wfn.org | Lutheran Disaster Response Remains for the Long Haul

[NEWS <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 2, 1999

LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE REMAINS FOR THE LONG HAUL
99-171-LS

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Though a disaster may have disappeared from the
headlines, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) remains. "When the church
gets involved in a disaster response, we stay long after the others have
pulled out," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, LDR director. LDR is a
ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
     Furst also directs domestic disaster response for the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
     "The urgency of a disaster is very sensational," said Johanna
Olson, assistant for ELCA domestic disaster response. As a nation, "our
attention is short and we go on with life," she said. Olson said LDR is
committed to staying an extended time.
     "People continue to need aid long after the disaster has
occurred," she said.
     LDR is currently present at eight disaster locations across the
United States and the Caribbean:
          --Floods, southwest Texas, since October 1998
          --Floods, Kansas, since October 1998
          --Hurricane Georges, Puerto Rico, since September 1998
          --Tornadoes, Arkansas, since January 1999
          --School shootings, Colorado, since April 1999
          --Tornadoes, Oklahoma and Kansas, since May 1999
          --Floods, northeast Iowa, since May 1999
          --Tornadoes, North and South Dakota, since June 1999
     Furst said he has two objectives when he goes to a disaster site.
He meets with Lutherans and other local denominational and community
responding agencies to discuss how they can work together. It's a team
effort from the beginning, Furst said.
     LDR delivers aid in three stages: emergency response, relief
efforts and recovery programs, Furst said. He said LDR is at the scene
as soon as possible, often immediately, to provide emergency assistance
to sustain life by providing basic needs like food, water and shelter.
     The relief effort begins when volunteers arrive to start cleaning
the disaster area.  During recovery, LDR works with local social
ministry organizations to provide money and volunteers to help people
rebuild their homes and lives. LDR is funded completely by
congregational gifts and offerings, Olson said.
     Some needs are not met by government programs, insurance or other
organizations. Meeting these "unmet needs"  is another way LDR responds,
Furst said.
     "We try to close the gap between what people need and the help
they get," he said. Furst stressed LDR's commitment to helping the
uninsured and those who have inadequate insurance coverage.
     Not all needs are physical, Olson said. Relief efforts must
include psychological and spiritual needs, she said. Olson said this is
where local churches help, by simply being there for disaster victims.
Olson calls this the "ministry of presence."
     "It really does make a significant impact on people when they know
they're not alone," said Furst.
     LDR responded to more than 30 disasters in 1998, the largest
number it has responded to since its beginnings in 1988, Furst said.
     "It is our mission to extend the love of God," Olson said. "We are
brothers and sisters. How we live is an expression of our faith," she
said.

DOMESTIC DISASTERS:
Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to survivors
of major disasters *inside* the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S.
Virgin Islands, please include:

                 Lutheran Disaster Response
                       P.O. Box 71764
                   Chicago, IL  60694-1764
                        800-638-3522

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html