Julia Menzo, co-coordinator of Lutheran Disaster Response in Eastern PA, is at a national disaster worker conference in Kansas City. In this post from the LDR blog, she shares information about how you can help Joplin and other hard-hit communities through prayer, service and giving.

Hello from Kansas City, MO.  Coincidently, I am here for the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) conference, just as this state is raw in the still immediate wake of the deadly tornado in Joplin that struck Sunday. 
 
I am getting emails from folks back in Pennsylvania sincerely wanting to volunteer.  Being only about 150 miles to the north of Joplin, I very much can relate to that compelling feeling.  Here at the conference, some of our partners in this work from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Adventists, and others, have been deployed to Joplin.  Leaders and volunteers from these groups are trained in early response for sheltering, feeding, and warehousing. 
 
Our Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) role in disaster response is in the long-term rebuilding efforts.  We also have a tradition of being leaders in communities for building relationships and resiliency. Nevertheless, I wanted to do something today!  
 

Noelle Foizen, Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, Diaconal MInister Sandra Braasch, Southeastern Synod, Julia Menzo, and Sandy Burns, Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Task Force (Emergency Management) with representatives of the Kansas City Chiefs and a local radio station.

While I could not go to Joplin today, what some of my friends and I decided to do was to learn about the local responses here in Kansas City.  Diaconal Minister Sandra Braasch, Southeastern Synod, Sandy Burns from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force, and Noelle Foizen from Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management and I delivered water to a collection site at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs.  We chatted with the operations staff there and a disc jockey from radio station KCFX about their efforts to assist.  We followed websites to learn about how Joplin was handling donations and local volunteers.  Here are some things you can do today.
 

Volunteer  

Become a volunteer leader here in Eastern Pa for disaster response locally.  Plan a work team trip with your congregation to areas affected by 2010 flooding in Nashville, TN, or to Mississippi or Louisiana in response to Katrina.  Contact Linda Frey at for more about any of this.  Have your name added to a volunteer list for when opportunities for long-term response are available in Alabama after recent tornadoes.  Disaster spiritual care providers are also being coordinated for response in the South.  For more information on the Alabama tornado response, contact Sandra Braasch at . 
 

Pray

A prayer to add to Sundays and Seasons prayer petitions for Sunday, May 29:
 

You promise to be present in all our suffering, but we are overcome with fear and sorrow. Transform the cries of those are suffering because of tornadoes and floods. Grant consolation, courage and hope. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
 
A prayer for anytime:

God of all consolation, our hearts cry out with those who suffer the destruction of wind and water. Turn back the floods. Transform violent winds into gentle breezes. Grant consolation, courage and hope to those who grieve the loss of loved ones, livelihoods and property. Strengthen all who respond to the call to help. In all things, remind us that your strong hands hold us in love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lead 

Be an advocate for good community in your hometown and congregation.

Kevin Massey, Director for Lutheran Disaster Response, visited Joplin today.  Partnerships between LDR, the local Lutheran network, and with other response organizations will lead to volunteer opportunities for rebuilding and long-term recovery in the coming months. 

Give 

Donate to Lutheran Disaster Response noting "US Spring Storms" to give for the long-term response in Joplin and other areas devastated by tornadoes and flooding this Spring. Also consider donating to our local Lutheran Disaster Response in eastern Pennsylvania through Lutheran Congregational Services in order to support local preparedness, awareness and support.

Julia Menzo is Co-Coordinator for Lutheran Disaster Response, Eastern Pennsylvania.  Lutheran Disaster Response in Eastern Pa is a ministry of Lutheran Congregational Services, a member of the Liberty Lutheran family of services.