In this Skype report from the Detroit airport, Deaconess Pamela Nielsen of LCMS Communications talks with two of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) disaster response team members who left Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, for the Philippines — the Rev. Ross Johnson, director of LCMS Disaster Response, and the Rev. Michael Meyer, manager of LCMS Disaster Response.
Objectives include working collaboratively with the LCMS partner church there and LCMS staff members in the Asia Pacific region and “to get on the ground and see what the needs are as soon as possible.”
The Rev. James Cerdeñola, president of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP), shares this update in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which wreaked havoc across the Philippines on Friday, Nov. 8. Rev. Cerdeñola has been in contact with LCP officials, Mindanao District officers, as well as the local ALERT team (Active Lutherans Emergency Response Team) as they mobilize in the Philippines to extend the mercy of Christ.
These images from the Associated Press show the destruction ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan as it barreled across the Philippines Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. News reports indicate that more than 10,000 people are feared dead.
The LCMS partner church in the Philippines has three congregations in areas hit hardest by the massive storm, with destruction and damage reported to members’ homes and church property.
Lutherans, including LCMS donors, have made it possible for the Synod’s small partner church in Chile to provide mercy to many people affected by one of the strongest earthquakes on record.
The fifth such conference hosted by LCMS Disaster Response, it is the first to address the church’s role in the wake of man-made tragedies such as shootings or bombings.
Although many of those with flood damage have begun cleanup, some still haven’t been able to get back to their homes because of impassable roads. Temporary housing is a big need.
In the wake of September’s torrential rains that caused flooding across the state of Colorado, national LCMS Disaster Response and LCMS Rocky Mountain District leaders met with area pastors whose communities were affected to determine immediate relief needs and long term recovery efforts.
Lutherans from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Venezuela, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay gather to learn about how the church can and does bear mercy in times of disaster.
Members of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Collins, Colo., are staffing a local shelter — providing food, clothing and other necessities to weary flood victims.
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