Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri is the designated Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) coordinating agency for Missouri, Arkansas, and Alabama. In that role LFCS works with a variety of public and faith-based disaster response groups in meeting the needs of those impacted by natural or man-made disasters.
Lutheran Disaster Response www.ldr.org is a joint ministry of the ELCA Domestic Disaster Response www.elca.org and the LCMS World Relief and Human Care. www.lcms.org.
LDR's mission is to:
Offer holistic care from our faith perspective to people impacted by disaster. Centered in spiritual care, we accompany people as they journey through their faith and/or life. We seek to bring help and hope as we address their spiritual, physical, emotional, relational and intellectual needs.
Preparation
Disaster response is best addressed through thorough preparation. There are many online resources available to help you and your family prepare for a disaster, including:
FEMA - www.fema.org
American Red Cross - www.redcross.org
We are also preparing Lutheran congregations to respond to crises. God's Care in Times of Crisis is a program specifically designed to help congregations prepare and respond. LFCS also offers disaster volunteer training that can be brought to your church and community. Contact us at the email address below to receive more information.
Response
LFCS has established a network of regional Lutheran disaster response coordinators throughout Missouri. These regional coordinators work within their local communities to help prepare the public for possible disasters, provide relief following an event, and are fully involved in the long-term recovery following an event.
Disaster response requires the cooperation of numerous public and private organizations. Some of these agencies include State Emergency Management Agency
www.sema.state.mo.us/semapage.htm and FEMA as well as the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and many others
Recovery
People of faith often lead communities through their long-term recovery from disaster. To that end one of our primary collaborative groups is the Missouri Interfaith Disaster Recovery Organization (MIDRO). MIDRO works with local long-term recovery committees to coordinate volunteer groups and ensure that resources from the faith communities are used as effectively as possible. For information regarding volunteer opportunities go to http://midro.missouri.org.
For more information regarding Missouri Lutheran Disaster Response contact us at 314-787-5100 or 866-326-LFCS. You may also send us an e-mail at Disaster Response
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