Lutheran Disaster Response and Lutheran World Relief are joining forces to aid farmers and families in newly liberated areas of Ukraine through the $1 million SPARRK project. This comprehensive initiative aims to rebuild farms, provide essential supplies, and restore resilient livelihoods in the Kharkiv region. Discover the full impact and details of this groundbreaking collaboration at ELCA.org.
Read MoreMariia Simian, from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, is living through war for a second time. Just three years old when World War II tore across Europe in the 1940s, she says the memories haunt her.
“I remember everything,” she says. “I often remember. My mother hid our whole family from this horror wherever she could – in the basement, in fields behind the house – because the Nazis were looking for Roma.”
Read More2022 was a full year for Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR). The highest profile event is the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In addition to the war, LDR worked with partners to respond to a wide range of other disasters, including Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires and gun violence. Internationally, some examples of responses in 2022 include monsoon flooding in south Asia, migration in Central America and refugees in the Middle East.
Read MoreLutheran Disaster Response shares this story of a children’s therapeutic camp for children from Ukraine who lost one or both of their parents in the war.
Read MoreThe European Union is a world leader when it comes to replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. But that won’t be enough to keep Europe warm this winter, as a fuel crisis the likes of which hasn’t been seen since World War II grips the continent.
Read MoreAs Russian forces advanced on his town in Ukraine’s heavily contested Donbass region, a group of friends helped to save Igor Gusev’s life.
Born with cerebral palsy, Igor has lived independently with some limited support.As bombing and violence approached his home, Igor’s friends packed him and just a bit of luggage into a car and headed west.
Read MoreLutheran Disaster Response has raised over $10 million in support of refugees and internally displaced people in Ukraine and surrounding countries. New partnerships in Eastern Europe include L’Arche, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), and Lutheran World Federation.
This post also has a partner update from the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia (ECACS).
Read MoreWhen war came to Ukraine and desperate people began streaming across the international borders in the frigid days of late winter and early spring, the Rev. Miroslav Mató knew he and the members of his parish would be called upon to help.
Located in Gerlachov, a small village in Slovakia about 200 miles from the Ukrainian border, Rev. Mató and his wife, Rev. Jana Matóva, prepared to offer refuge.
Read MoreMore than three months since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, fighting continues to intensify as humanitarian conditions deteriorate. The United Nations’ OCHA Ukraine: Humanitarian Report estimates that 6.6 million people have fled the country and 8 million are displaced internally.
Read this situation report from Lutheran Disaster Response, including partner updates with Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary (ELCH) and Lutheran World Federation.
Read MoreThe Rev. Rachel Eskesen, Area Desk Director for Europe, introduces three people she met on her travels in Eastern Europe. They represent the work of ELCA partners in the region that are accompanying refugees from Ukraine. For more information about Lutheran Disaster Response and the ELCA’s work in Eastern Europe, visit: ELCA.org/Ukraine.
Read MoreMillions of people are suffering the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine. As devastation sweeps the region and millions are forced to flee their homes, we are beginning to see the long-term consequences the war will have for food security in Ukraine and around the globe.
In this video, the Rev. Daniel Rift talks with Rev. Rachel Eskesen and Dr. Ryan Cummingabout conflict, hunger and the ELCA’s response in Eastern Europe.
Read MoreUkraine: LWF provides cash assistance for refugees in Poland
Chile: Lutheran bishop appointed chaplain to presidential palace
New partnership for LWF and International Labour Organization
Toward more inclusive, safe, and just communities By Rev. Tientcheu Djomgoue Marie Besong
Nigerian seminary brings education on irregular migration and trafficking to the classroom
In this post we share an update from Rev. Kyle & Ånna Svennungsen, ELCA missionaries in Slovakia.
We are writing to you from Bratislava, Slovakia. At Bratislava International Church, our theme for Lent is ‘Walking with Jesus: Repentance, Reconciliation, Restoration.’ This theme was chosen before the war in Ukraine began and it has taken on a whole new meaning in these last four weeks.
Read MoreGeneral Secretary visits Tanzania
War in Ukraine: Donate
Hot meals and kind hugs: Polish welcome for Ukrainian refugees
Ukraine: “One minute we’re in school, the next we’re running for our lives”
Germany: With heart and mind – doing what is necessary for the people of Ukraine
Stories
Read MoreTo plan and plant a garden is an act of faithful preparation. To nurture and tend to tiny stems is to have hope for a time when those same stems may grow into something large enough to nourish another being.It’s a practice that can bring us closer to the divine.
Read MoreWar in Ukraine: Donate
Stories
Human Rights Council: Upholding the right to freedom of religion or belief
Human Rights Council: LWF welcomes appointment of special rapporteur for climate
Shaping the spiritual and community life of the Thirteenth Assembly
Philippines: Training program equips lay leaders to share the Gospel
War in Ukraine: Donate; LWF fact-finding visit to Polish-Ukrainian border; Estonian archbishop: We must be peace seekers; Photos: support for Ukraine.
Stories: USA: It matters to young people that issues of justice be a part of “Gospel work”; LWF General Secretary awarded “Der Friedenstein” prize; LWF advocates for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines at Human Rights Council; CSW66: Women must lead the way out of climate crisis; CSW66: Women at forefront of climate solutions; Nepal: Fostering resilience through water, sanitation and health; Colombia: Supporting the most vulnerable amid violence.
Read MoreOur Saviour's Lutheran Church in central Tucson will host a free will donation benefit concert for refugees affected by the war in Ukraine on Friday, 4/1/2022 at 7pm MST/PDT, 6pm MDT. Online and in-person.
All proceeds will go to ELCA Disaster Response: Eastern European Crisis Response. The concert is being freely offered by Ivory Winds Trio (Deena Reedy, flute; Ji Sun Lee, piano; and Michael Lich, classical guitar.
Read MoreAs of Mar. 23, over 3.5 million people are estimated to have left Ukraine, most of which are women and children. The refugees are primarily fleeing to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. According to UNHCR, another 2 million people are displaced within Ukraine.
Lutheran Disaster Response has committed over $2 million to companion churches and ecumenical partners that are accompanying refugees and other impacted by the conflict in Ukraine.
Read MoreAfter 106 years of searching, a ship lost miles below the icy water near Antartica was recently found! Explorer Ernest Shackelton’s ship, Endurance, was exploring these frigid waters when it became trapped by ice and could no longer move. Scientists say that because it sank in such cold water the ship is almost perfectly intact, as if it sunk yesterday! Such a discovery!
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