[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”Refugee Services” header_fullscreen=”on” button_one_text=”by Anneke Shiller” button_one_url=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/about-us\/” content_max_width=”75%” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_color=”#FFFFF0″ title_font_size=”150px” subhead_font=”||||||||” subhead_text_color=”#FFFFF0″ subhead_font_size=”21px” background_image=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Anderson-with-Family-Camp-Grohn-e1691171713561.jpg” custom_button_one=”on” button_one_text_color=”#FFFFF0″ button_one_bg_color=”#bf5e5e” width=”100%” height=”583px” max_height=”595px” custom_margin=”-32px|||||” custom_padding=”||70px|||” link_option_url_new_window=”on” hover_enabled=”0″ title_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ title_text_shadow_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” border_radii_image=”off||||” global_colors_info=”{}” button_one_text__hover_enabled=”on|hover” button_one_text__hover=”by Anneke Shiller” button_one_bg_enable_color=”on” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” background_color=”#bf5e5e” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_fullwidth_menu menu_id=”18″ active_link_color=”#FFFFF0″ cart_icon_color=”#FFFFF0″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” menu_font=”Abril Fatface||||||||” menu_text_color=”#FFFFF0″ menu_font_size=”35px” background_color=”#bf5e5e” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_fullwidth_menu][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-74px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” background_color=”#FFFFF0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”75px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”25px” text_line_height=”1.3em” min_height=”276.5px” custom_padding=”||0px|||” inline_fonts=”ABeeZee” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
When appointed to be first president of the Lutheran World Federation in 1947, Anders Nygren admitted to the convention, \u201cthe work is great and we are small.\u201d<\/strong><\/span>1<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0For the Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees, the scene on the ground that first year was overwhelming. The so-called DP Camps were overcrowded, and the people were restless, hungry, sick, and weary. But, as documented in this section, LWF-SR staff aim<\/span>ed to match their support<\/span> to the spiritual, personal, and physical needs<\/span> at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Lubeck-Office-rotated.jpg” alt=”Original Caption: %22As Lutheran World Federation secretary in the important Schlegswig-Holstein area office at L\u00fcbeck, Ernst V\u00e4hl has often managed most of the work alone when the area director has been called elsewhere. He has an assurance from the National Lutheran Council.%22″ title_text=”L\u00fcbeck Office” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-2px|auto||auto|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_id=”aim” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”47px” header_font_size=”47px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”10px|||||” top_divider_style=”waves2″ top_divider_color=”#bf5e5e” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ background_color=”#FFFFF0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”94px” custom_padding=”||50px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||6px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”20px” text_line_height=”1.8em” custom_margin=”||-5px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n To understand the aim of the Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees (LWF-SR), one must first understand the situation of displaced pastors and the “Churches in Exile”<\/a> that gathered in the DP camps where the LWF-SR staff offered their service.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Like Aaron did for Moses in the Book of Exodus (Exodus 17:12), LWF-SR structured its work around the Churches in Exile and displaced pastors to lift them up to thrive self-sufficiently. The LWF-SR accomplished this by recruiting displaced pastors for their team, including Bruno Ederma (congregational care), Edmunds \u0160mits<\/span> (Imbshausen Lutheran Study Center program director), and Janis Rozentals (chaplaincy service), to direct support. The LWF-SR also obtained other crucial supplies for pastors servicing their churches, such as communion packets and printing services to publish Bibles, catechisms, and hymnals in the communities\u2019 languages. In this way, the LWF-SR acted as Aaron, the support, but not the main figure of this chapter of the history of the Churches <\/span>in Exile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9saW5rX3VybF9wYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsicG9zdF9pZCI6Ijk2NiJ9fQ==@” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Learn more about the Staff” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”button_url” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”14px” button_text_color=”#000000″ button_bg_color=”#e0d8c8″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_letter_spacing=”1px” button_font=”|700||on|||||” transform_translate=”-4px|-15px” custom_margin=”|-60px|0px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”|0px|||false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”16px|28px|16px|28px|true|true” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Raudsepp-Among-Children.jpg” alt=”Original Caption: %22Pastor K. Raudsepp among the Sunday-school children.%22″ title_text=”Raudsepp among Sunday School Children” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider color=”#8B2230″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” custom_margin=”17px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-87px|||||” custom_padding=”20px||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” background_color=”#FFFFF0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/French-Zone-Hardship-Cases-rotated-e1689973329555.jpg” alt=”Original Caption: %22LWF hardship packages creates happiness for grandma and children.%22″ title_text=”French Zone Hardship Cases” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_text_color=”#8B2230″ header_font_size=”35px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u201cThe Aim\u2013Ministry of the Lutheran Churches on Behalf of Lutheran Churches-in-Exile and their<\/span> People”3<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”20px” text_line_height=”1.8em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n However, this motif of an Aaron-Moses relationship is a later addition in a larger imagined aim and history of LWF-SR work. <\/span><\/p>\n Even before the official constitution of the Lutheran World Federation, LWF-SR work had already unofficially begun through the dedicated work of Dr. Michelfelder, Dr. Bodensieck, Dr. Clifford Nelson, and Rev. Carl Schaffnit. These forerunners set the groundwork for Howard\u00a0 Hong and his two student volunteers, Kenneth Senft and James V. Anderson, who set the work of LWF-SR to work on the ground starting in summer of 1947.<\/span><\/p>\n Starting off running, these people embodied the concept of \u201c<\/span><\/span>the church must go to the church,\u201d<\/b><\/span>3<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0an idea emphasized at the Lund convention where the Lutheran World Federation was created. As their work progressed, they began to focus more on being <\/span>\u201cof assistance to the refugee pastors in carrying out their ministry,\u201d<\/b><\/span>4<\/span><\/span><\/a> not necessarily being the only aid to camp congregations<\/span>.<\/b> It simply took the work and flexibility of these forerunners and teams to find the core purpose of their work: of being an Aaron.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”50px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_id=”needs” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”20px” custom_margin=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_id=”needs-refugee” _builder_version=”4.22.1″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”47px” header_font_size=”47px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Mission” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ custom_padding=”||1px|||” top_divider_style=”waves2″ top_divider_color=”#bf5e5e” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″ background_color=”#FFFFF0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”50px||||false|false” border_color_all=”#1C2B5E” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”23px” text_line_height=”1.8em” width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” min_height=”88.4px” custom_margin=”24px||24px||false|false” custom_padding=”24px|50px|24px|50px|false|false” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_color=”#1C2B5E” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Need begins, first, with the person in need. Lutherans living in displaced persons camps in occupied Germany and Austria included three main groups of people receiving LWF-SR aid: pastors, \u201cspecial hardship cases,\u201d and the everyday person.<\/span> Each group involved a particular situation with specific aid, but regardless of specifics, all were in dire need of spiritual and material support during this time.5<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ width=”100%” max_width=”1425px” custom_margin=”0px|auto||auto|false|false” custom_padding=”|30px||30px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ text_font_size=”20px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_3_font=”Abril Fatface||||||||” header_3_text_color=”#000000″ header_3_font_size=”38px” header_3_line_height=”1.1em” max_width=”800px” custom_padding=”|||0px||” header_3_font_size_tablet=”28px” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n After suffering religious persecution under Soviet Union control, pastors were in need of a break they did not receive. More often than not, pastors were left without or with little pay for their work in IRO\/displaced persons camps, leaving them with less food and supplies. Their underpaid work also included servicing and traveling to multiple congregations due to limited religious leadership. For instance, Pastor Alexander Abel traveled by rail 12,515 kilometers in one year to minister to various Estonian congregations.6<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> Additionally, these pastors were often left with inadequate space and religious literature to even hold a service. With travel costs high, an unequal pastor to congregation ratio, sparse religious materials, and little food, pastors were struggling to make ends meet.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Edmunds \u0160mits<\/span>, Imbshausen program director7<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Handicrafts.jpg” alt=”Original Caption: %22In the Rehabilitation Center for wounded war veterans among the Displaced Persons in the British Zone, these men learn the silversmith’s art. All men in the picture are amputees, whos hope for the future depends not only on their willingness to work, but on someone giving them an opportunity.%22″ title_text=”Rehabilitation Center for Wounded War Veterans” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” filter_brightness=”115%” filter_contrast=”72%” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Pastors-on-Bikes-rotated.jpg” alt=”Original Caption: %22Serving the widely scattered and often destitute Hungarian Lutheran and Reformed church members in diaspora in the British Zone is made easier for Pastor Gy\u00f6z\u00f6 Orth and Deacon Bertalan Arkossy by the gift of a bicycle from Christian friends in America. They are shown setting out to visit members in little villages in the Harz mountains, after a stop-cover at the Lutheran Study Center at Imbshausen.%22″ title_text=”Hungarian Pastors with Donated Bikes” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” filter_saturate=”102%” filter_brightness=”88%” filter_contrast=”102%” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ text_font_size=”20px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_3_font=”Abril Fatface||||||||” header_3_text_color=”#000000″ header_3_font_size=”38px” header_3_line_height=”1.1em” max_width=”800px” header_3_font_size_tablet=”28px” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n As defined by an U.S. area director, Reuben Baetz, \u201cspecial hardship\u201d cases include those that are \u201csickly babies, widows with children, and\u2013later on\u2013the chronically sick or ex-TB cases\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span>as well as those disabled from World War II and elderly refugees.8<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0In post World War II Germany, tuberculosis and rickets were rampant among camp populations due to deficiency in diet. Many men had lost limbs to the war and many women, left now as single mothers, lost husbands. Also, while the 1948 Currency and Economic Reform benefited those that could work, many considered \u201cspecial hardship\u201d cases were left worse off. In the end, extra food and medicine were a dire need for \u201cspecial hardship\u201d cases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ text_font_size=”20px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_3_font=”Abril Fatface||||||||” header_3_text_color=”#000000″ header_3_font_size=”38px” header_3_line_height=”1.1em” max_width=”800px” header_3_font_size_tablet=”28px” header_3_font_size_phone=”18px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The position refugees found themselves in by 1947 was one Edna and Howard Hong described as \u201ca marriage to idleness\u201d<\/strong> with <\/span>\u201csuddenly having no purpose but to keep from the grave.<\/strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/span>9<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Refugees were stuck in a position of both being stateless in a strange place and having little sense of purpose. In camps, food was redundant and insufficient. Jobs were not always available, especially those in the fields they were in before. Cultural and religious events were organized but with limited resources. Money had no real use and the black market was pervasive. Families were stuck in cramped living quarters with communal bathrooms and kitchens. Lastly, resettlement was both a desire but also a concept that felt very unachievable. Clinging to one\u2019s faith and hope proved to be a struggle for every refugee amidst this chaotic world quite unlike home.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/lwf-refugee-service\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1702\/2023\/07\/Family-at-Camp-Grohn-rotated.jpg” alt=”Original Caption: %22Olgerts Lagzdins (left) visits his wife Vera (31) and son Gunars, 8, in one of the women’s barracks shortly after their arrival at Camp Grohn embarkment center from an American zone resettlement center. Lagdzins, 35, is a graduate engineer who received an assurance through the Lutheran World Federation for a job (as technician) with Allis Chalmers Mfg. Co. in Milwaukee. Parents and brothers of both and sister of Mrs. Lagdzins were deported from Latvia to Siberia by the Russians.%22″ title_text=”Family at Camp Grohn” show_in_lightbox=”on” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_text_color=”#8B2230″ header_2_text_color=”#8B2230″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\nAim<\/h1>\n
\u201cWe can never be a Moses but rather an Aaron helping Moses hold up his arm.”<\/span>2<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
“The church must go to the church.”<\/h1>\n
Needs<\/h1>\n
Pastors’ Needs<\/h3>\n
\u201cEven our pastors are broken and dismayed men.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
“Special Hardship Cases”<\/h3>\n
The Everyday Person<\/h3>\n
“An atmosphere of constant anxiety of new hopes changing with hopelessness.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n