Urgent Request from
Canadian Lutheran World Relief

~ from a letter written by Karin Achtelstetter, CEO of CLWR, and the Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop of ELCIC that was emailed on October 9, 2024

The people of Lebanon need your help. To date, more than 2,000 people in Lebanon have lost their lives to violence, and many thousands more have been displaced.  Today, after the Government of Canada announcement of a special matching fund (lasting until November 3rd), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and Canadian Lutheran World Relief invite you to pray for those suffering and to give generously in response to this crisis.

Schools turned into shelters are filling up with people sleeping on the floor without pillows or blankets, or even water to drink. Others — including children and the elderly — are sleeping on the streets or in parks after their homes were destroyed during what CLWR’s church partners in the region described as “continuous bombing”.

Many Lutherans and friends across Canada responded generously to our appeal last year for the people of Gaza, and your support was life-saving. Now, we must ask you to respond again as the violence in the region escalates and puts so many families at risk across the border in Lebanon.

CLWR’s church partners are already responding, helping as many people as they can — providing emergency supplies, clean water, and protection for the vulnerable, but your support is needed.  And if you give quickly, you can help twice as many people thanks to the matching fund.

We urge you to pray for the families whose lives have been shattered by this escalation in violence, and pray for our partners in Lebanon who are responding, and all the members of Canada’s Humanitarian Coalition who are racing to provide life-saving aid.

Thank you for your partnership and for your compassion.

May God bless you,

Karin Achtelsetter, CEO, Canadian Lutheran World Relief
Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada

Visit this site if you choose to donate.

Watch the following video from the Rev. Susan Johnson and Karin Achtelsetter.  Click on the image below.