wfn.org | [LCMSNews]Storms take members' homes

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	July 8, 2003 ....................... LCMSNews -- No. 71

	Nebraska storms take
	homes of members

	By Joe Isenhower Jr.

	Three Missouri Synod families in Deshler, Neb., lost their homes
when four tornadoes ripped through the town within four hours beginning
about 6:30 p.m. June 22.

	Up to a foot of rain fell on Deshler that evening.

	In the town of 879 people in southeast Nebraska, no Synod
congregation members were seriously injured  just scrapes and
bruises, said Rev. Duane L. Fahr, pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church
there.

	Many more are terribly damaged, Fahr said of members homes.
All our members are safe now, either with family members or friends, as
far as we know.

	The Red Cross fed residents at the Deshler Lutheran School
Association facilities at St. Peter. The congregation is one of four
churches in town  two other Lutheran and one Presbyterian.

	In all, damage assessments in Deshler show that nine homes were
destroyed.

	Just 20 miles away, the same day as the Deshler storms, heavy
rain caused the Rose Creek in Hubbell, Neb., to overflow its banks and
flood the south end of town. News reports say the flooding caused one
death and extensive damage in Hubbell, which has a population of less
than 100.

	Rev. Richard Kelm, vacancy pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in
Hubbell, said flood waters came within feet of the church doors.

	Kelm said that one member of Zion lost his home to a fire
started by lightning and another home had substantial water damage.

	LCMS Nebraska District President-Elect Russell Sommerfeld and
Bishop David deFreeze of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americas
Nebraska Synod were in Deshler June 26 to tour the town and meet with
church and community leaders, representatives of Orphan Grain Train of
Norfolk, Neb., and Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, through which
Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is managing its response in Deshler and
Hubbell.

	An LDR news release says that initial concerns in both towns are
for coordinating local volunteers, clean up and pastoral care.

	The same week, record numbers of tornadoes also struck
Manchester, S.D., and Buffalo Lake, Minn. There are no Synod
congregations in either town, and the presidents of the LCMS South
Dakota and Minnesota South Districts say they are not aware that any
Synod members had property damage or had been injured from those storms.

	LDR also is working through Lutheran Social Ministry of the
Southwest and with other agencies to provide services for those affected
by Arizona forest fires last month that destroyed 300 buildings in
Summerhaven, Ariz. Initial efforts there are on counseling, job
coordination and case management.

	To help the storm or fire victims, designate donations for
Midwest Tornadoes or Western Fires and mail them to LCMS World
Relief, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-9810. Or, call the
credit-card gift line at (888) 930-4438. Or, go to the Synods online
Giving Catalog at catalog.lcms.org, <http://catalog.lcms.org,>  click
on Begin Search, then on Key Word, and type in Tornado.

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	LCMSNews is published by the News and Information Division,
Board for Communication Services, of The Lutheran Church--Missouri
Synod. If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

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