More Than $70,000 Raised for Disaster Relief

The Psalmist in Psalm 118:5 says, “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.” That is true in terms of our salvation in Jesus, and it is true that God responds to our distress over physical disasters in this world, too. When raging wildfires destroyed hundreds of Washington homes in Spokane and Yakima and threatened communities in North Central Washington and near Mount Hood, Oregon, our NOW District congregations called upon the Lord.

The Lord has, for the most part, set our communities free from the continuing threat of the fires; however, the devastation left behind remains. We know of six families connected to our NOW District ministries who lost homes, including one of our pastors.

We are grateful for the gifts and donations that have poured into the NOW District Disaster Relief Fund to care for those who lost property and livelihoods in the fires. To date, more than $70,000 has been received to help people affected (whether from these fires or future disasters in the NOW District).

LCMS Disaster Response also supplied nearly $10,000 in $100 gift cards directly to our congregations in Spokane to distribute to families in the community while the fires were still raging and evacuations were still in place.

Now that restoration and cleanup efforts are underway and displaced families are settling into temporary housing, our congregations are considering how they can be a blessing to those families.

Just one example is Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Spokane. Their Little Pilgrim’s Preschool has created a full-tuition scholarship to benefit preschool families that lost homes in the fires. The congregation requested and received NOW District Disaster Funds to offer one scholarship, and they are raising funds to offer more.

Keep our congregations in your prayers as they continue to bless their communities during the many months of restoration that lie ahead. May they keep pointing people to the Lord who answers us in our distress and sets us free!

If your congregation could use funds to bless those in your community affected by the fires, you can find our Disaster Relief Fund Request Guidelines here.

In Jesus,
Rev. Dr. Mike Von Behren
NOW District President