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Ongoing preparedness and response are at the center of our work. We are grateful to all the congregations and individuals who help us with this work. Right now we are focused largely on two fronts: the God’s Work Our Hands (GWOH) day project we invited congregations to participate in and the response to Tropical Storm Debby which affected both North and South Carolina.

God’s Work Our Hands Day
Thanks to everyone who has participated in the GWOH project! We were invited to speak at Community in Christ, Cornelius NC that day and participate in their assembly of Cleanup Kits (aka flood buckets) and Children’s Comfort kits. They packed our van with filled buckets and plastic shoe boxes, plus some extra supplies that were left over! We are also delighted to see photos of these projects on several congregations’ Facebook pages. The next step is to deliver these kits to one of the collection sites.

Here is a list of the collection locations with the name of a contact person. When you are ready to drop off your assembled kits, contact one of these congregations to arrange an appropriate drop-off time or contact us if you need to make other arrangements.

• Trinity Vale, NC Pastor – Tommy Lineberger
• Coble’s Julian, NC – Peggy Shoffner
• Epiphany Winston-Salem, NC Jim Pierson
• Mt. Hebron Hildebran, NC – Pastor Karin O’Donnell
• St. Luke Mt Ulla, NC – Pastor Robert McCarty
• Lutheran Chapel China Grove, NC – Pastor John Tucker
• Amazing Grace Waxhaw, NC – Pastor Christi Pursey
• Heritage at Lowman White Rock, SC – Beth McLean
• Hope Lutheran Vance, SC – Pastor Bruce Kreutzer
• St. Andrew Columbia, SC – Beth Trump
• Messiah Mauldin, SC – Pastor E P Martin

Please deliver them as soon as possible. We will work to gather them over the next few weeks and move them to a storage location until they are needed.

Tropical Storm Debby Response
We have been steadily communicating with our partners in VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) both before and after Tropical Storm Debby arrived in the Carolinas.

At this time, we are aware of six ELCA congregations in the Carolinas who experienced flooding, downed trees, roof damage, or other damage to their buildings during TS Debby. Fortunately, none of this damage was major. There were three in each synod:

• Reconciliation, Wilmington Christ Community, North Charleston
• St. Mark, Lumberton St. Luke, Summerville
• Trinity, Sanford St. Michael, Moncks Corner

If you know of other congregations that were damaged, please let us know!

Damage assessments continue in both Carolinas as flooding was slow to recede due to additional rainfall after Debby passed by. We are still working to determine the best way that LDR Carolinas can assist our neighbors in need following this disaster with grant funding from Lutheran Disaster Response.

We are also actively assisting folks in Guilford, Wake, and Gaston counties of North Carolina where the number of those affected are too small for a declaration, but people are still in need of assistance. While other VOAD organizations are mucking out these homes, we are providing temporary housing and some moving assistance with the help of a Solidarity Grant from LDR. Special thanks to volunteers from First, Greensboro who salvaged these belongings for a resident and moved them into storage!

Recent Publications:
The NC Synod recently published a special E-News, with information on a completed partnership project in Lincoln County as well as other ongoing projects. It included reminders about the God’s Work Our Hands Day projects, and ways to give to support our disaster ministry.

We also recorded a video for the SC Synod, publicizing a special appeal for the SC Synod Disaster Fund. That fund, like the NC Synod Disaster Fund, is used primarily to assist congregations recover from disaster damage. The funds may also be used to assist other synods when they experience serious disaster damage.

Hurricane Season Updates:
We are currently in the most active part of the season! Follow our Facebook page LDR Carolinas for regular updates on current conditions.

Our next LDR Carolinas Network meeting will be next Tuesday at 7:00 pm.
Contact us for the Zoom link if you would like to join the meeting!

In the Midst of the Storm

The center of Tropical Storm Debby is now moving on out of South Carolina toward central North Carolina, leaving a trail of wind damage, downed trees, and localized flooding in its path.

There are many reports of tornadoes, flooding, and fallen trees on roads and buildings across the Carolinas. Tens of thousands of power customers are, or have been, without power. Many of us are under official guidance to stay home. If you must be out, be cautious and do not drive through standing water.

Remember to Turn Around, Don’t Drown!

If you must be out, check for road closures and conditions at these sites:

For NC https://drivenc.gov/

For SC https://www.scdot.org/travel/stormResources.aspx

We are monitoring weather forecasts and reports from across both NC & SC and have reached out to Lutheran pastors serving in areas with reported tornadoes or flooding. If we haven’t reached out to you, but you have concerns or damage to your church, please contact your conference dean or us directly!

We are frequently sharing updated information about the storm on our Facebook page LDR Carolinas, including current weather forecasts, reports of damages, and available resources.

We will be meeting with both the NC and SC VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) leadership again tomorrow. If you have resources to share, please let us know so that we can share that information. If your congregation has damage, please contact us at LDR Carolinas and your Synod Office. If you need assistance with tarps or debris removal, we can help you make connections. If you have personal damage, contact your local emergency manager.

Please remember that while most of the storm has passed through SC by now, the worst is yet ahead for much of NC and states to the north of us!

Please join us in prayer for all in the path of this storm. We pray for those who are without power, whose homes are damaged, or who are stranded due to flooding. We pray for all those providing emergency services, including emergency managers, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical responders. We pray for all those providing essential services, especially medical facilities and nursing care facilities. We pray for the safety of all in the path of this dangerous storm as it moves on up the East Coast.

This morning dawned bright and clear in the High Country of North Carolina, where we stayed last night after an LDR Carolinas Sunday yesterday at Bethany Lutheran Church, just outside Boone. But we have been following closely the forecasts for Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas as Tropical Storm – now Hurricane – Debby approached and has made landfall in Florida. Intense rainfall and flooding are forecast for much of the Carolinas, particularly in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

We spent the afternoon crafting Facebook posts and email messages to be shared with the LDR Carolinas Network, and with the NC and SC Synods. We invite you to join our network here to learn more about our work and the progress of Debby.

While we are busy encouraging those in the path of this dangerous storm to make their final preparations and checking in with the conference deans, we also want to share these important reminders with others:

Pray for those affected by the storm. Pray for individuals whose lives have been disrupted. Pray for congregations in the affected areas who work to help others in their communities. Pray for those who work to provide essential services such as utilities, medical care, and nursing care. 

Please do not self-deploy after a disaster. Certainly, help your neighbors as you can, but don’t venture into dangerous situations or attempt to do work that you are not trained to do safely. Removing downed trees from homes is a prime example.

Instead, volunteer through our partner organizations in VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Baptists on Mission, and Team Rubicon. All of these organizations have teams who respond quickly to provide food, shelter, and emergency assistance. 

While we will be reaching out to our congregations immediately, the strengths of Lutheran Disaster Response are in providing spiritual and emotional care, disaster case management, and assisting with long-term recovery. We will still be at work long after other organizations have moved on.

Please do not send stuff. Not even food or bottled water, unless it has been requested and you know for certain that there is an organization in the disaster area ready to receive and distribute the materials. Watch for us to share information about items that we know are needed and how to get them to the appropriate locations.

Give! Donate financially to Lutheran Disaster Response either as a designated gift for this disaster or to be used wherever needed. Donate to the synod disaster funds in North Carolina and South Carolina through the synod office. Those funds are used to help congregations in need following a disaster. 

We also encourage you to consider the projects that we recently shared as ideas for God’s Work Our Hands Day, the ELCA Churchwide day of service, on September 8. Perhaps, given the current situation, you could even work on those clean up kits and children’s comfort kits right away! You can find more information here in our blog, on our Facebook page, and in recent e-newsletters from both NC and SC Synods. Here is a link to the downloadable instructions. We are still identifying collection points for these kits. Let us know if your congregation is able to help in that way!