February 24, 2010

CHICAGO – Focusing on immediate provision of shelter and non-food items as the rainy season approaches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced it has increased its financial commitment by $2.5 million toward earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.

The ELCA will provide an additional $1.5 million to the Lutheran World Federation's Department for World Service (LWF-DWS) and $1 million to the Lutheran Church in Haiti, said Megan Bradfield, associate director, International Development and Disaster Response, ELCA Global Mission.

Through Feb. 24 the ELCA has received more than $5.8 million in gifts in response to the earthquake, including a matching gift of $320,000 from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis, said Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer.

These funds from ELCA World Hunger and ELCA International Disaster Response have been funneled directly to church-related partner organizations working on the ground in Haiti.

The ELCA previously sent $450,000 to LWF-DWS for immediate shelter, water and sanitation needs of nearly 12,000 families, Bradfield said. The LWF, Geneva, is a global communion of 140 churches, representing nearly 69 million Lutherans worldwide. The ELCA is an LWF member.

Church World Service (CWS), New York, a U.S.-based ecumenical relief organization, has provided blankets, hygiene kits, non-perishable food, tents, shipping, and local transportation and distribution services in Haiti. The ELCA has sent $300,000 to CWS.

The ELCA also has sent $150,000 to Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, to help provide health kits, quilts, thousands of tarpaulins, plus storage and shipping services. LWR is an international development and relief organization, and is a ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The ELCA is developing a long-term plan for funding ongoing relief efforts in Haiti, Bradfield said.

In a Feb. 19 e-mail message to the ELCA churchwide organization, the Rev. Joseph Livenson Lauvanus, president of the Lutheran Church in Haiti, wrote, "Port-au-Prince has now become a desolate place with no sign of activities. The buildings that are still standing are potential problems for both those who have their tents near them and the pedestrians. The government now is trying to smash down all the buildings that have cracks and cannot be used any more. The aftershocks are still prominent in Port-au-Prince."

Lauvanus wrote that church yards are "the best shelter place one can find," and are crowded with people. For those staying in Port-au-Prince there is a great need for food, he wrote. Power outages, sanitation and children who are without parents or guardians provide significant challenges, he wrote.

"Everybody, Christians and non-Christians, have considered the church as their refuge," he wrote. "The Lutheran church in Carrefour for instance is the one among all our churches that has been badly damage(d) by the earthquake. People use the backyard to erect their tents."

"As we are reaching out to those who are living in distress, we request your prayers and continuing support to share God's love, grace and compassion to our brothers and sister(s) who are currently undergoing one of the worst times of their life," Lauvanus wrote.

Financial contributions to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti can be made at http://www.ELCA.org/haitiearthquake/, or by calling 800-638-3522.

ELCA News Service