Hurricane Katrina bore down on Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisianna with unprecedented force in August of 2005. Being called one of the worst natural disaster to ever hit the United States, recovery and rebuilding efforts will take months and years.

The links at the right will direct you to relief organizations that are currently involved in providing immediate and long-term help to people in the region, as well as sites that contain more information on the destruction and needed prayer requests. These sites contain the most recent information available.

There are also links to reproducible bulletin inserts and worship resources for use in your congregations.

LCMS World Relief/Human Care has developed a plan in consultation with the district presidents to partner with the districts to aid congregations and schools in the Texas and Southern Districts. Each district, including the Nebraska District, has been assigned churches or schools in the Southern and Texas Districts to be responsible for assisting. The Nebraska District is partnering with the English District to assist four congregations and four retired church workers in the Southern and Texas Districts. They are:

• St. Paul, Annette St., New Orleans, Louisiana
• Zion, Bogalusa, Louisiana
• Hope, Winnie, Texas
• Holy Cross, Nederland, Texas
• Rev. Marvin Otto
• Rev. Sidney Ponseti
• Rev. Louis Nelsen
• Rev. L.E. Delgehausen

As your congregation or group prepares to send teams to areas in need of disaster relief, the Southern District disaster relief task force asks that your team leaders visit the LCMS World Mission website for more information. This site may be accessed by clicking the volunteer icon on the top of this page. There are many resources and three downloadable forms available, including:

• Individual Information Form
• Emergency Contact Information Form
• Liability Form
• Devotional Booklet for Relief Workers
• A Manual
• A Sending Service for Congregations

The responsibility of hurricane relief coordination has been shifted from the Nebraska District Office to Rev. David Buss in the Southern District. Congregations and individuals who wish to provide disaster recovery support through action teams, family to family support, or in other ways are encouraged to contact Pastor Buss at the Southern District Disaster Relief Office at 225-752-5590 or relief@southernlcms.org.