Lutherans Continue 'Creative Ministry' Response to Victims

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran churches continue their "creative ministry" to respond to people directly impacted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, according to the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS).
In the first six weeks, Lutheran Disaster Response has provided care, counseling and assistance to survivors and their families, along with coordinating immediate and long-term recovery efforts, after terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York and damaged the Pentagon near Washington, D.C.
Anna Eissfeldt and the Rev. R. Richard Armstrong led a workshop designed to support school staff who still need to tell their students, "Your parent is dead," said Furst. The workshop also guided teachers in helping students cope with the crisis in New York.
Eissfeldt, a school psychologist, Tampa, Fla., and Armstrong, Grace Lutheran Church, St. Petersburg, Fla., led the workshop on Staten Island and southeast Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 19 and 20, respectively. The workshop is part of "God's Care in Time of Crisis," a program designed to train parochial teachers on helping defuse situations of anxiety among students following acts of violence. Eissfeldt directs the program.
"Ann Eissfeldt and Rick Armstrong have been present in Lutheran schools in New York City for several weeks," Furst said. "They have done more than lead a workshop," he said.
Furst reported that 47 children from Lutherans schools lost parents in the destruction of the World Trade Center.
"There are 21,000 students in 212 Lutheran schools of which 140 schools were directly impacted," he said.
In New York 300 to 400 Lutheran teachers will gather for a conference in November. The conference will include three workshops designed to provide individual and group counseling, and train 10 local counselors to work "on the scene," Furst said. Similar plans are being developed for Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., he said.
The Rev. Donald A. Stiger, director for specialized pastoral care and clinical education, ELCA Division for Ministry, has been working closely with Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) since Sept. 11. Stiger reported that several ELCA chaplains were among the first to respond after the terrorist attacks in New York, Furst said.
"Lutheran chaplains are ministering to those standing in long lines to report missing loved ones. Some work with police chaplain response teams, others work with distraught family members or assisting at temporary morgues, or with the American Red Cross," Furst said.
John Scibilia, New York disaster coordinator for Lutheran Disaster Response, the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, and the Rev. David Benke, president of the LCMS Atlantic District, are working together to address the stress of on-going church ministries in New York.
Bouman is meeting with pastors to determine "what's going on" in the areas they serve. Clergy from Upstate New York continue to conduct and organize memorial prayer services.
"I have met with directors of our social ministry organizations, deans of our [synod] conferences, and have heard stories from campus ministry and local seminary [individuals]. All are hearing stories, giving direct aid to victims and leading prayers," Bouman said.
"Of the 47 children in our Lutheran schools who lost parents, a little girl-- who lost her mom -- joined her classmates on a [recent] visit to a local fire station which had lost nine of its men," Bouman said in a report. "The school had collected work clothes, gloves and other materials to assist in the rescue operation. Many wept when the little girl looked up at the fireman and asked if they were going to find her mom," Bouman said.
Scibilia reported that Lutheran Social Services of Metropolitan New York has seen an "amazing increased demand for food pantries," Furst said.
"A case management system is being structured in New York to address needs and provide referral to resource [services]. Care for orphaned children continues. The Lutheran Counseling Center there is receiving 100 calls a day for help. The center's waiting area is jammed with people off the street seeking help in their shock, fear and grief," Furst said.
The Rev. Gary L. Harbaugh, care giver, Lutheran Disaster Response, is meeting with pastors in northern and central New Jersey, New York, Washington, D.C., and in the New England area, Furst said. Harbaugh reports that pastors share "significant needs" as they continue their ministry to grieving Lutherans and others. About 150 LCMS pastors will gather at the end of October for reflection and "empowering," Furst said.
The Rev. Foster R. McCurley Jr., care giver, Lutheran Disaster Response, will provide biblical and theological insights for clergy, school teachers and to the general public in the metropolitan New York area this month, Furst said.
"Plans are being put into place to help children in the upcoming Christmas season, as well as provide Camp Noah, a special program for children traumatized by disasters," he said.
Furst said respite care for clergy, deaconesses and Lutheran school teachers in New York and New Jersey will be coordinated by the ELCA and LCMS.
"The church is hard at work being the church [by] providing God's presence and promise through thousands of congregations across the country, through hundreds of schools, by hundreds of specialized care givers and tens of thousands of loving members," he said.
"The ministry of comfort and renewal is being provided to an untallied number of grieving families and communities, to children and rescue workers, to firefighters and hurting neighborhoods on the disaster sites," said Furst.

****************************
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:

ELCA Domestic 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