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President Thomforde proposes numerous hurricane relief options for St. Olaf community

By David Gonnerman '90
September 6, 2005

St. Olaf President Christopher M. Thomforde met with the college cabinet Friday to discuss how the St. Olaf College community can best respond to the crisis on the Gulf Coast caused by Hurricane Katrina. Also present were College Pastor Bruce Benson and Janet Kringen Thompson '70, director of church relations.

"Many are concerned about the students whose lives and course of studies have been interrupted with devastating force," says Thomforde, who has urged the Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC) to look into how the consortium might act as a "clearing house" for Gulf Coast students seeking to continue their education at one of the MPCC member colleges until Gulf Coast educational institutions are repaired and restored. "St. Olaf staff are establishing criteria to help determine which students will best prosper at St. Olaf and how we might be able to support them financially," reports Thomforde. Staff also are investigating how many students St. Olaf might be able to welcome under the proposed program.

With the need for funds to support relief efforts remaining a top priority, Thomforde also has contacted Paul Blom '63, bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, to find out what help is needed. Blom says that 15 pastors and associates in ministry have had their homes and church buildings destroyed. He is asking for donations to help keep the affected ministers in their parishes so that they can provide pastoral care to the individuals and families devastated by the hurricane. Thomforde encourages members of the St. Olaf community to send donations to:

Bishop Paul J. Blom
ELCA Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod
12707 North Freeway, Suite 580
Houston, TX 77060-1239
Thomforde also encourages the community to be "generous in your gifts" to such organizations as Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which is matching gifts to LDR. (Note that since LDR deducts no administrative fees for its operations, 100 percent of contributions go directly for relief.) The St. Olaf College Business Office also is receiving contributions for the Red Cross -- just send checks made out to St. Olaf College to the Business Office at 1520 St. Olaf Ave., Northfield, Minn., 55057.

"And pray," advises Thomforde. "But pray not as a sign of wishful thinking hurled up against the great dome of heaven in desperate hopes of a benevolent response. Pray, rather, so that your voice can be united with the cries of pain and hope of those who are suffering," he says. "Pray because you must find a way to express your own astonishment. Pray to the one who, finally, is able to bring life and light out of chaos and fury."

All gifts to the organizations noted above are tax deductible.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.