We share a message from Rocky Mountain Synod’s Bishop Jim Gonia, who reports two pastors and multiple church members lost their homes in the recent Marshall Fire. In his message, Bishop Gonia provides an update, prayers, and information on how to help.
We also share Lutheran Disaster Response’s wildfire relief page about the Marshall Fire.
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Since the beginning of November, refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have been stuck at the Belarus-Poland border. They are experiencing a lack of food, medical supplies and shelter and are facing winter weather with no place to go.
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Lutheran Disaster Response is collaborating with the Indiana-Kentucky Synod and other partners in the area to assess the damage and develop an immediate and a long-term response plan. Your gifts to support these response efforts will empower our partners to meet survivors’ immediate and long-term needs.
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Since November 2020, an ongoing conflict in Tigray, a region of Ethiopia, has caused a humanitarian crisis. People have been forced to leave their homes, becoming internally displaced people (IDPs) in the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar. There are an estimated 1.2 million IDPs, who are faced with food insecurity, COVID-19 and possible flooding.
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Lutheran Disaster Response is contributing to an appeal from Church World Service (CWS). In the commune of Pestel in Grand-Anse, CWS is focusing on health, water and sanitation, shelter and psychosocial care. There is a special emphasis on supporting students as the school year begins in Haiti.
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The United States has withdrawn from a decades long war in Afghanistan. Under a special immigrant program, the U.S. has been evacuating thousands of Afghans who served alongside Americans.
Lutheran Disaster Response is reaching out to synods, congregations and affiliates that are taking an active role in welcoming Afghan families.
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“This isn’t a soup kitchen where people get in line and are getting whatever we give you,” said chef and kitchen manager Angelique Gilyard. “We give the people the choice in what they have. You can have your sandwich toasted if you want, the whole sandwich or just the bread. If you want to take your meal home, that’s fine.”
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For over two decades, the ELCA has been present in southern Haiti. Lutheran Disaster Response is working in those communities to meet relief needs. In this post we share a letter from The Rev. Daniel Rift, Director of ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response Fund.
For many Haitians, their only source of aid throughout their lives has been the church. After the earthquake, presidential assassination and storms, many of those churches are in ruins, as we learn in this article and podcast from the New York Times.
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The Sierra Pacific Synod is collecting funds and working in partnership with Lutheran Disaster Relief and Lutheran Social Services of Northern California to provide immediate relief for those affected by the Dixie Fire and other fires expected to affect California and Nevada this season.
Your contributions will go to emergency relief support for congregations and members impacted by the wildfires. We invite you to make a donation here: https://tinyurl.com/SPSfiresupport
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Lutheran Disaster Response shares God’s hope, healing and renewal to people whose lives have been disrupted by disasters in the United States and around the world. When the dust settles and the headlines change, we stay to provide ongoing assistance to those in need. An update from Program Director John Byron.
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Lutheran Disaster Response provides a situation report on the Palestine-Israel conflict.
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ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response are ministries deeply rooted in the identity of the ELCA, and the mission to which God calls this Church.
So, we are happy to share with you that these two ministries are now joined together on a single team within the Service and Justice home area of the ELCA churchwide organization: the Building Resilient Communities Team!
As we introduce this new structure within the churchwide organization of the ELCA, we are excited to introduce, too, the members of Building Resilient Communities Team.
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Lutheran Disaster Response and Lutheran World Relief are responding to the devastating situation in India.
Lutheran Disaster Response shares a situation update and Lutheran World Relief asks for help to deliver oxygen, ventilators, pulse oximeters and personal protective equipment to hospitals across India.
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Lutheran Disaster Response provides updates on supporting a response to the fires breaking out in Rohingya refugee settlements in Bangladesh.
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Lutheran Disaster Response gives an update on several Middle Eastern countries with humanitarian crises.
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Lutherans Disaster Response gives an update on the region of Tigray, where conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
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During a multi-day warm-up in February 2020, melting snow and heavy rains caused the Umatilla River and its tributaries to overflow their banks. Damage was great and so was the need for a long-term recovery group (LTRG), a common structure in the disaster response community that allows for a holistic response. Read how Lutheran Disaster Response was a catalyst in the group.
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In the spirit of accompaniment, ELCA companion church Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil (IECLB) sent a gift to Lutheran Disaster Response to support our response to the winter storms in Texas. The following excerpt is from a letter written by Mauro B. de Souza, the vice president of IECLB.
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Beginning Feb. 14, a polar vortex descended over the United States, severely impacting states like as Texas, which lack the infrastructure to handle the freezing temperatures and record-setting snow and ice. This has led to power, food and water shortages throughout the region.
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In Honduras and Nicaragua, Lutheran Disaster Response is engaging with ACT Alliance and local partners in relief activities, such as providing hygiene kits, cash assistance, and food packages.
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