September 9, 2005

CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has raised $1.5 million as of Sept. 8 to support Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts. The funds were not only contributed by the 4.9 million members of the ELCA but from Lutherans around the world, who have shared prayers and expressions of sympathy.

"Gifts and prayers are urgently needed in response to Hurricane Katrina. Gifts to the ELCA Domestic Disaster Response will help fund relief efforts, such as our commitment to feed people in the Astrodome, as well as our long-term recovery efforts for years to come," said Kathryn Sime, director, ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal.

"In the disaster response community, Lutherans may be best known for our commitment to spiritual and emotional care for survivors, and this will be particularly important given the extent of the disaster. Counseling services, care for caregivers and pastors, and care for children whose childhood will be forever changed by Hurricane Katrina are all essential elements of community rebuilding. We will continue to walk with Katrina's survivors for years to come," she said.

Support from Lutheran Churches Overseas

In a Sept. 7 letter to the ELCA, the Rev. Philip Lok, bishop of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore, wrote, "As I watched the news coverage of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina upon the Gulf Coast of the United States, I was profoundly reminded of the destruction we suffered when the tsunami hit south and southeast Asia.

"Truly we can say that we deeply understand the pain of those who are suffering due to the lack of basic necessities and of those who lost their family and friends," said Lok. "The Lutheran Church in Malaysia sends our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones," he said. "We wish our friends in the ELCA to know that we are standing with you in prayers for those who are affected by the hurricane."

In his letter Lok noted that the affected areas of Alabama and Mississippi are part of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, "which is the companion synod of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia. We wish you to know that apart from our prayers, the Lutheran congregations in Malaysia will be taking a collection this week and will channel it to the ELCA's disaster response, which is doing a fine job in bringing relief to the affected areas," he said.

The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) also sent a letter to the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, along with $4,500 to support the relief and recovery efforts of the ELCA. The letter was also addressed to the Rev. Rafael Malpica Padilla, executive director, ELCA Division for Global Mission (DGM), and the Rev. Barbara J. Lund, program director for East Asia, DGM.

"Although the amount is small compared to the size of this disaster, please see it as an extension of our caring, thoughts and prayers for you, our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ," wrote Masatoshi Yamanouchi, president of the JELC. The JELC is made up of 130 churches in Japan.

"It is with great sorrow and pain that we watch the news unfold about the unprecedented disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina. Please know that we hold the people affected by this disaster firmly in our prayers," said Yamanouchi.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is accepting financial gifts from its members to support the work of Lutheran Disaster Response – a ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod. Lutheran Disaster Response is working to provide immediate assistance to people displaced from their homes, communities and work; coordinate volunteer efforts for search and rescue operations; provide grants, emotional and spiritual care for survivors of the hurricane; and participate in clean-up and recovery efforts.

The ELCA received "heart-felt greetings" from staff of the Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza, Tanzania. Dr. John P. Kaswija wrote, "I would like to express by deep-felt sympathy," in a letter to the ELCA. "I do remember you and all Americans in (my) thoughts and prayers. May the Almighty guide and comfort all of you."

"We, in Madagascar, know exactly how such (a) disaster is lived by the people. We deplore the loss of hundreds of people and the damages caused by (the hurricane). We truly understand how deep the country is affected," wrote Rabenasolo Lanto, director, Comprehensive Health System, Malaysia Lutheran Church.

"My heart is broken over the death and destruction of our brothers and sisters" caused by Hurricane Katrina, said John Rutsindintwarane, general secretary, Lutheran Church of Rwanda. "The Lutheran Church of Rwanda is with you in this difficult time."

"This is accompaniment at its best. Mission is always a two- way street, where both companions are givers and receivers," said Malpica Padilla.

The ELCA has also received letters from Lutherans in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan, and students at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong.

Lutheran World Federation

In an Aug. 31-Sept. 6 meeting, members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council adopted a "public statement" in response to Hurricane Katrina. The LWF is a global communion of 140 Lutheran churches in 78 countries, with 66 million members. Hanson is president of the LWF.

"The members of the Council of the Lutheran World Federation" have "followed the news of Hurricane Katrina, and of its devastating impact on the communities of the Gulf States of the United States of America, with shock at the scale of the disaster and deep sympathy for the victims and their families. We have been deeply distressed by the extended suffering, predominantly of people living in poverty, particularly African Americans, for days without essential care and aid," said the statement.

"We have remembered in prayer the victims and all those affected by this disaster. We assure those in the midst of this crisis of the prayers of our churches around the world," it said. "We recognize and encourage the important diaconic work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in response to this crisis and encourage support from the LWF member churches" and Action by Churches Together (ACT) members "in the U.S. as appropriate."

ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies that meets human need through organized emergency response. It is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the LWF, both in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of WCC.

U.S. Young Adult Interested in Giving Back

Katie Schmees, a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Loveland, Ohio, said she wants to "give back" to New Orleans, the city that hosted the 1997 ELCA Youth Gathering.

About 25,000 high-school-age Lutherans attended the 1997 ELCA Youth Gathering, Schmees told the ELCA News Service. She noted that the number of teenagers who attended the gathering is about the same number of Hurricane Katrina survivors who sought refugee in the Superdome, one of the gathering's locales.

New Orleans "was extremely hospitable to the overwhelming number of teenagers in their midst," she said. "While many of us (teens) worked on service projects, we saw first-hand the poverty of many of the city's residents," Schmees said. "My experience was unforgettable. Since that (gathering), I have met several people outside my congregation that felt the same way. I think that it is only appropriate that we give back to the city that hosted our (gathering)," she said.

Schmees said that if each person who attended the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans gave $10 – the price of going to see a movie – a quarter of $1 million dollars could be raised to support hurricane relief and recovery efforts "not to mention the effect we could have if even just a fraction of us volunteer to help clean up," she said.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity unveiled a financial, volunteer and advocacy alliance designed to increase Habitat's capacity to build more affordable housing in the U.S. Gulf Coast area, according to a Sept. 8 Thrivent and Habitat for Humanity news release. Thrivent is a Minneapolis- based, not-for-profit financial services organization serving the ELCA and other Lutheran church bodies.

The alliance, "Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity," represents a four-year, $100 million commitment by Thrivent.

ELCA News Service