Hurricane Fran destroys ELCA school

Hurricane Fran left about 170 students without classrooms when it destroyed Faith Lutheran School in Raleigh, N.C. Recently remodeled, the school was dedicated two weeks before Fran hit.

The storm damaged furniture and school supplies, left walls "dangling," and flooded the building with three feet of water. "I have never seen more total destruction in a disaster than I have seen in this school," said Leon Phillips, director of Lutheran Disaster Response.

While school officials plan for the future, Holy Trinity and Our Savior Lutheran churches, Raleigh, and the Salvation Army will provide temporary classroom space. Disaster response sent a grant of $8,000 for the school, which is sponsored by six Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and two Lutheran Church­ Missouri Synod congregations.