Damage caused by Jan 23 tornadoes. Credit: LMA
Due to the immensity of damages and the large turnout of volunteers the city of Clay has put a hold on volunteer involvement until they have a coordinated “volunteer day” on February 11. To learn more see the city’s Volunteer & Donors page.
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
My name is Matthew Ley and I am the Program Interpreter for ELCA Disaster Response. Last week I had my first trip to Minot, ND to check in on the progress made since the flooding from this past summer and to host a respite retreat for the local ELCA pastors. It was a bit of a roller-coaster event emotionally as I learned about and saw first-hand the devastation caused by the flooding. However, because of this event I was able to connect with an amazing set of ordained and lay leaders of this church. I figure the best way to get across what happened is to walk you through the days.
Tuesday, Jan 24, 2012
My first introduction to Minot after the airport was arriving at Sherie & Pat Heine’s house around 11:30pm. With hotels being booked solid with oil workers and people working around the disaster, my search for rooms were met with either no’s or price tags upwards of $160/night. And so Sherie, Western North Dakota Synod Vice-President, and her mother, Pat, graciously agreed to house me during my time. Although it wasn’t official until Toughy, their dog, made sure I passed muster.
(more…)
Early this morning severe storms with high winds, and in some places tornadoes, pounded the South and Midwest. One of the heaviest hit areas was Alabama, where the storms and tornadoes led to two confirmed deaths in Birmingham, AL. Soon afterward the governor declared a state of emergency. Search and rescue work continues in heavier hit Montgomery, AL. We have also heard from our companions in the region that Faith Lutheran Church in Clay, AL was not damaged, but the building has lost power and some members of the congregation have been affected.
The state has also been in the midst of recovery from storms on April 27, 2011 that struck the northwest part of the state. One of the affects of this was major damage to Christ Lutheran in Cullman, AL. You can read more in this Field Report and at the LDR Volunteer page.
In these coming days, please keep all those affected in prayer, that God may bring them comfort. Also, keep the first responders, members of the Southeast synod, Pastor Larry Richardson and Faith Lutheran as well as the Lutheran Ministries of Alabama in prayer, that God may give them strength and patience for the days ahead.
As we learn more please check the ELCA Disaster Response webpage and the Lutheran Disaster Response site for more information. If you are in the area and want to know more please contact Ron Turney (ron.turney@lmal.org) or Heather Turney (heather.turney@lmal.org) of Lutheran Ministries of Alabama (205-259-6480).
Just got forwarded a great article from today’s Minot Daily News which highlights how members of the ELCA are responding to disaster. The story is about the Tree of Hope Fair, hosted at First Lutheran in Minot this past Sunday. The event sprung from the idea that with the extensive flooding in Minot this past summer many people may have lost their decorations for the Christmas season. To help make the season brighter, the fair offered donated holiday decorations for free, that people could come and take.
A great aspect of the event was the shared opportunity in hosting it, as highlighted by a comment posted to the article by Pastor Mike Pancoast, Associate Pastor of First Lutheran:
While the event was held at First Lutheran, the whole thing was really an effort of ALL the Minot-area congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The coordinator for the marvelous snacks and refreshments served on Sunday was Sue Roise from Zion Lutheran. Deanna Syvertson from Bethany was a coordinator for the set-up and sorting that took place on Saturday. I know there were volunteers from Peace Lutheran in Burlington and Christ Lutheran here in town, not to mention the dozens of other volunteers from across the denominational spectrum.
There are so many great things in here, it’s hard to decide which to lift up. This is the ELCA at work, doing God’s Work with our hands. These are Churches highlighting the meaning of Christmas in true acts of giving. Here we see Christians loving God through their loving service to the neighbor. Gotta say it brings a smile to my face and a lightness to my heart. Amen!
Read the Article: Tree of Hope Fair — First Lutheran event brightens Christmas for area residents
————-
Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond globally and at home in times of need. Donate now.
Missouri River flooding in Sioux City: Photo Credit FEMA
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
I am Kevin Massey, Program Director for Lutheran Disaster Response. I’m in Minot North Dakota this week connecting with these flood affected communities and people that I met last month when I was here. Volunteer operations are underway to help clean up and plan for repair and rebuilding a little down the road. Information about how you can help is below.
But first, I began my travels last week visiting communities along the Missouri River. The ELCA Western Iowa Synod organized workshops at St. John Lutheran Church in Council Bluffs Iowa and at Augustana Lutheran Church in Sioux City Iowa. We gathered Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Assembly of God pastors from Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota serving in communities that have lived all spring and summer under the threat of flooding.
When I was driving from Council Bluffs Iowa to Sioux City Iowa, I had to follow a detour to avoid a portion of Interstate 29 that is closed due to flooding. I remembered how nearly six months ago I stood on an overpass of this same Interstate 29 north of Fargo and saw it underwater. So many communities have spent months and months enduring flooding that seems endless.
From the Missouri River Valley I flew to Minot North Dakota. When I was in Minot a month ago the water was still up and we hadn’t been able to assess yet the damages to so many homes, churches, and business. The water is down now, and the results of catastrophic and heart breaking. Thousands of people remain displaced. Thousands of homes are ruined, some beyond repair.
I delivered cleaning supplies to a volunteer group working on gutting out a flooded home in Minot. This home is across the corner from Christ Lutheran Church. I met three wonderful Lutheran volunteers working at this home. Dennis and Diane Wiesenborn, members of St. John Lutheran Church in Fargo and Vic Voth, a member of Concordia Lutheran Church in Red Wing Minnesota were working on gutting out the home of a Minot couple in their eighties.
Pictured left to right: Diane Wiesenborn, Vic Voth, and Dennis Wiesenborn.
These wonderful volunteers are what this ministry is all about. Lutherans from around the country give so much to love and serve their neighbors.
Later I visited the flooded home of Pastor Heather Brown and her husband David Iversen in Minot. Pastor Brown serves the Trinity Lutheran Parish of Glenburn and Lansford North Dakota north of Minot. Pastor Brown’s home was flooded two feet over the first story. Heather described the generosity and hard work of parishioners of her parish who pitched in and accomplished the necessary gutting of the home. Pastor Brown and her husband are arranging to live in a FEMA trailer on the property of one of the parishioners until repairs to their home can be accomplished. Heather shared, “We could not have made it through this without our wonderful parishioners!”
Pastor Heather Brown at her flooded home in Minot
I admired Pastor Brown for her courage and optimism in the face of her loss. She described that so many people lost more and have harder rebuilding ahead of them. She brings a sense of hope that even though many face hard work, they are not alone.
Please pray for the people of all the areas of North Dakota that have been affected by this catastrophic flooding. Many worry about being forgotten and we can remember them continuously in our prayers. We pray also for those affected by many other disasters, such as tornados across the country in places like Joplin Missouri and Cullman Alabama.
While volunteer operations in many parts of the country are still unfolding, Lutheran Disaster Response in North Dakota is ready to host volunteer groups from the region and outside the region to help in clean up in Minot and other communities affected by flooding. Please share this opportunity with your local Lutheran congregations and organizations.
Sisters and brothers in Christ,
I’ve been working in Minot, North Dakota this week. Historic flooding brought the Souris River here over its banks, defeating levee attempts and devastating Minot and other communities like Burlington. Over 5,000 homes and hundreds of businesses are flooded in these communities. This flood has been very slow to recede, with water still over the first floors of many structures, and as such, hundreds of homes and businesses will probably need to be condemned and torn down. A boil order remains in effect for the Minot water system for the foreseeable future.
Pastor David Maxfield (Christ Lutheran, Minot, N.D.) shows the high water mark on the outside of the church. Officials have not yet given them clearance to enter the building for further inspection.
This flood has acutely impacted the Lutheran community. Lutherans are the majority religious group in this part of the country. Four ELCA churches have sustained flood damage. First Lutheran in Minot and Peace Lutheran in Burlington have extensive damage in their basements, with yet unassessed damage from humidity on the main floors. Augustana Lutheran and Christ Lutheran in Minot had significant amounts of water in the sanctuary of the buildings. We were not yet able to enter these churches to assess the extent of the damage, but it will certainly be heart breaking.
I’ve spent a lot of time this week with Bishop Mark Narum of the Western North Dakota Synod. Bishop Narum has been in Minot nearly every day of this crisis, ministering to the affected communities and supporting the clergy here. Bishop Narum estimates that the combined damage to ELCA churches in this area will be well over $1 million. With hundreds of members’ homes flooded, along with the churches, rebuilding will be a long and difficult journey.
Bishop Narum gathered many of the pastors and other leaders at Bethany Lutheran Church on Wednesday morning for fellowship and mutual support. At least 10 ELCA pastors’ homes are flooded, along with the rest of their community. We spoke as a group about the long-term plans to coordinate volunteers and restore homes, churches and lives. No one here doubts that this will all come to pass, but for now, there is deep pain.
We need to rest for this moment in the experience of all that has been lost. I met Gary Johnson, the council president of Augustana Lutheran. Mr. Johnson shared with me that his grandfather was a founding member of Augustana. Gary’s three children and a grandchild were all baptized at Augustana. Generations of worship and prayer hallow a place like Augustana, and it is deeply painful knowing that it sits, for now, cut off and surrounded in a watery place.
I fellowshipped with Pastor John Streccius and Pastor Nathan Mugaas, both of Zion Lutheran Church in Minot. It was a reunion of sorts, as years ago, during my first call after seminary, I used to attend sermon text study at a church in Hoople, North Dakota where Pastor Streccius was serving at the time. Both Pastors Streccius and Mugaas have flooded homes at this time, and they and their families are staying at members’ homes. John and Nathan are sustaining pastoral ministry among the people of Zion Lutheran Church, with about a hundred members with flooded homes, even as they also deal with their own losses.
Augustana Lutheran Church (Minot, N.D.), as seen from a nearby property, completely surrounded by flood waters.
In the midst of so much ambiguity and loss, signs of hope and progress are emerging. Local planning of volunteer efforts here is underway with Lutheran Social Services and other local organizations. Training for homeowners is being offered this week on how to safely enter and clean up a flood-affected property. Yesterday, Mayor Zimbelman informed us that he wants Lutheran Disaster Response to oversee the volunteer efforts for clean-up in Minot, and he announced the same publicly in a press conference later in the day. It’s a daunting task, but many organizations together will cooperate to serve here.
I was very appreciative this week for Sherie Heine and her mother, Pat. Sherie is vice president of the Western North Dakota synod council. The Heines hosted me at their home in Minot, since every motel room in town is currently occupied by evacuees from the flood zone. Sherie is leading an important initiative for the synod to raise funds to assist the flooded churches.
Please pray with me for the people and pastors of Minot and Burlington impacted by these terrible losses, and for the many others in North Dakota and elsewhere affected by floods this spring and summer. They will need the whole church to help them recover. They will need sustained prayer. They will need volunteers, when the time is right, to help clean up and rebuild. And they will need financial support to help restore the damaged congregations, as they plan and hope for a new future of ministry here in the Souris River Valley.
In service,
Rev. Kevin A. Massey
Program Director