{"id":3047,"date":"2017-05-09T14:30:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T20:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disasterresponse\/?p=3047"},"modified":"2017-05-09T10:20:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T16:20:19","slug":"repost-all-in-the-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/disasterresponse\/repost-all-in-the-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Repost: All in the Name"},"content":{"rendered":"
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All in the Name<\/h1>\n

By: Tom Kadel<\/h4>\n

When disaster strikes, it often affects whole communities.\u00a0 Even areas of a community not directly impacted by, say, a flood, will almost always be affected in other ways.\u00a0 There is a rippling effect.<\/p>\n

One thing that we know is that faith communities will always be faced with new challenges as they seek to assist members and non-members alike.\u00a0 Communities look to the local faith communities for an enormous number of helping acts.\u00a0 But, the chances that one or more faith-based leaders there will have any training in disaster response or long-term recovery are quite slim.<\/p>\n

That is why Lutheran Disaster Response of Eastern Pennsylvania developed a unique model for assisting affected communities.\u00a0 It is called Spiritual Partners.\u00a0 What they do is all in the name.\u00a0 They partner with local pastors and congregation to attend to the spiritual needs of their members and their community.<\/p>\n

Lutheran Disaster Response’s Spiritual Partners serve as coaches and guides for local pastors.\u00a0 Their work focuses on helping local churches to become effective responders and long-term recovery partners.\u00a0 Spiritual Partners are highly trained disaster experts who help these local churches assess and plan their role in the community\u2019s recovery.\u00a0 They are guides in making critical decisions, but always the local pastors and their congregations plan their own course through response and recovery.<\/p>\n

In the usual model, one of the challenges to disaster spiritual care responders is that they are stranger \u2013 well-intentioned, but still strangers.\u00a0 No one knows the affected community and its people better than those who live there.\u00a0 An \u201coutsider\u201d cannot approach this deep and rich knowledge.\u00a0 Yet, as I said, the chances of having disaster trained leaders in an affected community are pretty small.\u00a0 Together, though, when the disaster knowledge of the Spiritual Partner combines with the knowledge of the local pastor and his or her congregation, a dynamic and highly effective partnership emerges.<\/p>\n

Lutheran Disaster Response \u2013 Eastern Pennsylvania (LDR-EPA and its Spiritual Partners service is a ministry of Lutheran Congregational Services, the agency designated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America\u2019s (ELCA) Lutheran Disaster Response program to oversee disaster preparedness and response for Lutherans in 24 counties of eastern Pennsylvania.\u00a0 Lutheran Congregational Services is part of the larger Liberty Lutheran Services.\u00a0 LDR\u2013EPA works with congregations, local and federal agencies, and community organizations to help prepare for and respond to natural or human-caused disasters such as large apartment fires, severe storms, or terror attacks.\u00a0 LDR-EPA serves 24counties in eastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Each of the Spiritual Partners has a region which he or she serves.\u00a0 When disaster strikes, the assigned Spiritual Partner contacts the local Lutheran church pastors (and other denominations if appropriate) and offers our services. Often, this will happen within hours of the disaster itself.\u00a0 If accepted, the Spiritual Partner becomes a fellow sojourner from the early response to the conclusion of long-term community recovery.\u00a0 The relationship may last for months or even years.<\/p>\n

Another of the special services of Spiritual Partners is that through their connections with leaders in affected communities, timely and accurate information about needs will be communicated back to the LDR-EPA Coordinator, Julia Menzo.\u00a0 It is often just as important to know what is not needed as what is needed \u2013 and when.\u00a0 Julia, then, through LDR-EPA’s depth of experience in long-term recovery and wide network of disaster partners can efficiently connect pastors with the appropriate material and people resources.\u00a0 Through that network, she can coordinate a corps of volunteers to assist with recovery, and provide congregations with the specific training and resources needed to best serve impacted communities.\u00a0 And, of course, all of this happens in conjunction with the guidance of the Spiritual Partners.<\/p>\n

For more information about the LDR-EPA Spiritual Partners Service, go to http:\/\/www.libertylutheran.org\/disaster-recovery-philadelphia-pa<\/a>.\u00a0 Or, if you prefer, you may contact Julia at JMenzo@libertylutheran.org<\/a> or me (Tom Kadel) at thomaskadel@gmail.com.<\/p>\n

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Pastor Tom Kadel<\/strong> is a Supervisor with the Spiritual Partners program.\u00a0This post originally appears on Sacred Turf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Be a part of the response:<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Pray<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Continue to pray for all affected by disasters, may God\u2019s healing presence comfort them in their time of need.<\/p>\n

Give<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Thanks to generous, undesignated donations, Lutheran Disaster response is able to respond quickly and effectively to disasters around the globe.\u00a0Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response<\/strong><\/a> will be used where there is the greatest need.<\/p>\n

Connect<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To learn more about global migration and what Lutheran Disaster Response is doing:<\/p>\n