Forks area will gather to
host a "confirmation extravaganza."  The event is
geared for students in
grades seven through nine, but will appeal to all
ages. Senior high youth,
parents and other adults are encouraged to
participate in the festivities
scheduled for almost every Wednesday evening
beginning Oct. 15.  "The message
our youth will hear is applicable to anyone's
flood, blizzard or farming
experience and ongoing growth in faith," said
Foss.
     Four congregations in the ELCA's Eastern
North Dakota Synod will
celebrate their 125th anniversaries.  "During
those 125 years, there have been
floods, fires, wars, droughts, depressions,
recessions, language changes, new
technology ... and more.  And through it all, the
people of God have gathered
to worship, pray, sing, serve and cope with
whatever comes along," said Foss.
The congregations are:  Norman Lutheran Church,
Rural Kindred; First Lutheran
Church, Fargo.; Aal Lutheran Church, Hillsboro and
Hickson Lutheran Church,
Hickson.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or
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