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!