News Releases Archive

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Wendy Healy
203-744-6367
wendyhealy@aol.com
John Scibilia: 866-864-1600

200 LUTHERAN BISHOPS & PASTORS FROM AROUND THE U.S. COMING TO NYC TO SHOW SOLIDARITY AFTER SEPT. 11

NEW YORK, NY – March 19 – More than 200 bishops and pastors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) – representing synods from around the country – will be in New York City April 6-7 to show solidarity and support for the work pastors here have done since Sept. 11.

Bishops are coming from as far away as the Grand Canyon, South Dakota and the Pacific Northwest, as well as from Washington, DC., and the south.

The extensive show of support is part of the Metropolitan New York Synod's "Solidarity Weekend," an event that allows ELCA pastors from around the country a chance to see what New York has been going through since Sept. 11. The event also allows more than 130 ELCA churches in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties, to have a guest preacher for Sunday worship services on April 7.

A service of celebration of the resurrection will be held on April 6, 4 p.m., at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. The Rev. Carol Hendrix, bishop of the lower Susquehanna Synod, will preside at the service, and the Rev. Robert Rimbo, bishop of the Southeast Michigan Synod, will preach.

"Our sisters and brothers in Christ have wanted to come to show their support for the work our pastors have been doing in New York -- at Ground Zero, with those affected by Sept. 11 and with parishioners," said the Rev. Dr. Stephen Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod. "The event also gives our pastors a Sunday off from preaching, many of whom have been working round-the-clock since Sept. 11."

Pastors in the greater New York area report being especially busy since Sept. 11, ministering to victims of Sept. 11, as well as offering words of comfort to church members who are struggling with the evil done to the United States on Sept. 11, according to Bishop Bouman. Pastors also report church attendance has been up since the attack.

Lutheran Disaster Response of New York has addressed the needs of many who've struggled since Sept. 11, and is committed to be involved for many years as long as there is need, according to Coordinator John Scibilia. The Lutheran Counseling Center, which operates five sites in New York, Long Island and Westchester, has counseled and provided training for more than 2,000 since the attack, and there has been an increase in phone calls since the six-month anniversary.

Project LIFE, Lutheran Initiative for Empowerment, operated by Lutheran Social Services of Metropolitan New York and funded by LDRNY, has helped hundreds who've been financially impacted by the wave effects of Sept. 11 and have no other services or emergency funding available. "These programs, along with many other grassroots efforts supported by LDRNY, have touched the lives of many who've had no where to turn," said Scibilia.