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	October 8, 2004 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 71

	Four hurricanes batter churches, members

	By Paula Schlueter Ross

	One hurricane is bad enough, but several in a row have created
widespread devastation in Florida that is "just absolutely
mind-boggling," according to Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) spokesman
Zack Koczanski.

	"This is a very, very large crisis here," Koczanski said. "The
need for dollars is going to be significant."

	Back-to-back hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, which
hit Florida coastlines Aug. 13, Sept. 5, Sept. 16, and Sept. 25,
respectively, have killed more than 100 people in this country and
caused billions of dollars in damages in Florida and other states,
including Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North and South
Carolina.

	The latest storm, Hurricane Jeanne, killed more than 1,500
people and left 200,000 homeless in Gonaives, Haiti, leaving Haitians
and foreign aid workers overwhelmed, according to news reports.

	Hurricane Ivan and the dozens of tornadoes it spawned in this
country ripped off roofs, shattered windows and tossed cars and mobile
homes. Torrential rains and flooding ruined carpets, furniture and other
household items, now piled high on curbsides.

	One Ivan-related death of an LCMS member was reported in the
Southern District. Elizabeth "Liz" Cowan, 30, a lifelong member of
Trinity Lutheran Church in Mobile, Ala. She was killed in a car accident
Sept. 17 on Interstate 65 near Greenville, Ala. She and her family were
returning home from Birmingham, where they had gone to escape the storm.
Cowan's 4-year-old son, parents and aunt, passengers in the SUV she was
driving, were injured.

	Trinity Pastor Ulmer Marshall, Elizabeth Cowan's godfather,
described Cowan, a nurse, as "a very outgoing, lovable person." Marshall
conducted Cowan's funeral Sept. 25 at Trinity.

	More than 20 churches in the Synod's Florida-Georgia District
experienced loss of electricity, and at least nine have reported some
roof and water damage, according to initial reports. Several were
battered first by Frances, then by Ivan, according to Florida-Georgia
District President Gerhard Michael Jr.

	"Where there was damage with Frances, in most cases, it's worse"
now, Michael said.

	Florida congregations reporting Hurricane Jeanne damages, mostly
from torn roofs and water, include: Peace, Okeechobee; Grace, Winter
Haven; Faith, Clewiston; Trinity, Delray Beach; Redeemer, Stuart;
Trinity, Fort Pierce; Faith, North Palm Beach; and Grace, Port Saint
Lucie. Trinity Lutheran Church in Lake Placid reported water damage at
its church and youth house, and its playground was destroyed.

	Hit early-on by Charley and Frances, the Synod's Florida-Georgia
District has developed a five-pronged response to its professional
workers that includes preaching assistance and other pastoral care,
respite opportunities, debriefing for church staff, counseling, and
financial support for those with damages.

	Southern District damage

	A number of other LCMS churches, mostly in the Pensacola, Fla.,
area, sustained Hurricane Ivan damages, some "substantial," according to
LCMS Southern District President Kurt Schultz.

	"Pensacola is kind of a war zone," said Schultz. "In fact, one
soldier who came home from Iraq said he had not seen that kind of damage
in Iraq."

	Schultz said it was a "miracle" that more lives weren't lost in
the deadly hurricanes.

	Rev. Stephen Linck, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in
Pensacola, and his family chose to ride out the storm.

	"We had a number of people who could not or would not leave,"
Linck said. "I felt it was important that a shepherd stay with his
sheep." Even as Ivan was approaching and winds were picking up, Linck
and his DCE intern, Sam Beltz, were boarding up the windows for a family
in the congregation.

	More than a third of the roof of Linck's church was ripped off
by Ivan, and water soaked most everything in the church. The hurricane
also uprooted a number of large trees, including two 100-year-old oaks,
on the Grace property.

	"Grace Lutheran Church might be missing many parts this day, but
it is truly alive, for we have the Spirit of life in our midst," said
Linck, leading a worship service Sept. 19 in the church parking lot.
Grace members now are worshiping at an Episcopal church two miles away
until their church is repaired. Linck estimated damages at "at least
$850,000," and said the church is well-insured.

	Other Southern District churches hit by Ivan include:

	* Trinity, Cantonment, Fla., which lost a wall and has
significant water damage.

	* Redeemer, Pensacola, which has roof and water damage to its
church and school.

	* Amazing Grace, Pensacola, which lost its entire roof and most
of the roof of its educational building.

	* Immanuel, Pensacola, which lost two large stained-glass
windows, roof shingles and has water damage.

	* Shepherd of the Bay, Lillian, Ala., which suffered roof and
water damage to its church and preschool.

	* Jehovah, Pensacola, which has minor roof and water damage.

	Also reporting Hurricane Ivan damages was Resurrection Child
Care Center, Pensacola, which had roof damage from a fallen tree.

	Hurricanes also damaged the homes of numerous LCMS families,
putting a strain on Synod pastors who are responding to requests for
help, according to Rev. Carlos Hernandez, director of Districts and
Congregations with LCMS World Relief and Human Care.

	"All of the pastors in Pensacola are 'hands-on' involved in the
cleanup, as well as caring for their people spiritually," said
Hernandez, who visited Southern District congregations following Ivan to
determine the needs of hurricane victims and offer support. Many pastors
already are fatigued, he said, so counseling and respite care for clergy
is being coordinated through the district and Lutheran Services Florida.

	Damage elsewhere

	Hurricane-related flooding damaged two LCMS churches in the
Pittsburgh area:

	* First Evangelical, Sharps-burg, Pa., which has significant
water damage in the church basement and in the congregation's school.

	* St. John, Millvale, Pa., also had a flooded basement, due to a
sewer backup, and slight water damage to its preschool.

	And, in North Carolina, flooding caused by two days of rain from
Hurricane Frances swept away a bridge and flooded 18 cabins and several
RVs and motor homes at Camp Linn Haven in Linville. The estimated
$200,000 in damages included numerous ruined items, such as mattresses,
furniture, water heaters, golf carts and large appliances. Ivan wrought
additional damages to the camp, as floodwaters rose even higher in the
cabins.

	Lutherans respond

	Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive director of LCMS World Relief
and Human Care, says the Synod's relief organization has "staff on the
ground surveying the affected area, working with the districts to
identify and meet immediate and unmet needs."

	LCMS World Relief and Human Care has provided chain saws and an
initial emergency grant of $22,000 for hurricane victims, and is working
with the Synod's Florida-Georgia, Southern and Eastern districts to
respond to those who need help, as well as through Lutheran Services
Florida (LSF) and Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR).

	Lutheran churches in Florida are being used as distribution
centers for food, water and other supplies. Congregations are sending
out cleanup crews, and Lutherans are helping hurricane victims fill out
government aid forms for disaster-response loans. An "unmet needs" team
is providing grants to families with immediate needs. And Lutheran
counselors are providing their services free of charge.

	"As always, the financial gifts are tremendously helpful,"
Harrison said. Contributions to LCMS World Relief also fund LDR efforts,
he said.

	Danielle Kearney, LSF's director of church and community
relations, spent the latter part of September driving through Florida to
assess hurricane damages. As of Sept. 21, some reports were "still not
in" from LSF offices and staff in Florida's hard-hit areas, because of
phone and power outages, Kearney said. But food, water, ice and other
relief supplies are being distributed, she said, and many Lutherans are
offering their help as volunteers.

	"Everyone is helping -- we've gotten calls from all over the
nation," Kearney said. "People are driving down. We have people who want
to come in November and December and January -- the response has been
overwhelming and that is wonderful."

	Kearney said well over $60,000 worth of goods have been donated
to hurricane victims in Florida, and LDR has received some $150,000 in
cash contributions -- mostly from Lutherans.

	Money is the biggest need, she said, as are gift cards to
Wal-Mart. With money and gift cards, she said, "people then have the
dignity to go out and buy what they need."

	Also offering help is Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis,
which for years has operated with a policy that replaces -- free of
charge -- all CPH materials lost by congregations due to natural
disasters or fires.

	CPH Interim President/CEO Paul T. McCain said that replacing
items lost in the hurricanes will be especially meaningful because he
grew up in Warrington, Fla., one of the towns hard-hit by Ivan, and
knows "what a frightening experience it is to ride out a hurricane
through a long, dark night."

	McCain said CPH employees are praying for those "who have
suffered so much during this hurricane season. Our recovery assistance
program is our way of saying to them, `We love you. We are praying for
you. We want to help.'"

	Send donations earmarked "Hurricanes" to LCMS World Relief, P.O.
Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-9810; call the credit-card gift line at
(888) 930-4438; or go to the LCMS Mission and Ministry Giving Catalog at
catalog.lcms.org/ <http://catalog.lcms.org/>  and click on "Help
Hurricane Victims."

	To volunteer, go to the Lutheran Services Florida Web site,
www.lsfnet.org <http://www.lsfnet.org>	, and click on "Volunteer" under
"Help Us Serve."

	St. Louis writer/producer Rev. James Likens also contributed to
this story.

	****************************************

	If you have questions or comments about this LCMSNews release,
contact Joe Isenhower Jr. at joe.isenhower@lcms.org or (314) 996-1231,
or Paula Schlueter Ross at paula.ross@lcms.org or (314) 996-1230.

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