Lutheran Disaster Response Remains for the Long Haul

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Though a disaster may have disappeared from the headlines, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) remains. "When the church gets involved in a disaster response, we stay long after the others have pulled out," said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, LDR director. LDR is a ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Furst also directs domestic disaster response for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
"The urgency of a disaster is very sensational," said Johanna Olson, assistant for ELCA domestic disaster response. As a nation, "our attention is short and we go on with life," she said. Olson said LDR is committed to staying an extended time.
"People continue to need aid long after the disaster has occurred," she said.
LDR is currently present at eight disaster locations across the United States and the Caribbean:
--Floods, southwest Texas, since October 1998
--Floods, Kansas, since October 1998
--Hurricane Georges, Puerto Rico, since September 1998
--Tornadoes, Arkansas, since January 1999
--School shootings, Colorado, since April 1999
--Tornadoes, Oklahoma and Kansas, since May 1999
--Floods, northeast Iowa, since May 1999
--Tornadoes, North and South Dakota, since June 1999
Furst said he has two objectives when he goes to a disaster site. He meets with Lutherans and other local denominational and community responding agencies to discuss how they can work together. It's a team effort from the beginning, Furst said.
LDR delivers aid in three stages: emergency response, relief efforts and recovery programs, Furst said. He said LDR is at the scene as soon as possible, often immediately, to provide emergency assistance to sustain life by providing basic needs like food, water and shelter.
The relief effort begins when volunteers arrive to start cleaning the disaster area. During recovery, LDR works with local social ministry organizations to provide money and volunteers to help people rebuild their homes and lives. LDR is funded completely by congregational gifts and offerings, Olson said.
Some needs are not met by government programs, insurance or other organizations. Meeting these "unmet needs" is another way LDR responds, Furst said.
"We try to close the gap between what people need and the help they get," he said. Furst stressed LDR's commitment to helping the uninsured and those who have inadequate insurance coverage.
Not all needs are physical, Olson said. Relief efforts must include psychological and spiritual needs, she said. Olson said this is where local churches help, by simply being there for disaster victims. Olson calls this the "ministry of presence."
"It really does make a significant impact on people when they know they're not alone," said Furst.
LDR responded to more than 30 disasters in 1998, the largest number it has responded to since its beginnings in 1988, Furst said.
"It is our mission to extend the love of God," Olson said. "We are brothers and sisters. How we live is an expression of our faith," she said.

DOMESTIC DISASTERS:
Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to survivors
of major disasters *inside* the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S.
Virgin Islands, please include:

Lutheran Disaster Response
P.O. Box 71764
Chicago, IL 60694-1764
800-638-3522

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html