June 20, 2008

CHICAGO – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), asked the 4.8 million-member church to join him in "prayer and action" for people facing adversity this spring after tornadoes and floods struck the central United States and the humanitarian crisis following an immigration raid in Postville, Iowa.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested about 390 workers May 12 at a meat processing plant in Postville, making the raid the largest at a single location in U.S. history.

"With a swiftness that we could not have imagined only weeks ago, the waters have brought chaos to a large area of the central United States," Hanson wrote in a June 20 letter to members of the ELCA.

"Tornadoes have caused fatalities in 15 states, and at least 11 synods" of the ELCA's 65 synods are "involved in relief operations with ELCA Domestic Disaster Response, an unprecedented number in our history," wrote Hanson. He cited also the flooding that is moving south along the Mississippi River valley.

Hanson asked members of the church to "pray for all who are facing adversity, including the hidden challenges that seep in after media attention leaves; the destruction of this year's crop and the productivity of cropland for years to come; the loss of homes and neighborhoods; the severing of ties from each other and histories in particular places; and the troubling emotions and thoughts that erode confidence and faith. Pray that God's Spirit sustain them in the hope of God's faithfulness, shown to us in Jesus Christ."

The ELCA has issued a Disaster Alert outlining ways members of the church can participate in recovery from the floods and tornadoes.

"Please join me in an outpouring of love that is equal not only to the depth of the waters, but even more to the fullness of Jesus' life in us and to the Spirit's renewing work in the world," said Hanson.

The full text of Hanson's letter is available at http://archive.ELCA.org/bishop/messages/m_080620.html, and ELCA Disaster Alerts are at http://archive.ELCA.org/disaster/article.asp?id=95&mode=1, on the ELCA Web site.

ELCA News Service