Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

1024 W. 8th Street Waterloo, Iowa 50702

Office Hours

Monday and Friday- 8 a.m.- 12:00 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday- 8 a.m.- 12:00 p.m., - 1-4 p.m.

Support and Aid for Northwest Iowa Floods

Please read the below appeal from District President Turner from Iowa District West - LCMS. Financial and volunteer support is needed for our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in this area, many of whom have ties here in the IDE - LCMS. For congregations with volunteers who have completed LERT training, please be on the lookout for a deployment opportunity before the end of this week at www.lcms-lert.org.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My heart is full of thankfulness for the outpouring of generous support by the members of Iowa District West and beyond, in response to our disaster relief fund following the tornados that damaged homes, infrastructure, and lives.
It is with a heavy heart that I find myself reaching out to you so soon with another appeal. As you are aware, calamity has struck again with the floods in western Iowa. On Monday June 24, I visited Trinty Lutheran in Hawarden, Christ the King and First English (both in Spencer). Trinity has suffered major damage to both the parsonage and church building. Christ the King also suffered major damage to their church building. It appears that First English was spared. However, both Pastor Kaldahl’s and Pastor McGinley’s homes suffered major damage. This brief assessment does not take into consideration all the families, individuals and even churches impacted by these flood waters - please keep all affected in your prayers. A major difficulty with this disaster, is that most homeowner and church insurance does not cover damage caused by flood waters.
In times like these, our faith community has an opportunity to come together and make a difference. We are reaching out to you today to request your support for our disaster relief efforts. Your generous donation will directly impact the lives of those affected by this natural disaster.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽:
1. Keep our communities in your prayers. Encourage your congregation to pray for healing, strength, and resilience during this challenging time.
2. Through financial support. You may wish to consider a door offering. Your contribution will go towards emergency supplies, shelter, and long-term recovery efforts.
3. There will be organized efforts to provide physical assistance through Iowa District West LERT (Lutheran Early Response Team). If you are trained or would like to be trained by LERT please go to www.lcms-lert.org. All LERT communication can be found on this site.
4. I encourage individual congregations to organize their own volunteer efforts. Just check with individual community leaders to find out their specific needs.

𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲:
1. By mail: send your check payable to Iowa District West with “Disaster Relief” on the memo line.
2. Online: IowaDistrictWest.org and click on “Donate” to make a secure online donation. Select the “Disaster Relief” option.
3. In person: Drop your donation off to the district office (409 Kenyon Rd., Suite B) during business hours (8am-4:30pm).

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘄.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩” (𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝟫:𝟣𝟣-𝟣𝟥 𝘌𝘚𝘝).
In times like this, we remember the rainbow and the promises of God’s divine protection. But we have so much more than just a sign in the sky. The promise of the presence of Christ is found in the preaching of the Gospel and in His Sacraments. Rainbows come and are quickly gone, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

We are deeply grateful for your compassion and willingness to stand with us during this challenging time. Your support is more than a financial gift; it is a beacon of hope for those who have lost so much.

Always in Grace,
Rev. Dr. Steven D. Turner
President, Iowa District West
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴! 𝘙𝘰𝘮 𝟣𝟢:𝟣𝟧