May 5, 2010

CHICAGO – Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi (LESM) has offered two camping sites along the Gulf Coast for use by trained volunteers working to help cleanup the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"LESM is offering both its volunteer camps, Camp Victor in Ocean Springs and Mission on the Bay in Bay St. Louis, to house trained personnel associated with the oil spill cleanup and wildlife rescue," said Sandra L. Braasch. Braasch, Jackson, Miss., is an ELCA diaconal minister and LESM director of disaster preparedness and response. Braasch is also president of Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.

The camp facilities were used to house volunteers who worked along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, and they served as distribution sites for supplies.

Volunteers must be trained to qualify for participation in beach cleaning work – prior to the time the oil makes landfall – to minimize the oil's effect on beaches. Federal, state and private entities have asked volunteers to attend training to ensure their personal safety and well-being, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Some 2,000 volunteers have already been trained.

BP announced May 5 that it stopped the flow of oil from one of three existing leak points on the damaged well. The company said while this is not expected to affect the overall rate of flow from the well, it is expected to reduce the complexity of the situation. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that oil is flowing from the damaged well at a rate of 5,000 barrels per day.

In Louisiana, Lutheran Social Services of the South (LSS), Inc. reports that it is monitoring the situation along the coastline.

"We are currently in discussions with various state and federal agencies and remain on stand-by preparing to provide assistance, should a response be needed or requested," said the Rev. Kurt Senske, president and chief executive officer, in a message posted on the LSS Web site.

Senske said the state is hiring and training 500 people for cleanup work. Oil has already reached the Louisiana coast, and the state has closed some fishing grounds and oyster beds due to the risk of oil contamination, he said.

The biggest need is likely to be "direct assistance to those whose property and/or livelihood is impacted," Senske said. Spiritual and emotional care may also be needed for the short and long terms. He asked for prayers for all who may be affected by the oil spill disaster.

The spill is an "environmental tragedy" that will affect people's livelihoods, and is "a difficult emotional blow after Katrina," said the Rev. Kevin A. Massey, director, Lutheran Disaster Response and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response.

"We're lifting up the need for pastoral support and supporting (professional) leaders in their ministries," he said. "This could go on for months and months. Our main mission will be ministering to people in their losses, and nurturing their spirits."

Information about the LESM campsites is at http://www.futuresforfamilies.org/FuturesforfamiliesFrontpage.html, on the Web.

ELCA News Service