wfn.org | Lutherans Help with Relief Efforts in Xenia, Ohio

[news@ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 24, 2000

LUTHERANS HELP WITH RELIEF EFFORTS IN XENIA, OHIO
00-246-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA)   Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and The Lutheran 
Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), is participating in relief efforts in Xenia,
Ohio, after a tornado and severe storms struck the town Sept. 20.
     The tornado killed one person.  Initial assessments indicate that
more than 260 homes were damaged and 60 destroyed, said the Rev. Gilbert
B. Furst, director of Lutheran Disaster Response.  There is an estimated
$20 million worth of recovery work needed in Xenia, he said.
     Lutheran Disaster Response has provided more than $6,000 to help
appoint a full-time case worker "who will be employed to assess the
individual needs of disaster survivors and to coordinate resources,"
said Furst.
     "In 1974, a tornado in Xenia killed 33 people and destroyed 300
homes," said Furst.  "This new disaster not only caused new challenges
and difficulties, but for many residents it has revitalized 26-year-old
sorrows," he said.
-- -- --
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:

               ELCA Domestic 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