Lutherans Continue Care for People Affected by Wildfires in California

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Five members from St. Andrew Lutheran
Church, San Diego, visited Qualcomm Stadium Oct. 25 to provide
emotional and spiritual care for people seeking shelter from the
wildfires in Southern California. Members of the church also
sent supplies to help meet the basic needs of people taking
refuge at the stadium. St. Andrew is a congregation of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
"Our group from St. Andrew is trained to listen, respond
appropriately and pray with people in need. We will be available
for the long-term," said the Rev. Andrew A. Taylor, St. Andrew,
who added that many of the 10,000 people at Qualcomm are "going
back to their homes today. There are now about 800 people at
Qualcomm, and they are most likely people with the most need."
The members of St. Andrew are trained in providing one-to-
one care and are "very well received and appreciated," said
Tempie D. Beaman, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) coordinator
and disaster response coordinator, Lutheran Social Services of
the Southwest, Los Angeles. LDR is a collaborative ministry of
the ELCA and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Beaman is
coordinating Lutheran pastors and lay leaders to provide
emotional and spiritual care for people ordered to evacuate their
homes threatened by the wildfires.
"As the fires grew it became clear that there would be a
great need for the services and resources of Lutheran Disaster
Response," she said.
Other teams of pastors, chaplains and lay leaders will be
organized over the next several days to visit evacuation centers
and other locations, said Beaman. "Spiritual and emotional care
will be needed throughout the recovery period, which may last for
years," she said.
As areas become accessible Lutheran Social Services of the
Southwest, an LDR affiliate, will begin its assessment to
determine specific disaster response needs, said Beaman.
"Numerous e-mails and phone calls (from people across the
country) offering their assistance are coming into the Southern
California office of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest in
Los Angeles," she said.
House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Escondido, Calif., is
serving as an "impromptu evacuation center" for some of its
members, said Beaman. Members of Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church,
Ramona, Calif., offered their church building to serve as a
resource center for LDR. House of Prayer and Spirit of Joy are
congregations of the ELCA.
In the past few days Central City Lutheran Mission, San
Bernardino, Calif., has provided food for more children during
the day since schools are closed because of the wildfires. It
has had more people come to the food pantry to collect food, had
an increase of people with respiratory problems visit the
mission's H Street Clinic, and an increase of people living with
HIV and AIDS come to the mission to receive food and other
services, reported the Rev. David J. Kalke, executive director,
Central City.
"During these times when traditional human services are over
taxed because of these natural disasters in a city with no
natural disaster plan, please remember community-based agencies
like Central City Lutheran Mission, whose stretched resources are
used even more," said Kalke.
Kalke said he shared the recent activities of Central City
with area pastors and congregations. "Within eight hours
financial resources and food were donated to Central City,
enabling it to respond (further) to the needs of the community,"
he said. "While it is important to respond to people who have
lost their homes in the fires, it is important to remember people
impacted indirectly, especially children who receive some of
their meals at school."
Beaman contacted Central City to offer assistance.
At California Lutheran Homes "the general response for now
has been to utilize vacant beds in our various skilled nursing
units to accommodate patients/residents from other skilled
nursing communities where evacuation was required. Additionally,
we have utilized vacant units in our ... retirement communities
to accommodate displaced persons, including some of our own staff
who have evacuated," said the Rev. Gary L. Wheeler, CEO,
California Lutheran Homes -- a Lutheran social ministry
organization.
The Rev. Murray D. Finck, bishop, ELCA Pacifica Synod, Yorba
Linda, Calif., reported that a number of clergy from the synod
have been part of the evacuation orders, as well as countless
members of Lutheran congregations.
According to an Oct. 24 report from the Chicago-based office
of LDR, the disaster "is likely to have an impact across economic
classes." While the "full extent of this tragedy is yet to be
seen, there is likely to be a need for Lutheran Disaster Response
to assist in long-term recovery," particularly among people who
may be "overlooked and underserved."
LDR asked Lutherans to pray "for the many communities in
Southern California that continue to watch and wait for the fires
to be contained. We pray for the local, state and federal
officials who are aiding in the early response to this tragedy,
and we pray for the hundreds of thousands who are displaced from
their homes and feeling uncertainty about what exactly the future
holds."
Staff of ELCA Worship and Liturgical Resources has posted
litanies, prayers and hymn suggestions for congregations
concerned about wildfires at http://www.ELCA.org/worship on the
ELCA Web site.
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DOMESTIC DISASTERS:

Editors: When listing organizations receiving funds to aid
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,
Illinois 60694-1764
Credit card gift line: 1-800-638-3522
Credit card gifts via Internet:
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