becomes bishop on Sept. 1, said that New Orleans-area congregations will put together a "clear vision with clear objectives" to become self-supporting in three to five years. "This is a spiritual venture. It really has very little to do with repairing buildings; it's repairing lives," said Blom.

Blom knows about personal recovery efforts. Blom is a survivor of the Red River flood in Grand Forks, N.D., in 1997. "1 knew what it was like to be completely overwhelmed by post-traumatic stress," he said. His spiritual outlook was transformed by the volunteers who came from across the country to help his church and his family. The goal in New Orleans, according to Blom, is not to return lives "back to normal." Rather, "the goal is to reshape people spiritually so they have a strengthened new capacity for life," said Blom.

When Grace member Debbie Pusateri looks at the work that's gone into the rebuilding of her church, she beams with pride. "This church that we have is the greater church," said Pusateri. "Grace didn't build it, the larger church built this facility, and to see that hope and that love and that energy come in, that's what I'd like to give to the community --that same hope and love and caring," she said.

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on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.orq htt~://www.elca.orqlnews ELCA News Blog: htt~:/lwww.elca.ore/news/bloq