Title: Lutherans Continue Care for People Affected by Wildfires in California ELCA NEWS SERVICE
October 25, 2007
Lutherans Continue Care for People Affected by Wildfires in California 07-174-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Five members from St. Andrew Lutheran Church, San Diego, visited Qualcomm Stadium Oct. 25 to provide emotional and spiritual care for people seeking shelter from the wildfires in Southern California. Members of the church also sent supplies to help meet the basic needs of people taking refuge at the stadium. St. Andrew is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
"Our group from St. Andrew is trained to listen, respond appropriately and pray with people in need. We will be available for the long-term," said the Rev. Andrew A. Taylor, St. Andrew, who added that many of the 10,000 people at Qualcomm are "going back to their homes today. There are now about 800 people at Qualcomm, and they are most likely people with the most need."
The members of St. Andrew are trained in providing one-to- one care and are "very well received and appreciated," said Tempie D. Beaman, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) coordinator and disaster response coordinator, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, Los Angeles. LDR is a collaborative ministry of the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Beaman is coordinating Lutheran pastors and lay leaders to provide emotional and spiritual care for people ordered to evacuate their homes threatened by the wildfires.
"As the fires grew it became clear that there would be a great need for the services and resources of Lutheran Disaster Response," she said.
Other teams of pastors, chaplains and lay leaders will be organized over the next several days to visit evacuation centers and other locations, said Beaman. "Spiritual and emotional care will be needed throughout the recovery period, which may last for years," she said.
As areas become accessible Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, an LDR affiliate, will begin its assessment to determine specific disaster response needs, said Beaman. "Numerous e-mails and phone calls (from people across the country) offering their assistance are coming into the Southern California office of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in Los Angeles," she said.
House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Escondido, Calif., is serving as an "impromptu evacuation center" for some of its members, said Beaman. Members of Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Ramona, Calif., offered their church building to serve as a resource center for LDR. House of Prayer and Spirit of Joy are congregations of the ELCA.
In the past few days Central City Lutheran Mission, San Bernardino, Calif., has provided food for more children during the day since schools are closed because of the wildfires. It has had more people come to the food pantry to collect food, had an increase of people with respiratory problems visit the mission's H Street Clinic, and an increase of people living with HIV and AIDS come to the mission to receive food and other services, reported the Rev. David J. Kalke, executive director, Central City.
"During these times when traditional human services are over taxed because of these natural disasters in a city with no natural disaster plan, please remember community-based agencies like Central City Lutheran Mission, whose stretched resources are used even more," said Kalke.
Kalke said he shared the recent activities of Central City with area pastors and congregations. "Within eight hours financial resources and food were donated to Central City, enabling it to respond (further) to the needs of the community," he said. "While it is important to respond to people who have lost their homes in the fires, it is important to remember people impacted indirectly, especially children who receive some of their meals at school."
Beaman contacted Central City to offer assistance.
At California Lutheran Homes "the general response for now has been to utilize vacant beds in our various skilled nursing units to accommodate patients/residents from other skilled nursing communities where evacuation was required. Additionally, we have utilized vacant units in our ... retirement communities to accommodate displaced persons, including some of our own staff who have evacuated," said the Rev. Gary L. Wheeler, CEO, California Lutheran Homes -- a Lutheran social ministry organization.
The Rev. Murray D. Finck, bishop, ELCA Pacifica Synod, Yorba Linda, Calif., reported that a number of clergy from the synod have been part of the evacuation orders, as well as countless members of Lutheran congregations.
According to an Oct. 24 report from the Chicago-based office of LDR, the disaster "is likely to have an impact across economic classes." While the "full extent of this tragedy is yet to be seen, there is likely to be a need for Lutheran Disaster Response to assist in long-term recovery," particularly among people who may be "overlooked and underserved."
LDR asked Lutherans to pray "for the many communities in Southern California that continue to watch and wait for the fires to be contained. We pray for the local, state and federal officials who are aiding in the early response to this tragedy, and we pray for the hundreds of thousands who are displaced from their homes and feeling uncertainty about what exactly the future holds."
Staff of ELCA Worship and Liturgical Resources has posted litanies, prayers and hymn suggestions for congregations concerned about wildfires at http://www.ELCA.org/worship on the ELCA Web site. - - - 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/ddrgive
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog