Hurricanes offer opportunity to show Christian love
WithĀ threeĀ major hurricanes affecting the United States this summer, there were many opportunities for WELS members to show Christian love and serviceĀ to the affected congregationsĀ and their communities.Ā WELS Christian Aid and Relief has distributed more thanĀ $100,000 in relief aid so farĀ toĀ those affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.Ā Ā
In addition, several groups already have traveled to the affected areas to show Christian love by helping with immediate cleanup.Ā
FloridaĀ
Five men from Salem, Stillwater, Minn.,Ā broughtĀ a Christian Aid and Relief trailerĀ outfitted with tools and supplies for relief work,Ā toĀ West Melbourne, Fla.,Ā in late September, to helpĀ members ofĀ New Hope, West Melbourne, and Redeemer, Merritt Island,Ā with cleanup following Hurricane Irma.Ā Ā
It was a homecoming for Jeff Ross, who was stationed in Florida for his military service. āI gotĀ laidĀ off from my job, which was not a bad thing, so, I had a little time on my hands,ā he says. āGod just gave me this opportunity to come down here and help some Floridians out. I know what itās like to go through a hurricane. So itās great to get back and help.āĀ
The groupĀ tookĀ down trees and cleanedĀ up debris atĀ aboutĀ 25Ā homesāboth ofĀ WELSĀ members and also nonmembers in the community. New Hope Christian Academy school childrenĀ alsoĀ helped with cleanup as well as distributed fliersĀ that sharedĀ information about the congregations.Ā Ā
āItās a great opportunity to live our faith but also to share our faith through our actions and through the conversations we are able to have,ā saysĀ TedĀ Petersen, a member of New Hope who helped coordinate the local relief efforts.Ā Ā
With many retirees in the congregations who find it difficult to do the physical labor, Petersen says it was wonderful to have volunteers come and work on the churchās behalf. āHurricanes are brutal things. . . . Just to see people come down who say, āWeāre going to help you out. We care about you and what youāve been through and weāre going to do what we can to get you back on your feetāāthat means a lot to us,ā he says.Ā
It also is rewarding for the volunteers. Bob Wells, one of the volunteers from Minnesota, says, āItās been nice to go together and work as a group, to know that the congregation and the synod are here to help. And [to see] the people just crying tears of joy after we showed up and got the work done.āĀ Ā
TexasĀ
About 50Ā WELS members from the greater Austin,Ā Dallas/Fort Worth, and HoustonĀ area traveled to Edna and Victoria, Tex., in early September to offer support and relief to those communities that were affected by Hurricane Harvey.Ā
These volunteers partnered with members of Redeemer, a multi-site ministry with worship in both Edna and Victoria, to address the critical needs of the congregationās members, their friends and family, and also the community. āWe hit roughly 60 families, doing work anywhere from tarping roofs to cutting down trees to cleaning up yards,ā says Andrew Schroer, pastor at Redeemer, Edna.Ā Ā
AaronĀ Glaeske, pastor at Redeemer, Victoria, had only arrived in Victoria a couple of months before the hurricane. He just recently started worship services at the Victoria site andĀ isĀ preparing for a grand opening on Dec. 3.Ā āOur dearĀ Lord gave us an opportunity with Harvey to introduce ourselves to the community in a different way,ā he says. āEvery opportunity you have to reach into the community to show that youāre interested in themānot just to get people into pews but because youāre really interested in them as peopleāthat speaks volumes about the kind of love that Jesus has shown us.āĀ
Christian Aid and Relief is still evaluating long-term recovery needs, especially in Houston, Tex., which had massive flooding afterĀ some areas received more than 50Ā inches of rain, and Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria.Ā Watch for updates atĀ wels.net/hurricanerelief.Ā
SUBMIT YOUR STORY
Do you have a manuscript, idea, or story from your own life you’d like to share for use in Forward in Christ or on wels.net? Use our online form to share it to our editorial office for consideration.
SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD IN CHRIST
Get inspirational stories, spiritual help, and synod news fromĀ Forward in Christ every month. Print and digital subscriptions are available from Northwestern Publishing House.
Author:
Volume 104, Number 11
Issue: November 2017
Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ Ā© 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article.Ā Contact us