May 22, 2009

CHICAGO – Soon after an earthquake struck the Sichuan province in southwestern China one year ago, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) developed a $1.6 million plan to help reconstruct areas devastated by the earthquake. Today Lutherans remain committed to rebuilding areas that have received little attention.

The May 12, 2008, earthquake killed 68,713 people. About 18,000 people are still not accounted for and presumed dead. One million people remain homeless, according to ELCA Global Mission.

Long before the earthquake, the ELCA had been engaged in ministry and accompaniment with Chinese Christians, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director, Asia-Pacific desk, ELCA Global Mission. "So when the earthquake happened, the ELCA was able to walk (alongside) Chinese Christians and provide support."

Ishida traveled to China in March. He said some of the human challenges remaining after the earthquake have yet to be told.

Many elementary schools and homes in Sichuan were destroyed by the earthquake. An estimated 600 children and 70 teachers were relocated from two destroyed villages to the city of Luzhou in southern Sichuan. Some of these children lost their parents in the earthquake.

"The government moved all the children, as one unit, to Luzhou. Their parents have been relocated to different places as their homes and communities are being rebuilt, which may take up to three years," Ishida said.

"In order to keep the children as one school unit, their teachers were moved with the children. These teachers have become the caregivers of the children," Ishida said.

The ELCA is working with the Luzhou Christian Church – a companion ministry of the ELCA – to provide clothing, counseling and medical care for the children.

People who live with disabilities or have become disabled from the earthquake need attention with rehabilitation, accessible housing, and family and daily care, Ishida said. The Federation for the Disabled, a nongovernmental organization in China, is working to address these concerns with support from the ELCA, he said.

Another area of need is care for caregivers, pastors, church workers and teachers. Ishida said the ELCA will help in providing spiritual retreats and care for these professionals.

"What I find exciting is witnessing the growth in the church as a result of the engagement plan," Ishida said. In the community of Mianzhu, for example, Sunday worship attendance has grown from 200 to more than 700, he said.

"People are curious as to what drives Christians to reach out with unconditional love."

Many Christian worship sites in Sichuan were also damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. "Some of the hardest-hit communities have received much attention. Money has flowed in from local sources and from around the world," Ishida said.

Church buildings in communities farther away from the immediate earthquake zone sustained some structural damage, including cracked walls and damaged roofs, he said.

Resources for repairs and rebuilding are scarce for these church buildings, Ishida said. The Sichuan church has requested funding from the ELCA to help meet needs of many of these churches and their facilities, he said.

"The ELCA is highly respected by the church in China and the government because of our mission methodology of accompaniment," he said. "The ELCA does not implement its own programs, but rather walks with our Chinese brothers and sisters as they engage in the important work of serving communities affected by the earthquake."

Information about the ELCA's engagement in China is at http://tinyurl.com/qjo4zt, on the ELCA Web site.

ELCA News Service