Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have contributed nearly $750,000 in response to the earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan on March 11.

ELCA Treasurer Christina Jackson-Skelton provided this report on March 25. One hundred percent of all donations designated for the Japan disaster go to the local response, according to a released statement from the Chicago-based ELCA.

The Rev. Sumiyuki Watanabe, president of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church, expressed his "deep gratitude" to ELCA members for their "heartfelt prayers" and the financial gifts the church has received from the ELCA to date.

The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church has begun distributing food and non-food items to affected families in Sendai, according to Megan Bradfield, director, ELCA International Disaster Response. Distribution points have been established at churches and preschools for materials transported from Tokyo to Sendai, she said

The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church works with three other Lutheran churches to coordinate response in the wake of the disaster, including the Japan Lutheran Church, Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church and West Japan Lutheran Church, according to Watanabe. He also said the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church partners with the Roman Catholic Church and Japan Episcopal Church, among many others.

Information about response efforts and the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church can be found at http://www.ELCA.org/disaster and at http://www.ELCA.org/japan on the ELCA website.

The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the U.S., with approximately 4.5 million members in more than 10,000 congregations. Minnesota has one of the largest concentrations of ELCA members in the U.S.