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Dear friends in Christ, This quick report is intended to serve two purposes. It will expand a brief paragraph in my last update regarding three new disasters to which Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) is responding. And it will point you to a number of online worship resources that will be helpful as you plan worship events in commemoration of the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. 1. LDR is responding to a sudden rainstorm July 5 near Ogallala, Nebraska. It destroyed fifty-five mobile homes and five frame houses. Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (Ruth Henrichs, President) is managing the LDR response through the Rev. Roger Kruger (LDR-NB coordinator). Agency counselors were deployed immediately to the disaster scene. A $5,000 grant has been sent by LDR to assist with emergency needs, and to provide Lutheran funding for an unmet needs group organizing in the community. LDR is responding to a large supercell that moved across east central South Dakota on Sunday, July 28. Wind speeds reached 80 to 100 miles per hour. The path of damage was twenty miles wide and sixty miles long. Most of the damage was confined to crops and trees, but several homes and farm buildings were damaged or destroyed in the communities of Oldham and Sinai. Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota (Joanne Negstad, President) is managing the LDR response through Mr. Thomas Walsh (LDR-SD coordinator). A $5,000 grant has been provided by LDR to assist with emergency needs, and to provide funding for unmet needs. LDR is responding to a near-tragic mining disaster in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in which nine miners were trapped 240 feet underground for 77 hours and rescued on July 28. Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries (Patricia Savage, President) is providing counseling services for the miners and their families, through Sally Lenz, a member of the ALSM staff. A $4,800 LDR grant has been transmitted to provide for those affected. 2. Many fine worship resources have been developed in preparation for the one-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Here are some links that may be helpful: http://www.elca.org/dcs/disaster/sept11-worship.html "Resources to mark the one-year anniversary" http://www.elca.org/dcs/disaster/sept11index.html#New%20resources%20for%202002 "New resources for 2002 on the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks" http://worship.lcms.org "9-11 Anniversary Observance Resources" http://worship.lcms.org/Resources/DisasterRce.htm "Special Disaster Resources" http://www.cwserp.org/training/liturgy.php?litId=3 "How to Mark the Anniversary of a Disaster With Healing" Developed for Church World Service by the Rev. Christine Iverson, LDR Kansas-Oklahoma. http://www.ldrny.org/9_11/waystocomm911.html "September 11, 2002 Commemoration" On a personal note: I will be away from my office for the next several days. If you need information about Lutheran Disaster Response, please call Jerry Rux, Associate Director for Lutheran Disaster Response, at 1-800-248-1930, extension 1387. If you need information about ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, please speak with Johanna Olson, assistant for Domestic Disaster Response, at 1-800-638-3522, extension 2822. Yours in Christ, Gil Furst Gilbert B. Furst (Written on 08/23/02, at 4:20 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)