CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continue to support survivors in western India, after an earthquake and its aftershocks killed thousands there Jan. 26.
The church's International Disaster Response initially provided $20,000 for emergency assistance. It contributed an additional $50,000 on Feb. 6.
The funds sent by the ELCA will help support relief efforts coordinated through Action by Churches Together (ACT), a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. ACT is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, Switzerland. The ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF.
Members of ACT are working with the Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) in India to retrieve more information about earthquake damage and the needs of survivors, said the Rev. Y. Franklin Ishida, director for international communication, ELCA Division for Global Mission. CASA, Church World Service, and Protestant and Catholic churches continue to provide shelter, food, water and other relief items.
The ELCA is channeling $30,000 through ACT for LWF/World Service in India, Ishida said. The church provided another $20,000 for Lutheran World Relief, he said.
LWR, the overseas relief and development agency of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is helping to purchase and distribute food, blankets and other relief items. LWR is a member of ACT.
Coordinated through the ELCA Division for Global Mission, International Disaster Response helps relief agencies provide funds for food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials and supplies. Funds are also used to rebuild communities and to repair structures destroyed by major disasters.
INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS:
Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds for aid to
survivors of major disasters outside the United States, Puerto Rico or
the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:
ELCA International Disaster Response
PO Box 71764
Chicago, IL 60694-1764
1-800-638-3522
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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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
