CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received about $3 million in financial gifts from its members in response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, said the Rev. Gilbert B. Furst, director for Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), in a report Nov. 9 to the ELCA Church Council. From Sept. 11 to Nov. 9, $890,000 has been sent to the New York area for distribution through a variety of disaster response initiatives, he said.
LDR responds to domestic disasters as a cooperative ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The ELCA Church Council, which met here Nov. 9-11, is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between its churchwide assemblies. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 11-17, 2003, in Milwaukee.
The church will likely be involved in disaster response to the attacks for "at least 10 years," Furst said, adding, "it could be involved at least for a generation."
A current concern is providing care for care givers such as pastors, chaplains, church workers and other church leaders who are directly involved in responding to many human needs in the aftermath of the attacks, he said. LDR and local leaders are organizing "respite care" for clergy in New York and Washington, D.C.
Local LDR coordinators have been placed in New York and Washington, D.C., he said.
The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, told the council that the Sept. 11 attack and its aftermath was a "heavy blow to our soul." People in New York are not yet ready to "move on," he said. "If you keep praying, you are reminded that God is not moving on but is sitting with us," he said.
The synod is setting up a system to respond to people who have little or no support from relatives or friends, Bouman said.
New York area chaplains and pastors are "running pretty hard and some are pretty raw," Bouman said, characterizing the overall state of area clergy.
"There is a growing conviction that we have been called and ordained for this moment," he concluded.
The church council discussed at length possible formal responses on behalf of the church to a variety of issues raised by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. After discussing many possibilities, members were unable to agree on a written response. The council asked its executive committee to develop the response. --- 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
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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
