“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) — Helping the hurting amid disaster
This tornado struck just 3 days after the local LERT training on March 12th. The congregation saw a need, hosted the training and became certified for disaster preparedness. No one knew at the time that they themselves would hear the tornado sirens just a few days later. Because the team was trained beforehand, they knew what to do and responded to their community.
Lutheran Congregational Mercy Work Over the last 15 years there has been a renaissance of congregational mercy work across the congregations in the LCMS. Much of this resurgence was due…
However, for almost two decades there has been an increased reliance on government funding NGOs. Many large faith-based organizations now get well over 50 percent of their annual income from the government funding sources and depend substantially on government budgets, election results, and political parties for funding their social work projects.
On January 29, 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order establishing The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI). Many non-government organizations (NGOs) including congregations, denominations,…
The fact is that long term rebuilding is difficult and is not glamorous. However, LCMS Disaster Response is committed to helping communities rebuild for up to three years after a disaster has torn apart lives and homes. LCMS congregations are anchors in their community. They serve as a lighthouse of the Gospel and they can be a mercy center for helping others in a time of need.
Families must be able to cope with disaster by preparing and working as a team. Maintaining a ready supply of food, water, hygiene, health items and a few basic tools can go a long way to making sure your family can take care of itself for a few days without outside help.
For almost a decade LCMS Disaster Response has been training Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT). In fact, there are over 14,000 trained LERT members across the LCMS. I am often asked how we can get a LERT training event at my church and what should I expect during the training.
Even though sending used clothes sounds like the ‘easy’ way to help, gift cards can be an incredibly effective way to give real physical assistance to an individual or a family.
Why do bad things happen? What are Lutherans to believe when everything is in chaos and God feels so very far away? How can we Trust in God’s Love when we don’t understand what is going on around us?
The purpose of the five-session study is to explore how members of the body of Christ demonstrate love and compassion to people in need as an expression of faith.
When a disaster hits your own town, your life is turned upside down in a tailspin of events. This is exactly what happened to me.
As visits are made in the wake of disaster, the mercy and love of Christ are brought again to those who are suffering.
KFUO Radio host Andy Bates talked on Oct. 7 with the Rev. Terry Makelin, the Rev. Tom Heren and the Rev. Seth Clemmer about the life and mercy work of their congregations in the wake of disaster in their communities.
The massive amount of rain has burst dams and blocked roads. Pastors Denninger and Meyer discuss the differences between this disaster and Hurricane Hugo as they determine how to best serve the needs of the community and help with recovery.
Tim Hetzner, president of Lutheran Church Charities, talks about their recent work and the purpose for their ministry.