Churches Asked to Share Examples of Outreach Efforts

CHICAGO, IL (September 12, 2001) - Stories of local ministry outreach efforts continue to filter in to Covenant News Service from churches throughout the Evangelical Covenant Church following Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

Although there have been no reports of death or injury to immediate family members who are members of Covenant churches, many of the families are dealing with the loss of other relatives, friends and co-workers who lost their lives or were injured.

Shortly after news bulletins announced the damage to the twin towers of the World Trade Center, we posted a news story sharing President Glenn Palmberg's call for Covenanters and other Christians to immediately join in prayer for the victims and their families. The news staff in the Department of Communication was in regular contact with numerous churches and individuals, posting updated news stories throughout the day.

To review Tuesday's news coverage, read the news links story elsewhere on this page.

Later in the day Tuesday, Palmberg issued an appeal for all Covenant churches to schedule special prayer services at 7 p.m. in their respective time zones, or at other times more appropriate. Messages of condolence and encourage were received from the international churches in Sweden and Chile, as well as the Covenant in Ecuador and a non-Covenant church in Chile.

A number of churches were engaged in ministry outreach efforts during the day. In one area near New York City, a pastor drove to one of the bridges to provide transportation for people walking out of Manhattan en route to their homes. Since all forms of public transportation were shut down, individuals fleeing the city had no option but to walk. Other reports suggested churches engaged in outreach efforts to children traumatized by the images we all saw on television.

We are interested in sharing examples of practical ways in which churches and individuals attempted to minister to those in their communities. Please send brief descriptions of what your church or some of its members did in ministry outreach. Make certain to include the name and city of the church and full names of those mentioned. Send all material to newsdesk@covchurch.org. We will collect that information and post it to this Covenant news site. It is hoped that information will suggest new ways for others to become engaged in outreach efforts.

We will continue to update information on this news site as it becomes available.

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