wfn.org | Lutherans Raise $1.5 Million for Hurricane Response

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 9, 2005

Lutherans Raise $1.5 Million for Hurricane Response
05-170-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) has raised $1.5 million as of Sept. 8 to support Hurricane
Katrina relief and recovery efforts.  The funds were not only
contributed by the 4.9 million members of the ELCA but from
Lutherans around the world, who have shared prayers and
expressions of sympathy.
     "Gifts and prayers are urgently needed in response to
Hurricane Katrina.  Gifts to the ELCA Domestic Disaster Response
will help fund relief efforts, such as our commitment to feed
people in the Astrodome, as well as our long-term recovery
efforts for years to come," said Kathryn Sime, director, ELCA
World Hunger and Disaster Appeal.
     "In the disaster response community, Lutherans may be best
known for our commitment to spiritual and emotional care for
survivors, and this will be particularly important given the
extent of the disaster.  Counseling services, care for caregivers
and pastors, and care for children whose childhood will be
forever changed by Hurricane Katrina are all essential elements
of community rebuilding.  We will continue to walk with Katrina's
survivors for years to come," she said.

Support from Lutheran Churches Overseas
     In a Sept. 7 letter to the ELCA, the Rev. Philip Lok, bishop
of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore, wrote, "As I
watched the news coverage of the devastation wrought by Hurricane
Katrina upon the Gulf Coast of the United States, I was
profoundly reminded of the destruction we suffered when the
tsunami hit south and southeast Asia.
     "Truly we can say that we deeply understand the pain of
those who are suffering due to the lack of basic necessities and
of those who lost their family and friends," said Lok.	"The
Lutheran Church in Malaysia sends our deepest condolences to
those who lost their loved ones," he said.  "We wish our friends
in the ELCA to know that we are standing with you in prayers for
those who are affected by the hurricane."
     In his letter Lok noted that the affected areas of Alabama
and Mississippi are part of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, "which
is the companion synod of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia.  We
wish you to know that apart from our prayers, the Lutheran
congregations in Malaysia will be taking a collection this week
and will channel it to the ELCA's disaster response, which is
doing a fine job in bringing relief to the affected areas," he
said.
     The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) also sent a
letter to the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA,
along with $4,500 to support the relief and recovery efforts of
the ELCA.  The letter was also addressed to the Rev. Rafael
Malpica Padilla, executive director, ELCA Division for Global
Mission (DGM), and the Rev. Barbara J. Lund, program director for
East Asia, DGM.
     "Although the amount is small compared to the size of this
disaster, please see it as an extension of our caring, thoughts
and prayers for you, our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,"
wrote Masatoshi Yamanouchi, president of the JELC.  The JELC is
made up of 130 churches in Japan.
     "It is with great sorrow and pain that we watch the news
unfold about the unprecedented disaster caused by Hurricane
Katrina.  Please know that we hold the people affected by this
disaster firmly in our prayers," said Yamanouchi.
     The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is accepting
financial gifts from its members to support the work of Lutheran
Disaster Response -- a ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-
Missouri Synod.  Lutheran Disaster Response is working to provide
immediate assistance to people displaced from their homes,
communities and work; coordinate volunteer efforts for search and
rescue operations; provide grants, emotional and spiritual care
for survivors of the hurricane; and participate in clean-up and
recovery efforts.
     The ELCA received "heart-felt greetings" from staff of the
Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania.  Dr. John P. Kaswija
wrote, "I would like to express by deep-felt sympathy," in a
letter to the ELCA.  "I do remember you and all Americans in (my)
thoughts and prayers.  May the Almighty guide and comfort all of
you."
     "We, in Madagascar, know exactly how such (a) disaster is
lived by the people.  We deplore the loss of hundreds of people
and the damages caused by (the hurricane).  We truly understand
how deep the country is affected," wrote Rabenasolo Lanto,
director, Comprehensive Health System, Malaysia Lutheran Church.
     "My heart is broken over the death and destruction of our
brothers and sisters" caused by Hurricane Katrina, said John
Rutsindintwarane, general secretary, Lutheran Church of Rwanda.
"The Lutheran Church of Rwanda is with you in this difficult
time."
     "This is accompaniment at its best.  Mission is always a two-
way street, where both companions are givers and receivers," said
Malpica Padilla.
     The ELCA has also received letters from Lutherans in
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan,
and students at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong.

Lutheran World Federation
     In an Aug. 31-Sept. 6 meeting, members of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) Council adopted a "public statement" in response
to Hurricane Katrina.  The LWF is a global communion of 140
Lutheran churches in 78 countries, with 66 million members.
Hanson is president of the LWF.
     "The members of the Council of the Lutheran World
Federation" have "followed the news of Hurricane Katrina, and of
its devastating impact on the communities of the Gulf States of
the United States of America, with shock at the scale of the
disaster and deep sympathy for the victims and their families.
We have been deeply distressed by the extended suffering,
predominantly of people living in poverty, particularly African
Americans, for days without essential care and aid," said the
statement.
     "We have remembered in prayer the victims and all those
affected by this disaster.  We assure those in the midst of this
crisis of the prayers of our churches around the world," it said.
"We recognize and encourage the important diaconic work of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in response to this crisis
and encourage support from the LWF member churches" and Action by
Churches Together (ACT) members "in the U.S. as appropriate."
     ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies
that meets human need through organized emergency response.  It
is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the LWF,
both in Geneva, Switzerland.  The ELCA is a member of WCC.

U.S. Young Adult Interested in Giving Back
     Katie Schmees, a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church,
Loveland, Ohio, said she wants to "give back" to New Orleans, the
city that hosted the 1997 ELCA Youth Gathering.
     About 25,000 high-school-age Lutherans attended the 1997
ELCA Youth Gathering, Schmees told the ELCA News Service.  She
noted that the number of teenagers who attended the gathering is
about the same number of Hurricane Katrina survivors who sought
refugee in the Superdome, one of the gathering's locales.
     New Orleans "was extremely hospitable to the overwhelming
number of teenagers in their midst," she said.	"While many of us
(teens) worked on service projects, we saw first-hand the poverty
of many of the city's residents," Schmees said.  "My experience
was unforgettable.  Since that (gathering), I have met several
people outside my congregation that felt the same way.	I think
that it is only appropriate that we give back to the city that
hosted our (gathering)," she said.
     Schmees said that if each person who attended the ELCA Youth
Gathering in New Orleans gave $10 -- the price of going to see a
movie -- a quarter of $1 million dollars could be raised to
support hurricane relief and recovery efforts "not to mention the
effect we could have if even just a fraction of us volunteer to
help clean up," she said.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
     Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity
unveiled a financial, volunteer and advocacy alliance designed to
increase Habitat's capacity to build more affordable housing in
the U.S. Gulf Coast area, according to a Sept. 8 Thrivent and
Habitat for Humanity news release.  Thrivent is a Minneapolis-
based, not-for-profit financial services organization serving the
ELCA and other Lutheran church bodies.
     The alliance, "Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity,"
represents a four-year, $100 million commitment by Thrivent.
- - -
DOMESTIC DISASTERS:

Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds to aid
survivors of major disasters inside the United States, Puerto
Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, P.O. Box 71764,
Chicago, Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via Internet:
http://www.ELCA.org/disaster/katrina

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news