A Week Of Being Church

Greetings siblings in Christ of the East Central Synod.

It’s been a week, to say the least. I’d like to share with you the work of the synod since last Monday’s tornado in Neenah, Menasha and Fox Crossing. It’s been both a week of being church together and for me, also a personal one, having grown up in Neenah, which I still call home, and having several dear friends living on Doty Island, where a lot of the significant damage occurred. I was in Neenah for a doctor’s appointment that morning, and after running a few errands around town I looked at the sky and thought I'd better get home. I missed being in the tornado by a half hour. 

Synod Vice President,
Nancy Schanke

Shortly after the storm hit I was in communication with Pastor Jenn Pockat of the synod office, coordinating first steps of how as a synod we could be the most effective. We determined the immediate need was bottled water and phone charger banks and collected them Tuesday and Wednesday at St Mark’s in Neenah, away from the immediate disaster area. The generosity of congregations and people just stopping in was amazing. And how wild is it that this past week’s Gospel reading was Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. That’s how it works, do we see scarcity or do we see abundance?

By Wednesday, chargers were distributed and water was being deployed as the local congregations and pastors planned how best to serve the community. Pastor Amy Engebose at St. Paul’s in Neenah has been tirelessly working to visit affected areas sharing cold water, chargers and pastoral care. That’s just a slice of what pastors and congregations in the area are doing. Wednesday afternoon we had our first meeting with Maryn Olson and Zaya GIlmer of the ELCA  Lutheran Disaster Response. They already have been a huge help to us in understanding what to expect, how to be engaged in the days, weeks and months ahead. As Maryn said, this is not a sprint, it’s a marathon and we will not go away until you tell us to go away. They will be with us through the long run. 

A few takeaways from our meeting and ongoing work. Breathe, we are in this together and need everyone. This is the time for us to live into our mission. You do not need to do it all. As Maryn said to us: “It will be hard, but it will get better! Take care of yourselves and each other. Jesus died and rose, this is not a posted position.”

So what can you do now? Pray, of course, and offer whatever your gifts may be. Donations of money are what is needed most right now. Stay posted to the synod website where a pop up menu directs you to how to give to the synod’s disaster response or give directly to ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response (Select tornadoes in drop down menu). It will get to where it’s needed. “Like” and “Follow” the synod’s Facebook page for up to date information.  

Give the gift of you, if you have skills, like chain sawing or building or things like that, go to Volunteer Fox Cities to sign up. Offers of hospitality are great, Got a space to share for a while? Offer it up. Pine Lake Camp, for example, was able to share a cottage this weekend, in the midst of the coming and going of lots of campers for a couple who desperately needed to get away.  Just being present is a huge gift as I experienced several times this week, giving people a chance to get away from the chaos for a meal or time together. We’ve dined with dear friends this week and they said that just getting away for a while really lifted their spirits. Friday we went for fish in Menasha with some of our friends who were affected and it gave an opportunity for them to share their stories of fear, sadness, amazing and unexpected connections and hope for the future. Even the restaurant owner, whose home was severely damaged shared his story. One friend really wanted us to come to her home to see the damage, and it does truly look like the apocalypse. Being together was just what we needed, laughing, crying, hugging and just talking about normal things. She texted me later, saying that was just what her soul needed. So if your gift is going out to eat or just visiting, you’re in luck. We all have a gift to share.

The work continues. People are coming together in beautiful ways not imagined a week ago. The stories and work will continue. As you gathered for worship this past Sunday, St Paul’s in Neenah worshiped with the UCC church on the Island that was severely damaged. God is present. There are so many ways for us to be church together. 

Be curious,
Be courageous,
Be Christ together.

Nancy Schanke
ECSW Vice President