CHICAGO (ELCA) The U.S. Virgin Islands may be affected heavily during this year's hurricane season, said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) pastor. Furst recently visited the islands, where LDR has been helping people get ready for the possibility of hurricanes.
LDR is a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Miss= ouri Synod.
Furst, who traveled around St. Croix with Chris Finch, president of Lutheran Social Services-Virgin Islands (LSSVI), said "small grants have been provided to key LSSVI employees who must spend the days immediately prior to a hurricane preparing human-care facilities and to be at work during and after an actual storm."
The grants may be used to help purchase emergency supplies, tools or mitigation devices that would help solidify homes, he said. The grants were provided by the ELCA Domestic Disaster Response on behalf of LDR, Furst said.
In addition to the grants, every Lutheran pastor on each of the islands will receive hand-held short-wave radios and communication training. Pastors will use short-wave radios for communication and coordination in case a hurricane disrupts telecommunications, he said.
LDR and LSSVI are also working with Project Impact of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to prepare a disaster manual for families. The manual will explain how to protect homes properly, how to stay mentally healthy and how to care for children affected by a natural disaster.
In an effort to improve hurricane readiness, there will be a new program on St. Croix, mainly to help low-income, elderly, physically and mentally impaired, and single-parent homeowners, Furst said. Relief workers will fasten walls to rafters and studs to foundations, he said. The workers will also repair minor damage from previous hurricanes.
Furst recalled how thankful Virgin Islands residents were for LDR's ministry. He spoke to a woman named Maria, a resident of St. Croix, who deeply appreciated the efforts of LDR and LSSVI. "Thank God for the Lutherans," she said. "Thank God for Lutheran Social Services."
"Let us remember those who are still recovering from last year's storms; let us hold in our prayers those who may be affected this year; and let us continue to reach out to our brothers and sisters in their times of need, even as God has reached out in love to us," Furst said in a message to members of the ELCA. -- -- --
More information on disaster response efforts can be found on the ELCA's Web site at www.elca.org/disaster.
[*Michael N. Hoffman is a junior at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. This summer he is an intern with ELCA News and Information.]
-- -- -- --
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
- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
