Just before 2:45pm local time in Japan (early morning in the US) one of the largest earthquake ever to hit Japan, with a magnitude of 8.9, struck around the town of Sendai causing massive damage and creating a tsunami with waves up to 30 feet. As of this morning the situation is being assessed by ELCA with its companion on the ground, the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC). In looking at the situation Pastor Eric Anspach-Hansen of Tokyo Lutheran stated, “Hopefully our church [the ELCA] will be able to get involved in the relief work in the coming months.” Through its predecessor bodies the ELCA has had a relationship extending back to 1892 with the local Lutheran community in Japan. As more is learned about the impact of this disaster, we will continue to build on this long-standing relationship.

As of date it has been learned that the 22 ELCA Missionaries (and 3 dependents), sent by ELCA Global Mission, working in the area are all safe and accounted for. We are still awaiting reports on how the local JELC churches have been affected, particularly in and around the area of Sendai. As the news was reported at a Lutheran World Federation leadership conference in Malaysia, attended by leadership of the JELC and ELCA, a representative from the Australian Evangelical Lutheran Church, which has recently been dealing with massive flooding and an earthquake in New Zealand, stated that of all the outpouring of help from the international community “prayer was the most important gift.” This sentiment was echoed by ELCA Missionary in Japan, Ally Streed, “Please keep the people of Japan (and just Japan in general) in your thoughts and prayers. This is the biggest earthquake they’ve seen since the Kobe earthquake of 1995.”

As we await more information and determine how best to respond please share the gift of prayer, for those who have lost their lives, those that deal with the devastation left behind and those who come to their aid. May God grant strength and peace where they can be found.

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Gifts to ELCA International Disaster Response allow the church to respond globally in times of need. Donate now.

ACT team setting up camps on Libya-Tunisia border. Photo: ACT/Church of Sweden/Sarah Harrison

A team comprised of staff from ACT member organisations Norwegian Church Aid, FinnChurchAid, the Lutheran World Federation and the Church of Sweden, has been working at full capacity on the Libyan-Tunisian border to assess and prepare for the possible humanitarian fallout of the situation in Libya. They are currently stationed at Sousha Refugee camp, located on the Tunisian side of the border. This camp has a current population of around 15,000 and is well maintained but the fear is that with unconfirmed reports of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands living in camps on the Libyan side of the border camps like this could be overrun if a violence in Libya continues.

In preparation for the worst the staff and the camp are attempting to expand the camp’s facilities for the potential new refugees. The hope is that with these expanded resources the camp could hopefully take in up to 100,000 refugees.

As the situation and the violence continues to worsen the ACT team will continue to assess what type of response or appeal should to enacted to meet the needs of those in need. Please keep these people, their work and those who they work on behalf of in your prayers. May God’s charitable and ever-giving spirit be amongst them in their times of need.

Read the full report.

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Gifts to ELCA International Disaster Response allow the church to respond globally in times of need. Donate now.

On February 24 Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary General for Religions for Peace*, released a statement calling for the violence in Libya to stop. The statement calls on the government of Libya to cease in attacking its own citizens and for the members of the Libyan army to disobey orders to attack their fellow country men and women with warplanes. Also called for members of the international community to take responsible and legal action to ensure the full rights and safety of the Libyan people.

Read the full statment.

* Tracing it’s roots back to 1961, Religions for Peace is the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s great religions dedicated to promoting peace. It maintains the goal of respecting religious differences while celebrating our common humanity and is active on every continent and in some of the most troubled areas of the world, creating multi-religious partnerships to confront our most dire issues: stopping war, ending poverty, and protecting the earth.

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Gifts to ELCA International Disaster Response allow the church to respond globally in times of need. Donate now.

ELCA Bishop Mark Hanson & Rev. Joseph Livenson Lauvanus, president of The Lutheran Church of Haiti, discussing the restoration work in Haiti.

Over two days at the end of February ELCA Presiding Bishop, Rev. Mark S. Hanson, visited Haiti to see first-hand how the church is continuing to engage the people and their needs in this period of recovery and restoration. He was accompanied on his trip by the ELCA’s International Disaster Response representative and was hosted by the President of the Eglise Lutherienne d’Haiti (The Lutheran Church of Haiti), Rev. Joseph Livenson Lauvanus.

In a statement that seemed to sum up the good work going on Rev. Lauvanus proclaimed, “We Haitians will not be defined by the rubble, but by restoration, for we are a people of the resurrection.” Bishop Hanson said that what he saw in the work and lives of the people of Haiti was an embodiment of this statement and the reason why these moments when the church can accompany brothers and sisters are of benefit to all those involved.

Let us continue to pray that this resurrection spirit continues to dwell and inspire the work of restoration from the rubble.

Read the full press release.

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Gifts to ELCA International Disaster Response allow the church to respond globally in times of need. Donate now.

ACT Alliance photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/geoftheref

The above title is based on a report by Linda Macqueen of the Lutheran Church of Australia’s Lutheran magazine on the aftermath of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand. It is in reference to the congregation of St. Paul’s Lutheran in Christchurch, who will be meeting for worship Sunday outside of their building which has been declared unsafe to enter. They are hoped to be joined in prayer by Lutherans and other Christians throughout the world as the Lutheran Church of New Zealand’s president, Rev. Robert Erickson, calls for this Sunday to be a day of prayer for those affected and those working for on their behalf.

Though this title is in reference to a single, and powerful, act of worship at St. Pauls, it can aptly describe the role of the church overall. As reports slowly roll out because of lack of electricity and communication they are filled with pieces about how people are serving the neighbor and being served by the neighbor in their time of need. I have read about Australian doctors, in Christchurch for a convention, who are without shelter or water but are still finding ways to serve, of Church World Services finding ways to stay in communication and continue to serve the population even though they do not have access to their downtown offices, of pastor David Lipsys who was on the Northern island of New Zealand at the time of the quake and is trying to find a way back to be with his wife and congregation in their time of need, and so on.

Part of what is so amazing is that this area is still recovering from the aftermath of an earthquake that struck earlier in September of last year. Through it all they have continued to be strong and even to increase their support of brothers and sisters around the world in places like Haiti, Chile and Pakistan who have also been struck by natural disasters.  So hopefully this Sunday you will be able to say a prayer for the people of Christchurch and the surrounding area as they continue to find ways of living into and through God’s grace amidst tragedy. For though the building crumbles, the church still stands.

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Gifts to ELCA International Disaster Response allow the church to respond globally in times of need. Donate now.

Map of Mentawai Islands

It’s been almost four months since a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake producing a tsunami with 9 foot high waves hit the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia causing over 500 casualties and leaving over 11,000 homeless. Since that time reconstruction and aid has been consistent but slow on account of the difficulty actually getting there (only one weekly boat trip from Sumatra to the islands) and the lack of working communications once there (limited phone lines, spotty cell phone reception and rolling brown outs). The ELCA, through the ACT Alliance, has helped to support the ongoing response of its partners on the ground.

What I was really excited to see when reading the ACT Alliance update on the situation was that along side the much needed aid of mobile clinics, home reconstruction and sanitation, one of the partners (Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU)) had also built a football (soccer) field. The field now gets daily use and YEU has reported that they see happier faces than prior to the the field being built.

Why this excited me was seeing the recognition of life as more than subsistence alone. In the call to serve the neighbor, I believe Christ means not only to their physical needs but also their spiritual well being. What a gift to bring the gift of a smile to a player or fan and the joy of a hard played game as well as the comfort of a warm meal, a solid roof over one’s head and the caring hand of a medical professional in one’s illness. It is amazing to see all the ways that Christ continues to work.

So as you continue to pray for those affected by this natural disaster and those who are dedicating themselves to meeting their needs, add a few prayers that the weather may be fair, the soccer balls ample and the shots true.