| Wednesday, August 31, 2005 |
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Doing Good… in Bad Times
Published - Wednesday, August 31, 2005 |
Notes from:
Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, President
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Dear Brothers in Christ,
A Brief Devotional Thought
Last winter, it was the tsunami that was so destructive in the Indian Ocean. At the end of August, Hurricane Katrina struck much closer to home and was followed within weeks by Hurricane Rita. So many have been affected and have lost so much that it’s easy for us to become overwhelmed by or numb to their need. At times like these, the words of the apostle Paul to the Galatians come to mind:
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Gal. 6:9-10).
May our Father in heaven, who has done so much good to us through His Son Jesus Christ, refresh us as we seek to do good to our neighbor, even as I pray that He would encourage, comfort, and uphold those who have suffered so much as a result of these natural disasters.
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Doing Good… in Bad Times
There are many, many examples of those who are “doing good” (to use the apostle’s words) to and for the victims of the storms that have so devastated the Gulf Coast. Our people have given more of their financial resources for hurricane relief since Katrina struck than even for the tsunami, which itself saw record giving. Many also have given and are giving of their time and talents to help with clean-up and rebuilding efforts, which will continue for some time to come.
When I visited the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast on Labor Day weekend, I heard about and saw many examples of care and concern for the hurting.
For example, Rod Olson, an LCMS member from Gonzales, La., and general manager of Zapp’s Potato Chips, was dispatching Zapp’s trucks wherever they were needed to deliver food, clothing, medicine, diapers, and other basic necessities. He had made company owner Ron Zappe aware of the need, and Mr. Zappe, in turn, had turned over the company warehouse and truck distribution network to the relief effort.
A man named Nick from Lamb of God Lutheran Church in Flower Mound, Texas, drove to the hurricane zone and started grilling hotdogs, inviting any and all to come. Smelling the food, others brought whatever food they had, asking Nick to cook it before it spoiled. Some 2,000 people were fed that day.
I heard from DCE Susan Steege of Tonawanda, N.Y., who was stranded in downtown New Orleans with other members of the 2007 National Youth Gathering Planning Team when Katrina struck. She wrote that members of the Syno’s Youth Ministry staff who were with the team did not leave when they might have, but stayed with those who could not get out and provided “greatly spiritual leadership.” She also expressed appreciation for other youth-staff members who drove all night from St. Louis to pick them up in Baton Rouge after they managed to get out of New Orleans. I feel blessed to be part of a church body that has these great people as its servants, she wrote me.
When 45 children were evacuated to Trinity Lutheran Church in Baton Rouge from Bethlehem Children’s Center in East New Orleans, members of the congregation jumped in to provide housing, food, and clothing and began to look at what could be done in the long term for these special-needs children. In Texas, Lutheran Social Services had just completed a new wing at the Bokenkamp Children’s Center in Corpus Christi and it just happened to have 45 beds! So it is to Corpus Christi that the children have been relocated, and there they are receiving professional, loving, competent Christian care. One pastor at Trinity in Baton Rouge commented that God is not even being subtle about this!
When Katrina struck, I was in Berlin, Germany, at the conference of the International Lutheran Council. There, I received e-mailed reports from Southern District President Kurt Schultz on the damage across the district and on the well-being of church workers in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. President Schultz and his wife, Becky, saw virtually all their belongings destroyed and their home waste deep in water and muck. Yet he was faced with putting together a temporary district office (since the regular office in New Orleans was inaccessible) in order to provide help for the people of the district. We have lost all but the mercy and grace of God, he wrote to me. They are enough for us.
Every district of the Synod also has pitched in to help. The Council of Presidents agreed quickly to implement a plan whereby each district, alone or in partnership with another district, has taken responsibility for each affected congregation in the Southern District. LCMS World Relief/Human Care made assignments (for a listing, go to www.lcms.org/?8787 on the Web). The care being provided includes prayer, support personnel, volunteer workers, and funds, including funds to help minimize the financial loss of our church workers, most of whose congregations have not been able to hold public worship services since Katrina’s arrival.
Southern District leaders in the relief effort tell me that the immediate need now is for volunteers NOT clothing and non-perishables. The need is for volunteers to help with clean-up work and for pastors who are willing to provide pulpit supply and other services so that brother pastors who have been working at an exhausting pace under very stressful conditions can have some time off. District President Schultz asks that those willing to volunteer contact their district coordinators or send an e-mail to katrinavolunteers@southernlcms.org.
Meanwhile, shortly after Katrina, Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf Coast along the border between Texas and Louisiana. While the damage from flooding was less severe than in New Orleans, damage to churches and homes is not insignificant. With Texas District President Jim Linderman and district staff member Lou Jander, I am planning to make a trip to this area as soon as residents, including our professional church workers, have been allowed to return.
On a personal note, more than incidentally, my first two places of pastoral ministry were at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Biloxi, Miss., and Redeemer Lutheran Church in Beaumont, Texas, both located in areas seriously impacted by these two devastating storms. Accordingly, Terry and I know many people whose lives have been suddenly altered in these past few weeks.
I thank our good and gracious Lord for the way He has provided for those affected by the storms along the Gulf Coast and for giving so many of our people a heart to help those in need. This is precisely in keeping with the Synod’s mission statement that we vigorously make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities, and the world. We will need to be there for the long haul. May our Lord bless all of you who are part of this effort!
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A Parting Word of Encouragement
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:3-5).
Know that the Lord stands by your side as you seek to serve Him and His people. God’s grace, mercy, and peace be with you all!
Jerry Kieschnick
e-mail: president@lcms.org
Web page: www.lcms.org/president
“Transforming lives through Christ's love ... in time ... for eternity ...” John 3:16 |
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