Responding to the recent onslaught of natural disasters, Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) has put in place a new program to help LCMS rostered church workers (RCW), congregations, schools and other official Synod-related organizations affected by such disasters with loan funding and building service assistance.
According to a May 26 news release from LCEF, its new “LCMS Organization and RCW Natural Disaster Loan Program” is available to all eligible workers and organizations “located in natural disaster areas as declared by federal, state or local officials (such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and in need of emergency funding or redesign, repair and construction services. It is not limited to current borrowers or service customers.”
“While many in these impacted areas are being served well by the great work going on through LCMS World Relief and Human Care and other agencies, our objective in providing this assistance is to ensure [that] ministries in our church body have the long-term resources they need,” said LCEF President and CEO Rich Robertson. “We know they want to focus on their mission of assisting others and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The LCMS Organization and RCW Natural Disaster Loan Program will allow them to do just that.”
With the new program, funding is available for new LCEF loans to qualified organizations and church workers at 0 percent interest for the first 12 months of the term. For those with existing LCEF loans, LCEF “will make special considerations on a case-by-case basis as requested by the church worker or organization,” the news release explains. “In addition, the administrative fees associated with the [LCEF] Architectural Advisory Committee consultations and Laborers for Christ and [its] NAILS project are waived.”
The release also specifies that, “all loans are subject to loan underwriting guidelines and LCEF’s issuance of and terms of a commitment letter.”
For more information, call 800-843-5233 or go to www.lcef.org/disasterresponse on the Web.
Posted June 1, 2011
