THANKS FOR YOU GENEROSITY.

Over $30,000 has been sent to the Southern District from your Door Offerings, and we expect that more will follow. President Schultz of the Southern District asked me to express to you his sincere appreciation for your generosity. As we continue to meet the needs of our five adopted congregations in Louisiana and get ready to help our Texas congregations damaged by Rita, we are certainly in need of additional funds in the Texas District Hurricane account. If you are willing to help us meet the needs of these dear brothers and sisters, please send you donations to the Texas District Hurricane account and they will be restricted in their use for assisting those who have been affected by Katrina and Rita. This is a request over and above our "door offerings" to the Southern District. My sincere appreciation for your loving response to this request. Peace and Joy in Christ----Jim

OPERATION SAINTS is the Texas District's assistance program which has been put into effect to help the five Louisiana congregations we have agreed to help in their recovery efforts from the damages caused by Hurricane Katrina. The congregations are Trinity, Baton Rouge; Calvary, Baton Rouge; Trinity (Algiers), New Orleans; Gloria Dei, New Orleans; and Monte de los Olivos, New Orleans.

This is how OPERATION SAINTS works. When needs are identified in these five congregations, this information will be sent to Pastor John Ellwanger in the District Office, who is serving as Resource Coordinator. These needs will be posted on the special Texas District Rita web site, http://www.texasmmf.org/rita.  Check it regularly for possible opportunities to serve one of the congregations.  You can respond to these needs by calling Pastor Ellwanger at (1/800/951-3478 or locally, 512/926-4272) or by email (johnellwanger@yahoo.com). He will then inform you how and where your resources can be sent or volunteers may serve. Before you send money, send other resources, or travel to any of these churches, please first coordinate with Pastor Ellwanger to insure that one congregation is not overloaded with some items while others go without. Also, you may call Pastor Ellwanger now and tell him what resources you have available to you. He will them have an inventory of his resources when needs are identified.

Pastor Richard Turner, from Groves, Texas, who is serving as an FBI chaplain, is in Louisiana making contact with as many of the five congregations assigned to us as possible to determine their needs. Pastor Doug Rathgeber is also helping with this needs assessment part of the program.  Pastors of three of the congregations will be going back to their churches this week or next week to see what damages they have suffered. Some of the buildings are still under water. When they can determine their needs, they will communicate this to Pastor Ellwanger.

Once all of the members of these five congregations return to their homes, they will also have personal needs. This will require another evaluation.  Information on needed assistance will be made available on the special Texas District Katrina website.

We have already sent emergency funds to some of the pastors. Three are in Texas and one is with his relatives in Kentucky. We have been receiving money from the door offerings that were taken the Second Sunday of September. This will be sent immediately and directly to the Southern District. We will also be seeking assistance from LCMS World Relief and Human Care to help with some of our monetary needs. OPERATION SAINTS has begun.

Many of our church schools in the Texas District are enrolling children from Louisiana, tuition free. Concordia Plan Services are not requiring the congregations to pay their premiums until the end of the year and workers are not required to pay the co-pays.  That may be pushed back even further, depending on each congregation's situation. God is showing His love through us.

My sincere thanks to all of you who have extended a helping hand to the hurricane survivors in your area. You would be absolutely amazed at what some of the congregations and their staffs are doing. Also, my thanks to many of you who have gone to the hurricane stricken area to help physically with some of the immediate need.  If you want to take a work group over, again check with Pastor Ellwanger so that he can call around to find out where you will be needed the most. We are told that if you do go, be self-supporting. Take a bedroll, food, water, and gasoline.

If you have any questions, please give Pastor Ellwanger a call. If he does not have the answer, he will get it for you.

I don't know why God permitted the hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast, but I do know that He has placed us here to be His helping hands to those who are in need. We must rise to the task set before us.
 

Peace and Joy in Christ

President James Linderman

Texas District LCMS

You may donate on line by going to the Katrina/Rita site.