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- In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s destruction, Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) Carolinas staff and volunteers delivered flood cleanup buckets, CO detectors and children’s comfort kits to State Line Resource Station. Photo: Courtesy of LDR Carolinas
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- LDR Carolinas volunteers Peggy and Larry Shoffner drove a truck to Lutheridge Camp in Arden, N.C., to pick up donated cleanup kits, children’s comfort kits, hygiene kits and quilts from South Carolina Synod congregations. Photo: Courtesy of LDR Carolinas
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- Members of Holy Trinity Lutheran in Hickory, N.C., assembled cleanup buckets they donated to those in the Boone, N.C. area. Photo: Courtesy of Holy Trinity
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- Members of Lutheran Church of the Nativity in Arden volunteered to help with cleanup at Lutheridge, where Helene felled thousands of trees. Photo: Courtesy of Nativity
In the Carolinas, coastal communities usually bear the brunt of hurricane damage. That changed in late September, when Hurricane Helene struck. The storm made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane and, moving inland, cut a path of destruction across regions not accustomed to tropical cyclones, such as Western North Carolina.
Helene dumped torrents of rain on mountain communities, causing landslides, felling trees and swelling rivers beyond their banks. Devastating floods swept away homes, businesses and cars, killing at least 115 in North Carolina.
In the wake of such devastation, ELCA congregations and organizations such as Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) Carolinas have answered the call to help those affected by Hurricane Helene, even while dealing with damage of their own from the storm.
At Lutheridge Camp and Conference Center in Arden, N.C., the hurricane felled thousands of trees, more than 30 of which hit buildings on the site. Lutherock Camp and Conference Center in Newland, N.C., saw similar damage, and roads to the camp were washed away by the floods.
Mitzie Schafer, interim co-CEO of NovusWay Ministries, the organization that manages Lutheridge and Lutherock, said the response from Lutherans was immediate.
“Within the first 72 hours, we had people saying, ‘Just tell me when to come.'”
“Within the first 72 hours, we had people saying, ‘Just tell me when to come,’” she said. “And we were also on the phone with LDR Carolinas. This response has been a big intersect of a lot of arms of the ELCA, and I’m really proud of my church.”
That response encompassed more than just boots on the ground to clean up the mess. Lutheridge and Lutherock have also received significant monetary support from LDR, anonymous donors and congregations as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio. Without that assistance, Shafer said, the camps wouldn’t be reopening anytime soon.
“It’s wonderful how far the connection reaches,” she said. “We’ve had counselors and campers who are spread all over who said, ‘My camp was hurt—this is a way to help them.’”
Once Lutheridge was cleaned up enough to house people again, the camp began hosting linemen from Ontario, Canada, who worked to restore power to the area. More recovery groups are scheduled to stay on campus.
“They stayed with us for a few days, and we were able to get them hot meals and have clean laundry,” Schafer said. “It really meant a lot to our staff to be able to do something for the people who’ve dropped their whole lives to come here for an unknown amount of time to help us.”
“What you do is an act of God”
Lutheran Church of the Nativity, across the street from Lutheridge, sent volunteers to help with cleanup at the camp. The congregation has found a variety of ways to help the greater community, from distributing bottled water to helping clear debris. Sean Barrett, pastor of Nativity, said the congregation has received an influx of monetary donations to help the relief effort.
“I’ve had thousands come into the pastor’s discretionary fund, some from people I don’t know,” he said. “Over the last two weeks, I’ve been able to give out $2,000 to people who needed help with rent, rebuilding or food.”
About an hour removed from the hardest-hit areas, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hickory, N.C., has answered the call to help its neighbors as well. The city’s small airport has become a hub for supply deliveries, and members of the church pitched in to keep that operation running smoothly.
“Our members would answer phones and direct people and supplies,” said Hannah Norem, pastor of Holy Trinity. “It was really beautiful to see our people step up.”
With so many in the region still deprived of power or water, Holy Trinity has become a place where people seek something as simple yet out of reach as a hot shower. The congregation has also packed comfort kits for children that include stress balls and notebooks, and assembled cleanup buckets as part of an LDR initiative.
“It was really beautiful to see our people step up.”
Originally from Texas, Norem remembers the devastation of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the influx of New Orleanians relocating to the state after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Being able to pitch in for this crisis, she said, feels especially meaningful.
“I think of it as paying it forward,” she said. “We have such a strong faith in God, who has never left or forsaken us, so to be in a situation where you can pay that forward has been really helpful for a lot of people.”
Ray and Ruth Ann Sipe, disaster coordinators and network builders for LDR Carolinas, said the recovery effort has been hampered by the rural isolation and challenging terrain of the mountain communities impacted.
“There are an estimated, at least, 5,000 private bridges, ones that carry a driveway from the road over a creek, that need to be replaced,” Ruth Ann said. “That’s a major project for us.”
LDR is working to establish long-term recovery groups in Western North Carolina and South Carolina, just as it does in coastal communities, to ensure that the response continues for as long as necessary, Ruth Ann said. As LDR continues its post-Helene work, she’s reminded of a moment during the recovery after Hurricane Katrina.
“We saw a sign that said, ‘Katrina is an act of nature; what you do here is an act of God,’” she said. “That helps put it in perspective.”
