wfn.org | Lutherans, Chinese Christians Work Together in Disaster Response

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

Title: Lutherans, Chinese Christians Work Together in Disaster Response
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>May 22, 2009  

Lutherans, Chinese Christians Work Together in Disaster Response
09-120-MRC

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Soon after an earthquake struck
the Sichuan province in southwestern China one year ago,
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) developed
a $1.6 million plan to help reconstruct areas devastated by
the earthquake.  Today Lutherans remain committed to
rebuilding areas that have received little attention.

The May 12, 2008, earthquake killed 68,713 people.
About 18,000 people are still not accounted for and presumed
dead.  One million people remain homeless, according to ELCA
Global Mission.

Long before the earthquake, the ELCA had been engaged
in ministry and accompaniment with Chinese Christians, said
the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director, Asia-Pacific desk,
ELCA Global Mission.  "So when the earthquake happened, the
ELCA was able to walk (alongside) Chinese Christians and
provide support."

Ishida traveled to China in March.  He said some of the
human challenges remaining after the earthquake have yet to
be told.

Many elementary schools and homes in Sichuan were
destroyed by the earthquake.  An estimated 600 children and
70 teachers were relocated from two destroyed villages to the
city of Luzhou in southern Sichuan.  Some of these children
lost their parents in the earthquake.

"The government moved all the children, as one unit, to
Luzhou.  Their parents have been relocated to different places
as their homes and communities are being rebuilt, which may
take up to three years," Ishida said.

"In order to keep the children as one school unit, their
teachers were moved with the children.  These teachers have
become the caregivers of the children," Ishida said.

The ELCA is working with the Luzhou Christian Church -- a
companion ministry of the ELCA -- to provide clothing,
counseling and medical care for the children.

People who live with disabilities or have become disabled
from the earthquake need attention with rehabilitation,
accessible housing, and family and daily care, Ishida said.
The Federation for the Disabled, a nongovernmental
organization in China, is working to address these concerns
with support from the ELCA, he said.

Another area of need is care for caregivers, pastors,
church workers and teachers.  Ishida said the ELCA will help
in providing spiritual retreats and care for these
professionals.

"What I find exciting is witnessing the growth in the
church as a result of the engagement plan," Ishida said.  In
the community of Mianzhu, for example, Sunday worship
attendance has grown from 200 to more than 700, he said.

"People are curious as to what drives Christians to reach
out with unconditional love."

Many Christian worship sites in Sichuan were also damaged
or destroyed by the earthquake.  "Some of the hardest-hit
communities have received much attention.  Money has flowed
in from local sources and from around the world," Ishida said.

Church buildings in communities farther away from the
immediate earthquake zone sustained some structural damage,
including cracked walls and damaged roofs, he said.

Resources for repairs and rebuilding are scarce for these
church buildings, Ishida said.  The Sichuan church has
requested funding from the ELCA to help meet needs of many
of these churches and their facilities, he said.

"The ELCA is highly respected by the church in China
and the government because of our mission methodology of
accompaniment," he said.  "The ELCA does not implement its
own programs, but rather walks with our Chinese brothers
and sisters as they engage in the important work of serving
communities affected by the earthquake."
- - -

Information about the ELCA's engagement in China is
at http://tinyurl.com/o9nyeh on the ELCA Web site.

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