LCC POISED TO DEPLOY CARE TEAMS IN HELENE RESPONSE

Lutheran Church Charities President/CEO Rev. Chris Singer was on the ground in North Carolina this week visiting Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod churches and pastors and assessing locations for LCC Care Teams to serve communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

LCC staff members observed the Category 4 storm’s destruction in Asheville, the French Broad River region, and other locations as floodwaters recede and search-and-rescue efforts continue.

“It’s clear that Helene was a devastating wind, rain, and flooding event,” Rev. Singer said. “So many trees are collapsed and fallen on property and roadways. In several of the mountain towns and places along the rivers, water completely submerged the lower areas. Buildings were wiped out. Homes destroyed. Lives upended. They need our help and our prayers.”  

Rev. Singer met with four North Carolina pastors: Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Skopak, Emmanuel Lutheran Asheville, N.C.; Rev. Peter Frank, St. Peter's Lutheran Conover, N.C.; Rev. Jonathan Christensen, Mount Pisgah Lutheran Hendersonville, N.C.; and Rev. Eric Hollar, Bethel Claremont, N.C. While the LCC team was on the ground Tuesday, they received an invitation to deploy from Rev. Dr. Bill Harmon, president of the Southeastern District, and from Sally Hiller, Southeastern District Disaster Response Coordinator.  

LCC stands ready to offer emergency assistance, tangible support, and most importantly, the comfort and hope found only in Jesus Christ.

You can help by donating to the LCC Hurricane Helene Support fund, which enables Lutheran Church Charities to deploy ALL FOUR ministry area teams to provide care and aid to victims’ families, and LCMS churches in the affected areas.

Your financial assistance goes directly to support those suffering and in need, as well as for supplies and for volunteers to travel to the region to serve.

LCC Care Team to deploy on Friday
A Lutheran Church Charities Care Team certified in Spiritual First Aid™ will arrive in North Carolina on Friday to distribute food and supplies and offer spiritual and psychological support to those affected by Hurricane Helene and the first responders who are helping them.

The team will be led by Heidi Gilbert-Then, a parish nurse from St. John’s Lutheran Lannon, Wisc., and joined by members of Bethel Lutheran Claremont, N.C. They team also will help serve hot meals on the four- to five-day deployment.

Additional LCC Care Teams will be formed and deploy to assist on short-term assignments.  

LCC LERT volunteers invited by LCMS, Southeastern District
LCC Disaster Response LERT volunteers have been invited by Rev. Ross Johnson, LCMS Director of Disaster Response and the Southeastern Disaster Response Team, to provide chainsaw assistance in and around Asheville, N.C., and Hendersonville, N.C. 

These LCC Disaster Response teams also have been asked to provide mucking and gutting work; distribute meals, water, and supplies; and provide spiritual and emotional care.

Specific assignments and response locations will be determined in real time, said Sally Hiller, Disaster Response Coordinator for the Southeastern District. Details are fluid and changing as the response continues, she said.

“This disaster is unlike any we have ever seen, so planning has been challenging, said Kathy O’Day, Director of LCC Disaster Response, who will deploy with LCC LERT volunteers from October 21 to November 9. “The Southeastern District leadership and local pastors are very glad we are coming to serve alongside them to offer the hope of Christ to their hurting communities.”

Food and supplies headed to North Carolina
A pallet of food and supplies from LCC is on the way to Immanuel Lutheran in Asheville, N.C., and St. Peter’s Lutheran in Conover, N.C. Both congregations will hand out the provisions to families in need via car lines at their church properties.

LCC also is looking to train LCMS churches across the Southeast and Mid-South in Spiritual First Aid™ and crisis response care.

LCC’s Hearts of Mercy & Compassion Ministry will deliver HMCs to first responder agencies and the families of fallen first responders across North Carolina.

As schools regain power and return to classes, LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry teams will arrive to visit children, teachers, and administrators.

LCC is monitoring Hurricane Milton
Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response team is watching the track of Hurricane Milton, which explosively grew from a tropical storm to a Category 5 threat with winds as high as 180 mph on Monday.

Milton was expected to vacillate between a Category 4 and 5 menace as it churns in the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters are projecting a landfall on early Thursday morning near Tampa, Florida.

In the midst of Hurricane Helene response efforts, LCC will be prepared to work with the Florida-Georgia District to deploy when it is safe to do so.