Missouri Synod grants $100,000 for Oklahoma tornado relief

For Immediate Release

Contact: Vicki Biggs
@theLCMS
314-996-1236/314-556-3829 (cell)
@VickiBiggs2

ST. LOUIS, May 24, 2013— As damage assessments continue, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has approved an initial $100,000 emergency grant to the LCMS Oklahoma District to meet immediate tornado-relief needs.

LCMS disaster-relief staff will be in the state’s tornado-swept areas May 24-25, meeting with local Lutherans and distributing $50 gift cards, sandwiches, drinking water and spiritual care and comfort.

“It is raw and gut-wrenching to be in the midst of such visceral expressions of pain, but people are very appreciative and keep asking who we are,” said the Rev. John Fale, associate executive director of the LCMS’ Mercy Operations Group, on-site in Moore, Okla.

Staff from the church body’s St. Louis-based International Center are in Moore, working from a base at St. John’s Lutheran Church. The church in Moore has been designated as a distribution site for emergency aid, including water, blankets, air mattresses, plastic bins and other basic needs. The congregation also is offering local elementary-age children scholarships to its five-week summer camp

“The best ways to support the relief effort is by contributing to LCMS Disaster Response instead of sending material goods or traveling to Moore,” said Fale. “Those who want to give are encouraged to designate the Synod’s general disaster fund.”

To financially support the LCMS relief effort:

Give a donation online at https://www.lcms.org/givenow/disaster

Mail checks made payable to “The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod” (with a memo line or note designating “LCMS Disaster Relief” to:The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
P.O. Box 66861
St. Louis, MO 63166-6861

Call toll-free 888-930-4438 (8:10 a.m. – 4:10 p.m. CST, Monday – Friday)

In the last nine years, the LCMS has awarded more than $31.7 million through 698 domestic and international grants for emergency response and ongoing disaster relief in the wake of events including the tsunami in Asia; Hurricane Katrina; the earthquakes in Japan, Haiti and Chile; and Superstorm Sandy. To learn more about the LCMS Disaster Response ministry, visit www.lcms.org/disaster.

About The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) is a biblical, confessional, witness-oriented Christian denomination with 2.3 million members in 6,200 congregations. Through acts of witness and mercy, the church strives to make known the love of Jesus Christ around the world. Learn more at www.lcms.org.

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