New Missouri Synod video depicts disaster relief efforts in the Philippines

For Immediate Release
Contact: Vicki Biggs, 314-996-1236, 314-556-3829 (cell). @thelcms

Church sends $350,000 for immediate, ongoing Typhoon Haiyan relief

ST. LOUIS, December 27, 2013—The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) has released a video showing the immediate and ongoing disaster relief ministry of the LCMS and its partner, the Lutheran Church in the Philippines, in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. Viewers will see images – some sure to be disturbing – of the effects of the typhoon and hear from church leaders who were on-site within a week of the typhoon that struck Nov. 8.

“Typhoon Haiyan is in a class of its own,” said the Rev. Glenn Merritt, director of LCMS Disaster Response, in the video. “Compared to the disasters I’ve responded to, this has been so devastating and destroyed so much property, so many lives and so many livelihoods that it is unparalleled in the history of disasters at least in the last 10 years.”

In the weeks since Typhoon Haiyan decimated parts of the Philippines, the LCMS has released $350,000 for relief and recovery efforts in the devastated island nation.

The LCMS granted $100,000 to another partner, Lutheran World Relief, a Baltimore, Md.,-based agency that serves people living in poverty overseas, and $250,000 to the Lutheran Church in the Philippines, an LCMS partner church with several congregations directly impacted by the typhoon. In part, the funds are being used to provide care packages that include food and hygiene items to support a family of eight for about a week and shelter repair kits.

“The amount of work ahead for the people in the Philippines is overwhelming,” said the Rev. Ross Johnson, co-director of LCMS Disaster Response. “The immediate need is for food and hygiene; the intermediate need will be working with the Lutheran Church in the Philippines to help with sustainability and rebuilding lost homes.”

The need for additional funds is great. Some 4 million survivors of the typhoon have lost their livelihoods and their homes have been destroyed. Rebuilding one home can cost $1,000 to $1,500.

“Laborers are plentiful in the Philippines,” said Johnson. “They have the resources on the other islands; what they need now is funds to be able to purchase the goods: cinder block and corrugated roofs.”

LCMS Disaster Response is the church’s ministry that delivers the mercy of Jesus Christ to people suffering as a result of natural and man-made disasters. The ministry’s hallmark is its model of providing both immediate relief and long-term recovery assistance.

To view the video, visit www.lcms.org/video/PhilippinesUpdate.

To make a gift in support of LCMS Disaster Response, visit http://www.lcms.org/disaster.

About The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is a biblical, confessional, witness-oriented Christian denomination with 2.2 million members – 600,000 households – in some 6,200 congregations. Through acts of witness and mercy, the church carries out its mission worldwide to make known the love of Jesus Christ. Learn more at www.lcms.org.

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