Dear friends in Christ,
"I serve in a mile-square community that lost 50 people in the World Trade Center," said a Lutheran pastor from Hudson County, New Jersey. "Now the meaning of everything we do is more intense. Life has changed."
"I must go to a meeting in Manhattan next week, and this is a big problem for my young child," another Lutheran pastor shared. "Usually I'd stay overnight with my brother and come home the next day. But now my son worries about my safety and is afraid I won't be coming home. He wants to know where I am and what I'm doing, and being away overnight is very unsettling for him."
A Jersey City social worker for Catholic Charities described what she sees as she works with her clients. "There is an overwhelming sense of hopelessness as people adjust to their changed lives. And there is an overwhelming sense of faith as well."
I have just spend two days in New Jersey with Foster McCurley and Alan Weitzman (Lutheran Disaster Response "Care for Caregivers"), who met with community clergy and interfaith leaders in Summit and Jersey City, New Jersey. On September 11, 2001, 740 commuters from New Jersey died when the World Trade Center towers were attacked and collapsed. The Lutheran Disaster Response efforts here are managed by Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey (Roger Arnholt, executive). Jack DiMatteo serves as LDR-NJ coordinator.
Over the course of these two days caregivers spoke quietly of their changed ministries and the changed people they serve. "We've lost an easy, simplistic God," noted a UCC pastor. Foster and Alan addressed three specific questions relating to "Life in the Aftermath of September 11." They are: is there apocalyptic significance to the 9/11 events; why are some people still grieving heavily while others are saying "get over it!"; and who can we cope with the ongoing anxiety of continuing security threats.
"The questions people ask are spiritual and emotional, not intellectual Dr. McCurley pointed out. "People are not looking for easy answers, but are looking to caregivers to join in their question, to join them in their darkness." So many are feeling fear, anger, confusion, guilt, God-forsaken, denial, losses, and loneliness. As Christians we have faith resources to apply: peace, praise, hope, forgiveness, prayer, identity, restoration, and community. Affected people always are dealing with a shifting balance of grief and faith."
Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) has promised to be present and helping for the long haul. LDR is responding to directly affected people in the New York City, New Jersey, and Washington D.C. areas. The needs, issues, and resources are different in each area. LDR as a ministry of the church is committed to be creative, responsive, and accountable as it ministers to people of all ages, economic levels, and ethnic backgrounds. In this first year of the response, LDR has expended $6.4 million.
"God is present in our suffering, not 'out there' somewhere," Dr. McCurley stated. "This is a message of hope."
I want to thank you for your prayers and generosity which whelp to deliver and sustain that message of hope. Because of you, God's people are present with suffering people, joining them in their darkness and reflecting the Light of the World.
ELCA DOMESTIC Disaster Response - "September 11: Comfort and Renew"
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 - "September 11: Comfort and Renew"
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-9810
Credit card gift line: 1-888-930-4438
Yours in Christ,
Gil Furst
GILBERT B. FURST (written on October 21, 2002, at 7:20 PM
Director, ELCA Domestic Disaster Response (Division for Church in Society),
Lutheran Disaster Response (a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and LCMS)
8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago 60631 PHONE: 773-380-2719 FAX: 773-380-2493
Visit our websites: www.ldr.org and www.elca.org/dcs/disaster
