Lutheran World Leaders Visit US Areas Marred in Hurricane Sandy’s Wake

LWF General Secretary Junge: A Message of Hope for Those Rebuilding Lives

In a historic visit, leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a delegation of church leaders representing The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) traveled together, 30 November – 1 December, to areas of the United States impacted by storms produced from Hurricane Sandy.

Eleven leaders of the ELCA and the LWF met with about 200 ELCA members, pastors and residents, particularly in New Jersey and New York, who suffered loss from the storms in mid-October.

The delegation members surveyed the destruction and damage of ELCA church buildings and residential homes. More than 10 ELCA church buildings were severely damaged, and thousands of ELCA members are still displaced and/or rebuilding after the storm, which caused an estimated USD 50 billion in damage along the northern U.S. Atlantic coast.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson called the pastoral visit historic. The “dividing walls that have separated the Lutheran church bodies throughout the world are gone,” and the federation and ELCA are working in tangible fellowship. He said the visit also indicates that the Lutheran churches in Africa, some among the fastest-growing in the global church, are standing on their own to come to the United States to express their care and solidarity.

“The delegation embodies the presence of the whole of the LWF with its 143 member churches in order to bring a word of comfort to those suffering and a message of hope for those rebuilding their lives,” wrote LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge in a 27 November letter to Hanson.

“Through their physical presence, the LWF delegation wishes to support the ELCA as it sets out to respond to the spiritual and material challenges resulting from Hurricane Sandy,” Junge wrote.

“Indeed, there is no church so big, so old, [and] so well-resourced that it would not heavily depend on the love, care and solidarity of others. Conversely, there is no church so small, so young and with so scarce resources that it does not have gifts to share with others. We wish the accompaniment of the LWF delegation to be an embodiment of these relationships of reciprocity and mutuality that are constitutive of the gift of being churches in communion, and for which the LWF stands,” he wrote.

The Lutheran communion was represented by Bishop Elisa Buberwa of the North-Western Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT); Bishop Cindy Halmarson, Saskatchewan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; and Rev. Dr Veikko Munyika from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN). The ELCT shares a companion relationship with the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, and the ELCIN is in relationship with the ELCA New Jersey Synod.

Seeing the Damage and Listening to Survivors’ Stories

“I’m a strong believer that we need to do communal public lament,” said Hanson, when he addressed a large group of ELCA pastors at a 30 November meeting in West Hartford, Connecticut. “People must weep and mourn that which is no longer, just like in the Book of Lamentations, before they are ready to relinquish the sadness and move on” from the disaster.

The presiding bishop also acknowledged the “tremendous strength people have to hope, and the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases.” A critical component of the trip, Hanson shared, “is that we accompany you and are here for you.”

Munyika agreed, adding that television news and images viewed from afar was one thing, but witnessing it in person is more powerful. “I came to the United States to do what e-mails, faxes and phone calls cannot do—to express solidarity, love and care in person, [and] to listen to the people who have experienced the reality here.”

Listening to survivors of the storm share their stories was especially helpful, according to Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, executive director for congregational and synodical ministries, ELCA churchwide ministries. “When you see one disaster, you’ve seen one disaster,” he said. “People’s narratives are very important.”

“My heart is here for you. This is a new mission for the church. Something we learned from Hurricane Katrina is that we can’t overlook the power of the gospel in the community,” said Bouman.

For Halmarson, seeing flood-damaged areas was overwhelming. The LWF “has come to the United States to say, ‘We’re walking with you.’ For the very first time, I will go home and tell them about the caregivers in New York and New Jersey. We’ll keep walking with you in prayer.”

Buberwa told survivors that this show of the Lutheran communion’s support was only the beginning. “I will take all these stories and share them with people at home, and [we] will pray for you. Our prayers are with you.”

Long-Term Recovery

Prayers are only one part of the church’s response, said Rev. Michael Stadie, who is coordinating the ELCA’s disaster response efforts. Stadie is assessing financial needs and partnering with local Lutheran social ministry organizations.

“Our three areas of focus are providing emotional and spiritual care, volunteer coordination and long-term recovery,” he said, adding that disaster response can come in many forms, such as volunteers mucking out homes.

Bishop Robert A. Rimbo, ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, and Bishop E. Roy Riley Jr. of the ELCA New Jersey Synod, expressed their gratitude for the pastoral visit, acknowledging that they would be working together for many months ahead.

Riley said the New Jersey Synod was only beginning to assess the damages. “Four weeks later, and we’re still in the assessment stage. So many people have been displaced, and two church [buildings] are so badly damaged. It took weeks to even track people down. We will be working on recovery for a long time.”

Herb Nellis, a member of Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Keyport, New Jersey, is prepared for the long haul of recovery work. The retired truck driver and small-business owner lost the first floor of his house and was living in a house offered to him by a friend. “How do I get through this?” he asked. “Knowing that people care. You think that you’ve lost everything in the storm but [then come to] realize that you haven’t lost everything. You have the care and concern of people.”

In addition to organizing relief efforts in the United States, the ELCA is responding in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy overseas. ELCA members are providing basic needs such as food, water and shelter in the Caribbean through ELCA Disaster Response.

The ELCA is the only LWF member church in the USA. It has 4.2 million members in nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. (1,125 words)

(From ELCA News)