HEARTS OF MERCY & COMPASSION MINISTRY
Pastor Matthew Douglas of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Glenview, IL, recounts how he and his congregation worked with LCC to bring a Heart of Mercy & Compassion to a hurting family and the Glenview community after a tragic car accident that took a 17-year-old high school student too soon.
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"It became a symbol of compassion, unity, and hope."
The phone call was a divine interruption.
Pastor Matt Douglas of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Glenview, Illinois, was working on a sermon when Lutheran Church Charities called. Would he reach out to a hurting family in town that had lost their 17-year-old son in a tragic car accident? “I said, ‘Yeah, that’s what a pastor does,’” he told them. Marko Niketic was killed when his car was struck by another driver near the intersection of Lake Avenue and Meadow Lane. It was Mother’s Day. The fatality made the Chicago news. When Pastor Matt visited the accident site, a growing memorial was already in place. An LCC Heart of Mercy & Compassion with a cross was surrounded by flowers and photos of Marko. Along a nearby wooden fence, a display with laminated images, balloons, and giant letters LLM (Long Live Marko) filled the area of the crash site. A young man was sitting on the ground nearby. Pastor Matt joined him. “Do you want to talk? How did you know him?” He was Marko’s best friend. Pastor Matt got to know him and the two prayed together. A day later, another phone call came. A community vigil was being organized and Pastor Matt was invited. It was at the same time as Immanuel Lutheran’s Mission Leadership Team meeting. Pastor Matt knew he had to be at the crash site. So he took the meeting on the road. Immanuel leaders joined him at Lake and Meadow. |
The priest leading the vigil had not yet arrived, so Pastor Matt approached the best friend, who was with Marko’s mother, and asked if he could say a few words and offer prayer.
“Who are you?” they asked. “I said, ‘I’m just a servant of God,’” Pastor Matt shared. At that moment, Marko’s best friend came forward and gave him a bear hug. “He said, ‘Let him come up,’ Pastor Matt recalled. “So if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to preach the good news that day.” Lutheran Church Charities comes alongside ministers like Pastor Matt across the country. The Hearts of Mercy & Compassion ministry opens doors, begins relationships, delivers hope and comfort, and sometimes recognizes faithful service or recognition. As Pastor Matt puts it, “The beautiful part is [LCC] partners with surrounding churches. They were there with me when I was with the friend that first time. They were there at the vigil. They were there through all of this, talking to people, comforting them. They were a familiar face.” “This ministry that Lutheran Church Charities has — this hearts of mercy and compassion — it’s priceless. And not only did they bring one to that area, they also made two for the firehouses that were involved and one for the police department.” Pastor Matt took those hearts on LCC’s behalf. “Hearts of Mercy and Compassion helped the family, helped the community to mourn together, and brought a sense of unity. It was amazing. People kept coming and signing that heart. It became a symbol of compassion, unity, and hope.” As a supporter of LCC, your financial gifts have made this Spirit-led story of possible. We thank you. You are making a difference in the lives of untold people and entire communities. For this work to continue and even grow, would you provide an extra gift to LCC’s 12/31 Year-End Campaign? |
DISASTER RESPONSE MINISTRY
Mrs. C of Asheville, N.C., recounts going into labor during Hurricane Helene and the care she and her family received from LCC Disaster Response in the weeks that followed.
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"People I've never met are showing their love to me and my family."
On the day Hurricane Helene hit, Mrs. C had no idea how big the storm would be.
After roaring ashore in Florida and churning across Georgia and South Carolina, Helene was barreling through western North Carolina. Her home in Asheville, N.C. — hundreds of miles inland — was in the path of the storm’s fury. She was 9 months pregnant, and as the winds and rain battered her house in the dark, she was trying to comfort her frightened twins. The back wall of her house was knocked in. The porch was gone. Glass and water were everywhere. They salvaged what they could before the celling of their basement crashed down. “It was like we were standing outside,” Mrs. C remembered. They sat in the middle of the night with flashlights until a |
neighbor came. Then she went into labor. Hours later, she held her healthy baby boy.
Weeks later, Mrs. C rocks her sleeping son as LERT crews from Lutheran Church Charities clear fallen trees in her backyard and haul away mounds of debris. It’s November, about 6 weeks after the storm, and LCC volunteers have assessed damage to her home, packed up her kitchen, and put tarps and plastic over holes where repairs will be. “You have boots on the ground when other people have left,” she said. “Because your group is here serving, showing the love of Christ … it allows the resiliency of our community to continue to happen in other trickle-down ways.” Mrs. C sums up the impact like this: “People I’ve never met and may never see again are showing their love to me, my home, my family, my community, my state. I’m eternally grateful.” As a supporter of LCC, your financial gifts have made moments like this possible. We thank you. You are making a difference in the lives of untold people and entire communities. For this work to continue and even grow, would you provide an extra gift to LCC’s 12/31 Year-End Campaign? |
LCC INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY
Natalia and Inna are from different parts of Ukraine, and as war broke out in their home nation, they faced challenging realities. But both saw God use LCC to help them in a time of crisis.
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"Your help means support ... prayer support, financial support."
Natalia and Inna know the horrors of the war in Ukraine.
One fled. One remained. But both relied on the compassion and generosity of Lutheran Church Charities supporters who gave to support Lutheran pastors who helped them. For Natalia, it was basic survival. “We live in a state of war,” she told us in June. “We live in fear and anxiety most of the time, scared to go outside the house.” But having a local church meant there was still hope. “Your help means support ... prayer support, financial support,” she |
said. “We received a lot of food. It was a great help. [But] the main thing — it is help and support.”
For Inna, LCC’s care and compassion took the form of her resettling in the U.S. and growing in her faith at a Ukrainian church in Palatine, IL. “I had to be very, very strong … because my kids were very scared,” she recalled to us in August. But she connected with supporters who “are my angels in this world, and I realize I am not alone.” Inna says she believes it is part of God’s plan. “I’m sure that, in this way, God showed me that He is in my life, that He loves me and supports me.” As a supporter of LCC, your financial gifts have impacted these two women and others like them. We thank you. You are making a difference in the lives of untold people and entire communities. For this work to continue and even grow, would you provide an extra gift to LCC’s 12/31 Year-End Campaign? |
K-9 COMFORT DOG MINISTRY
In May, four LCC K-9 Comfort Dog teams and LCC Hearts of Mercy & Compassion journeyed to Charlotte, N.C., in response to the tragic shooting that killed four law enforcement officers. They attended vigils and memorial services, met with families, and visited station houses to uplift officers. This video recaps the impact of the ministry work supported by donors of Lutheran Church Charities.
"Thank you for bringing the dogs."
First Responders are used to taking care of others and being the heroes. But when the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry showed up for them in Charlotte, N.C., this May, as four slain law enforcement officers were laid to rest, it was another example of Lutheran Church Charities bringing HOPE FOR THE HURTING. With pets and snuggles, these men and women
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in uniform took a few moments to be vulnerable and process their own grief and trauma.
Handlers prayed and talked with many of them, right at the time they needed it. As a supporter of LCC, your financial gifts make days like this possible. We thank you. You are making a difference in the lives of untold people and entire communities. For this work to continue and even grow, would you provide an extra gift to LCC’s 12/31 Year-End Campaign? |