wfn.org | [LCMSNews] Hurricane Katrina triggers caring

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	August 31, 2005 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 59

	Hurricane Katrina wreaks chaos, triggers caring

	By Kim Krull

	Monique Miller, the wife of Rev. Philip Miller of Chalmette,
La., was due to deliver the couple's third child on Monday (Aug. 29),
the day Hurricane Katrina delivered to the Gulf Coast near New Orleans
what many are calling one of the most devastating storms in U.S.
history.

	Like thousands of their fellow Louisianans, the Millers
evacuated just before Katrina hit and are wondering what will remain of
their home once they are allowed to return.

	"It has been stressful, but we know God is watching over us,"
said Rev. Miller, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Chalmette, a
community of about 50,000 just southeast of New Orleans.

	The Millers followed evacuation orders and fled to the Houston,
Texas, area with their two young children and two elderly parishioners
who would have been stranded in Chalmette. Monique Miller experienced
contractions during the 13-hour trip.

	All are staying with the pastor and a member of Living Word
Lutheran Church in The Woodlands and hearing reports that lead them to
believe their homes and their church in Chalmette are probably flooded.

	"We live on the same street as the courthouse, and we understand
it has water up to the second floor," Rev. Miller said. "I'm concerned
the levee has given way, which means many in our congregation may have
damage."

	"It's one thing to say we may have lost everything and then to
realize that we probably have," he said.

	That's just one example of the horrific blow dealt by Katrina to
families in the Gulf Coast, including to many LCMS members and their
churches. The Category 4 storm caused the evacuation of thousands of
people and is responsible for at least 100 deaths and $25 billion in
damages, according to early estimates.

	"Even those of us who are in this business day in and day out
are shocked by the magnitude of Katrina," said Rev. Matthew Harrison,
executive director of LCMS World Relief/Human Care. "The reports that
are trickling out of the devastation are more shocking, one after the
other."

	Harrison and Rev. Carlos Hernandez, director of Districts and
Congregations with LCMS World Relief/Human Care, are preparing to leave
for the Gulf Coast on Friday (Sept. 2) to begin damage assessments and
coordinate response efforts.

	Requests for emergency assistance and stories of Katrina's
destruction are pouring into the St. Louis offices of World Relief/Human
Care, the arm of the LCMS devoted to disaster response, development, and
care for those in need.

	At least half of the 140 congregations in the LCMS Southern
District have been impacted by the hurricane and the Southern District
office in New Orleans is a total loss, according to Harrison, who spoke
with Southern District President Rev. Kurtis Schultz on Tuesday.

	"Priority one is doing everything possible to address the needs
of our district leaders, particularly President Schulz, whose home has
been devastated. Then we look to our pastors, church workers and
congregations," Harrison said. "As their needs are met, they will become
better able to turn toward their neighbors in love in word and deed."

	LCMS President Gerald B. Kieschnick is in Berlin, Germany,
attending the International Lutheran Council Conference, but also is in
contact with Southern District President Schultz and calls the
devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina "of unprecedented proportions."

	"I trust that the response of love and care by the people of
congregations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which has already
begun, will also be unprecedented in its magnitude," said President
Kieschnick, who plans to return to the United States on Saturday. "The
people of the LCMS are encouraged to give generously in financial
support and also, as appropriate, of their time and talent to assist
those in need, showing the compassion of Christ. We trust that even in
the midst of this tragedy, the words of St. Paul in Romans, Chapter 8,
are true, that 'in all things God works for the good of those who love
Him . . .'"

	Here's a sampling of a few of the stories reported to LCMS World
Relief/Human Care:

	* In response to the large number of people unable to evacuate
New Orleans, Rev. David Goodine and his family scrapped their plan to
leave the city and kept open the doors of St. Paul Lutheran Church near
the French Quarter. Sixty people, mainly from the parish, are staying at
the church, which is without electricity and running water and is
operating as a mini relief station, according to former Lutheran Hour
Ministries Executive Director Don Bennett, whose daughter, Elizabeth, is
Pastor Goodine's wife.

	* Thirteen people in New Orleans for an LCMS National Youth
Gathering planning meeting are being "rescued" by LCMS Department of
Youth Ministry staff. Executive Director Rev. Terry Dittmer and
coworkers left St. Louis Tuesday in two vans to pick up the stranded
group at Trinity Lutheran Church, Baton Rouge.

	* Forty-five young residents plus staff members of Bethlehem
Children's Center in New Orleans also were evacuated to Trinity, Baton
Rouge, where they are staying in the school gym.

	* Atonement Lutheran Church and School in Metairie, La., filled
with as much as four feet of water. "One of our members stayed in the
upper floor of the gym during the storm. Many homes are flooded, some to
the top of the first floor, others to the rooftops. People are being
rescued from their attics and rooftops," Atonement's pastor, Rev. Don
Little, said via e-mail.

	LCMS World Relief/Human Care is working on plans to establish a
network for volunteers to assist with hurricane recovery, working with
Rev. Stephen Linck, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Pensacola, Fla.
Linck has coordinated volunteers since last year's Hurricane Ivan.
Volunteer bases are expected to be set up in Pensacola and Houma, La.,
when it is safe to enter hard-hit areas. Call World Relief/Human Care at
(800) 248-1930, Ext. 1380 or 1381, for more information.

	Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) Volunteer Coordinator Hal Shope
also is collecting names of volunteers ready to assist communities and
congregations as needed and when deemed safe to enter into affected
areas, according to an e-mail correspondence from Heather Feltman, LDR
director and director of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's
Domestic Response office. For more information, call (800) 638-3522,
Ext. 2719.

	LCMS World Relief/Human Care also is in contact with partners
such as Orphan Grain Train to coordinate relief efforts.

	"In the coming days, LCMS World Relief/Human Care will be
joining together with our strong partners to get people chainsaws and
other needed supplies," Harrison said.

	Even in the midst of this tragedy, not all the news is bad.
Hurricane victims say they are thankful for the loving response of
fellow LCMS members who already are providing shelter and resources to
assist with what no doubt will be a long recovery.

	"Our congregation helped with tsunami relief, and it's nice to
know that things like that are reciprocal," said Miller, the Louisiana
pastor whose family is staying at the home of Rev. Alfonso Espinosa of
Living Word Lutheran Church in The Woodlands, Texas.

	"It's good to know that in times like this, people exercise
their faith and Christians look after you," Miller said. "It's good to
know people care."

	Gifts for hurricane relief may be made out to LCMS World Relief
and sent to LCMS World Relief/Human Care, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO
63166-9810; designate checks to "2005 Hurricanes." Or call the Credit
Card Gift Line at (888) 930-4438, or visit worldrelief.lcms.org
<http://worldrelief.lcms.org>  and click the "Give Now" button. That Web
site also has a link to interviews with Harrison and Schultz that aired
on radio station KFUO-AM in St. Louis.

	(Kim Krull is a freelance writer in St. Louis who writes for
LCMS World Relief/Human Care.)

	***************************************

	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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