In preparation for God’s work. Our hands. Sunday, Lutheran Disaster Response Carolinas coordinators requested Flood Buckets and Children’s Comfort Kits in advance of hurricane season.

After assessing what each of them could contribute on their own, members of Coble’s, Julian, Low’s, Liberty; Our Father, Greensboro, St. Paul’s, Burlington, and Elon University’s Campus Ministry, LEAF, put their resources and hands together to assemble 10 clean-up kits. Several other North Carolina Synod congregations spent their GWOH Sunday assembling kits. Other congregations offered space to store the kits for when they would be needed.

This collaborative effort foreshadowed the many ways the synod and partners would work together in the coming weeks to respond to the needs left by Hurricane Helene. Together, we can accomplish far more.

LDR Carolinas Coordinators, Pastors Ray and Ruth Ann Sipe, have been instrumental in coordinating the response efforts.

Since the devastation of Hurricane Helene, congregations across the synod have stepped up to assemble additional kits and serve as temporary collection points, as well as offering long-term storage areas if they are needed.  Those congregations who offered to collect or store the kits included: Trinity, Vale, NC; Coble’s, Julian, NC; Epiphany, Winston-Salem; Mt. Hebron, Hildebran; St. Luke’s, Mt. Ulla, NC; Lutheran Chapel, China Grove, NC; Amazing Grace, Waxhaw, NC; Heritage at Lowman, White Rock, SC; Hope, Vance, SC; St. Andrew,’s Columbia, SC; and Messiah, Mauldin, SC.

The current collection points in North Carolina are Zion, Hickory; Grace, Salisbury; and Good Shepherd, Raleigh; as well as the synod office in Salisbury.  There will soon be additional collection points in South Carolina as they have jumped in to help us in this response.

With the help of retired pastor, Dennis Shaw and his family, the first trailer full of cleanup kits and other items requested by the pastors in the High Country made their way to Grace, Boone; Bethany, Boone; and St. Mark’s, Lenoir. Assistant to the Bishop, Phil Tonnesen has helped make deliveries to Asheville with kits, quilts, and other items. The solar generators and some other equipment already on the NC Synod/LDR Carolinas trailer were deployed to St. Mark’s, Asheville to assist the other pastors and congregations in the area during the extended power outage. First, Lexington has given LDR Carolinas their existing disaster response trailer, after up-fitting it with new tires and new flooring, including the tools in the trailer. That trailer has already been deployed to Boone with additional supplies to be used to begin the recovery work in that area.

Pastors of congregations affected by the storm have been invaluable in the ways they have and continue to shepherd their communities, communicate their needs, distribute items, and facilitate support. Pastors, deacons, and lay volunteers from various congregations throughout the rest of the state have stepped up to lend a hand in any way they can, strategically coordinating pick ups and deliveries of supplies—even meeting one another at ordinations throughout the synod.

Each of the kits can get expensive for individuals and even congregations to assemble on their own. Pastor Sue Lynn White (St. Peter’s, Salisbury) created an Amazon Wish List with all the items needed for hygiene kits and cleanup kits. Individuals, congregations, and synods across the Carolinas and the broader church are purchasing the necessary items so that we can all work together to assemble even more kits.

Synod ministry partners embody a crucial way we are in ministry with one another. Lutheran Services Carolinas has been working to provide essentials—like water—to affected communities, and congregations have responded to support LSC. Calvary, Morganton has answered the call to help provide housing for some of the refugees in LSC’s New Americans program, who needed to be evacuated from Asheville, and St. Andrew’s, Hickory has been working to provide meals and find housing for other displaced families.

The partnerships don’t end there. As we head into fall and the temperatures continue to get cooler, particularly in the mountains, folks remain without power. Many NC Women of the ELCA congregational groups have redirected quilts and hygiene kits that were originally intended for Lutheran World Relief (LWR). Rather than shipping them to LWR’s warehouse in Maryland, LDR Carolinas has been able to begin delivering many of those kits and quilts directly to congregations in Asheville and Boone for distribution. This is being done in communication with LWR, which is also shipping many of these kits and quilts from their warehouse into western NC for distribution through our partner organizations.

The ways we are called to work together for the sake of the world reach beyond the ELCA with each part of the body of Christ responding according to their gifts and skillsets. Pastors Ray and Ruth Ann note the critical support of ecumenical partnerships along the way, “Very soon after Helene stormed through the Carolinas, we were contacted by NovusWay on behalf of Lutheridge and Lutherock. We were able to contact our counterpart at Baptists on Mission, who quickly cleared the trees blocking the main entrance at Lutheridge so that residents could get in and out of the neighborhood.”

LDR Carolinas has been overwhelmed by the response of congregations and individuals ready to volunteer and help in any way they can. More congregations, individuals, ministries, and organizations have contributed and collaborated than can be named in one story. More ways to volunteer continue to arise. Pastors Ray and Ruth Ann suggest continuing to follow the LDR Facebook page for updates on how to respond. The most recent opportunity to volunteer comes from FEMA: “We were just asked if we could organize and staff a VRC (Volunteer Reception Center) in downtown Asheville. We are now requesting volunteers to help us with that.” LDR Carolinas can also help out-of-town volunteers with housing if they want to come for a few days or more to help!

They are also exploring further partnerships with other organizations that will help us continue to serve western North Carolina as the recovery continues.

Through all of this, financial contributions to the NC Synod Disaster Fund and LDR Carolinas have been coming into the NC Synod from all over the country, helping with the immediate response efforts. Contributions are also being given to Lutheran Disaster Response, and those donations will help support long-term recovery here in North Carolina and across the southeast.

Pastors Ray and Ruth Ann share their gratitude for the ways the church continues to work together for our neighbors in Western North Carolina, “We are grateful for the network we have worked to gather since early last year and for those who have just found us recently, because everyone’s assistance is needed to make this effort successful.”

Editor’s Note: As Fred Rogers said, and Bishop Tim Smith recently quoted, when terrible things happen, we should look for the helpers.  We are looking—and we are all seeing so many!  Beyond those mentioned in this Mission Support story—and those unnamed helpers who are part of this story—we recognize YOU! All of you faithful givers of NC Synod Mission Support are helpers in this effort. We are grateful!