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Dear friends in Christ,
In my files I have a letter from a man who works in lower Manhattan. His
new office windows look out directly to where his old office used to be
located, in One World Trade Center. He has started in his new office.
"You cannot imagine the difficulty in starting from the ground up and
living with horror of that day," he writes. He expresses his thanks for
the support he and his family have been receiving from the church. On this
first day back he brought along a teddy bear his daughter Alexandra had
received in her Lutheran school_one of the many bears received from
congregations across the country and distributed to traumatized children.
For him that gift of love was a sign of hope as he struggled to return to
work in his changed world.
As the church gets involved in times of disasters - intentional or natural
- its presence always provides the gift of love and a sign of hope. Over
the years I have heard people across the country describe the hope they
feel as volunteers came to clean up the debris in their homes. They talk
about the love they experience as volunteers provide repairs in damaged
rooms, or accompany and pray with them as (in New York) they obtain death
certificates for unfound loved ones, or as loving (and trained) counselors
help them work through their grief and loss.
This past week Lutheran Disaster Response has been present in various parts
of the country, providing help and hope in many settings. In Houston,
Lutheran volunteers are busy cleaning and repairing thousands of flooded
homes. In Hoisington, Kansas, and Siren, Wisconsin, and various parts of
Mississippi and Alabama, LDR volunteers are working to clean up and repair
tornado-damaged communities. In Virginia and West Virginia assistance is
being provided in small flooded towns. In Washington D.C. grief training
and comfort have been given in five Lutheran parochial schools. In New
Jersey Carol Hacker is preparing to share her insights as LDR coordinator
in the Littleton, Colorado, shootings with pastors. In New York thousands
have received spiritual and emotional support, financial assistance, grief
counseling, help in accessing resources, advocacy in justice issues. In
Houston final "Camp Noah" preparations are being made for ten weeklong
"camps" in mid-March. In the east preparations are being made for up to
one hundred "Noah-type" weeklong camps. In just this week, the church has
provided the ministry of bringing God's hope through innumerable
congregations throughout our country. In this week, the church has
provided special ministries of help and hope through Lutheran Disaster
Response, a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
How can you support the church as it reaches out in times of special need
in Jesus' name?
You can pray. Your personal prayers and the prayers of your congregation
provide incredible support for people whose lives are filled with chaos and
sorrow, as well as for those who are on hand to help. The prayers of God's
people have a powerful effect.
You can be present as a volunteer. Here are some volunteer opportunities
to consider:
> In Houston, Texas, 1200 homes need repair from Tropical Storm Allison
floods. Construction workers with hand tools - up to 30 people at a time
(and individuals, too) are needed. Housing is provided, but not meals.
Volunteers must be 16 years or older, and are especially needed for April,
May, August and beyond (June and July are fully booked). Contact Jean
Peercy at 281-880-8594 to schedule your visit.
> In Hoisington, Kansas, construction workers are needed to repair
tornado-damaged houses. Please bring your own hand tools. Housing is
provided, but not meals. Again, volunteers must be 16 years or older. Up
to 25 people can be used at a time (individuals are also welcome). Contact
Kate Debes at the Hoisington Disaster Recovery Center, 620-653-9976, to
volunteer.
> In Siren, Wisconsin, volunteers are needed to help clean up brush, trees,
etc. Please bring your own chain saws, rakes, and handsaws. There is some
construction, so bring hand tools if helping with that. Housing is
provided. Volunteers must be of high school age or older. Groups up to 15
persons can be used, as can individuals. Contact Diane Gravenson at the
Community Interfaith Connection, 715-349-8825, to volunteer.
> In Mississippi, help is needed to respond to severe storms and tornadoes.
Construction workers should bring basic hand tools. Housing and meals are
provided. Volunteers must be of high school age or older. Groups up to 15
persons can be used, as can individuals. Contact Hal Shope at Lutheran
Social Ministries of Mississippi, 601-924-7116, to volunteer.
> There are no volunteer opportunities in New York City at this time.
You can provide financial support. While generous donations are sufficient
to sustain present responses to the September 11 attacks, continuing
support is needed to provide for long-term help in other parts of the
country. Please send your contributions to
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response
PO Box 71764
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via the web: www.elca.org/disaster
LC-MS World Relief
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
As we continue our Lenten journey with Christ to the cross, we are mindful
that he came to our world to set us free from the consequences of sin and
evil, and to provide us hope of new life. We too are privileged to provide
Christian help and hope, loving others as we ourselves have been loved.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE: I will be out of the office for the next two weeks,
doing some personal travel and "recharging" my internal low-energy. If you
need to contact someone in regard to ELCA Domestic Disaster Response,
please call Johanna Olson, Assistant for ELCA DDR, at 1-800-773-2822. If
you need to contact someone in regard to Lutheran Disaster Response, please
call Bernice Karstensen, LDR Board Chair, at 1-316-686-6645 (office),
1-316-832-9674 (home), 316-772-2105 (cell).
Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on Fri, Feb 22, 2002, at 6:03 pm). Director for
ELCA DOMESTIC DISASTER RESPONSE (Division for Church in Society) and
LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LC-MS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2822 FAX: 773-380-2493
Please visit our website: www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
