wfn.org | [LCMSNews] LCMS families lose homes to wildfires

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>12.5.2008		
>	LCMS News	 	
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>THE LUTHERAN CHURCH Missouri Synod  	 	
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	December 5, 2008 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 72

LCMS families lose everything in California wildfires

>By Linda C. Hoops

Rev. Craig Boehlke and his wife, Jennifer, were watching television at
11:30 p.m. Nov. 15, when a neighbor knocked on their sliding glass door
and warned them that wildfires were approaching their mobile home
community in Sylmar, Calif.  The couple switched to the local news
channel and watched the fire's progression.  At 2:30 a.m., they received
a mandatory evacuation order.

"We had about 15 minutes to get photo albums, pictures off the wall, and
some changes of clothing into our car," said Boehlke, pastor of Our
Savior's First Lutheran Church, Granada Hills, Calif.  "That was all."

Their home was one of 425 mobile homes that were reduced to ashes by the
wildfires that swept through the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los
Angeles.  They and five other LCMS families lost their houses in the
community including Rev. Charles Collier, pastor of Faith Lutheran
Church in Tujunga, Calif., who lost two homes: his and a rental property
that was for sale.

Collier, who had knee replacement surgery two weeks earlier, was asleep
when the evacuation order was received.  "We had 10 minutes to get out:
me, three dogs, and my caretaker."  Even with his knee still painful, he
managed to drive his van away from the fire.

"We talk about helping people out in these kinds of circumstances," he
said, "but now I approach it differently having been on the other side.
The Pacific Southwest District people just have been so generous and
loving on top of all this.  And I will be returning money to the
disaster fund as I'm able."

The fund he mentions was started last year during the southern
California fires, said Jerry Reichman, executive team leader and
disaster response coordinator for the Pacific Southwest District.
Donations to it have been made by LCMS Lutherans all over the country.
"We gave about $100,000 to those affected in the San Diego fires,"
Reichman said, "and we have given $24,000 to the four churches whose
pastors and members were affected by these latest fires."

The Boehlkes, accompanied by Rev. Glenn F. Merritt, director of Disaster
Response, and Rev. Carlos Hernandez, director of Districts and
Congregations with LCMS World Relief and Human Care, returned to their
home several days later, but all they found were pieces of their
nativity scene which had been in a storage area.

Boehlke says he can see God in action even in the midst of the
destruction. "People have been wonderful in responding to this crisis,"
Boehlke said.  "Our Pacific Southwest District office has helped, as has
LCMS World Relief.  Some non-LCMS churches have even taken up door
offerings for us.  To see the body of Christ responding like this is
wonderful."

During their two-day trip to California, Merritt and Hernandez met with
Rev. James Page and Principal Peggy Courtney of First Lutheran Church
and School in San Fernando.  First Lutheran opened its doors to people
who had evacuated their homes in the middle of the night and served as a
shelter for two days.  LCMS WR-HC gave a $5,000 emergency disaster
relief grant to the school to help two of its non-member families whose
homes were destroyed.

"These are folks who really need help," Page told the LCMS WR-HC staff.
"Even before the economic downturn, people here were living paycheck to
paycheck."  First Lutheran School, with grades K-12, serves a large
Latino population and a growing Korean population.

LCMS WR-HC gave another $5,000 grant to Hephatha Lutheran Church and
School, Anaheim, Calif., to help two non-member families who lost
everything in the fire.  As of Dec. 3, the Synod's disaster response arm
has given $36,000 in emergency relief grants to the Pacific Southwest
District and its congregations.

"These grants will not cover all the many needs of these households,"
said Hernandez, "which include the up-front costs of transitional
housing, clothing, furnishings, food, etc., but it will help them begin
the long road back to recovery, which includes knowing, experiencing,
and receiving Christian care and compassion as they move through the
trauma and crisis of suddenly being homeless."

Donations may be sent to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, P.O. Box
66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-9810.  Or, call the credit-card gift line at
888-930-4438.

To give online, visit http://www.lcms.org/ca/worldrelief/menus/news
(click "Give Now").

Linda C. Hoops is a freelance writer and a member of The Lutheran Church
of the Resurrection, Sunset Hills, Mo.

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

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