Steven Decker, an engineer with the Chicago Fire Department, was only three months away from retirement when he died 2 weeks ago while performing training duties with Engine Company 71 on the north side of the city. 

He was beloved and respected by the company and known for his joy and faith. 

Last week, Lutheran Church Charities staff visited the stationhouse and attended his funeral at St. Paul Lutheran Canfield in Chicago, presenting an end-of-watch Heart of Mercy & Compassion for the company to sign and display. 

Many first responders joined the Decker family, friends, neighbors, and church family for the service to show support. Decker had been baptized and confirmed at the church. 

During the service, the church played one of his favorite hymns, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives,” as well as the sound of bagpipes and “Taps” filling the space.

LCC was joined by local chaplain Pastor Henry Biar of St. Paul Lutheran – Skokie, IL, who rides along and provides spiritual care for the police department in his community.  ​

Twenty-one months ago, Hurricane Helene roared ashore along the Big Bend region of Florida at 140 mph — Category 4 — and, over two days, cut a swath of devastation across eight states, spawning tornadoes, triggering landslides, and swamping communities across the southeast and Appalachia.  

The storm destroyed tens of thousands of homes and businesses, inflicted $78 billion in damage, and took the lives of 252 people, making it the deadliest to strike the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

Almost two years later, thousands of people are still reeling from the destruction, living in temporary shelters, homes cratered in disrepair, families uprooted, surviving with minimal essentials. 

Spartanburg, SC, is one of those places. Overlooked compared to other hard-hit regions, the town of 38,000 continues to rebuild and assist residents trying to recover. 

“While neighboring areas have received attention and recovery assistance, Spartanburg has been among the forgotten communities that has had little resources to help them restore their homes and rebuild their lives,” said Deac. Kathy O’Day, director of LCC Disaster Response. “These individuals and families are still looking for wholeness and tangible help.”

This week, a team of more than 50 Lutheran Church Charities staff and volunteers and volunteers with Lutheran Servants For Christ will be there, deploying to upstate South Carolina to co-lead a major coordinated humanitarian relief event called Helene Recovery and Preparedness Day, a multi-agency resource distribution that will offer spiritual and material support for survivors. 
 
For LCC, the mission is a re-engagement, having sent Cares teams to serve with affiliate churches in North Carolina multiple times and LCC LERT crews to work disaster sites for more than a dozen weeks since the September 2024 storm hit.

“One of our key characteristics as a ministry is presence,” said LCC President/CEO Rev. Chris Singer. “We are called to BE THERE, and our supporters and volunteers are alongside LCC this week to see the need, serve where were welcomed, and stay for ongoing encouragement and help.”

This weekend’s effort will include all four of LCC’s primary ministry areas with helping hands trained in Spiritual First Aid™ from LCC Cares, Disaster Response, Hearts of Mercy & Compassion, and K-9 Comfort Dog Ministries, including Comfort Dogs Faith (St. Stephens – Hickory, NC), Seth (Eternal Shepherd – Seneca, SC), and Zoara (Crosswaters Ministries/Island Lutheran – Hilton Head, SC).

LCC is partnering with the LCMS’s Southeastern District, Lutheran Servants For Christ, Samaritan’s Feet, the Spartanburg Emergency Operations Center, and other local agencies in the mission event with about 300 to 500 individuals — approximately 250 families — expected to receive assistance, including food, clothing, shoes, weather radios, heaters/cooling fans, emergency go bags, and more.  

For weeks, LCC affiliate churches, supporters, and donors have contributed funding and practical resources. This week, those items were sorted, labeled, and packed up for the 745-mile trip.

At the event on Saturday, volunteers will walk local residents around each station, listening to their stories, praying with them, and helping carry supplies to their cars.   

The event will be massive in scope: 

• Samaritan’s Feet will give more than 250 pairs of shoes in kids and adult sizes to registered families. 
• Marriott has gifted thousands of washcloths, towels, mats, blankets, and sheets. 
• Resurrection Lutheran in Spartanburg will pass out 400 donated quilts. 
• Lutheran Church Extension Fund is donating go-bags. 
• LCC and local groups will distribute hundreds of children’s books. 
• Orphan Grain Train is providing T-shirts, underwear, and socks. 
• LCC and Northern Illinois District LERT teams filled and are giving 180 backpacks for kids. 
• Families also are invited to pick up flood buckets and mold cleaner. 
• Heaters and cooling fans purchased by LCC and Lutheran Servants For Christ donors will be delivered to households who need them by the South Carolina Office of Resilience. 

​On Commissioning Day at St. Paul, the church’s narthex and fellowship hall were filled with excitement of being sent into the community to share Christ’s love and mercy. 

But Always helped offer comfort to people in the congregation too. 

“While we are thrilled to be going outside the walls of our church, we also got to witness the incredible power Always’ presence brings at home,” said Always Top Dog Nikki Kubowicz.

One woman sat petting and crying with Always for quite a while, processing the grief of her first Mother’s Day without her mom.

“Always opened the door for us to talk with her about her mom and the joy she is now experiencing in heaven,” Nikki shared. “Our team is excited to begin seeing more of those God moments as we follow God’s call to service.” 

LCC is praying for Always and her team as they officially begin their ministry work together. 

The broken pipe went undetected overnight. 

It wasn’t until morning that Faith Lutheran Church in Germantown, WI, discovered inches of water flooding portions of the building, including extensive damage to the sanctuary walls, ceiling, and gathering spaces. 

Weeks of cleanup and repairs ensued, until last Sunday, when the Faith congregation was ready to worship in the restored sanctuary and rededicate it to the Lord. 
 
To help them remember the ordeal and God’s continued faithfulness through it, they received a physical reminder — a Heart of Mercy & Compassion (HMC), gifted by neighboring church St. Paul Grafton, WI.

Marked with Psalm 46:1, “God is our Refuge and Strength, an ever-present Help in trouble,” the HMC touched Pastor Peter Heckert, who held up the wooden heart at the beginning of the service to show church members and thank God for His ongoing presence.
​
“This [HMC] is a gift given to Faith, signed by many people who have been praying for us, supporting us. … Even in the midst of trials and tribulations, our Lord is faithful and this will be a sign for that,” Pastor Heckert said. 

Later in the morning, Faith congregation members gathered outside the building to sing hymns, read Scripture, and cheer as a pair of giant scissors sliced through the blue ribbon spanning the entrance. 

HMC team members from St. Paul Grafton had Cricut-ed Psalm 46:1 and the date of the rededication on the HMC, then signed it with hearty congratulations and encouragement for the occasion. 

The group had learned about the mishap at Faith through St. Paul LERT volunteers and the Grafton church’s Women’s Guild, which had contributed funds for repair costs. 

An HMC was just the final touch of a caring neighbor.  

It’s been 10 months since the Guadalupe River floods in Kerr and Hunt counties in Texas Hill Country took 139 lives on July 4. The media has come and gone. And been back again and again. 

There have been remembrances. Tributes. Benefit concerts. Community events. Tears have been shed week upon week upon week. 

In the midst of it all have been the caregivers — mental health professionals, law enforcement, city and county public servants, doctors, nurses, technicians — all shouldering several communities’ worth of grief, stress, and trauma from the tragedy’s aftermath, weighing heavy on the whole region. 

Those who’ve brought care and assistance are nearing a breaking point. 
The comforters now need comfort themselves.

“Our Crisis Counseling Team, as well as additional staff, have been working incredibly hard since the July 4th flood; many members of our team have experienced increased stress, as well as trauma, related to the things they have witnessed and heard,” said Corrie Perryman of the Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers. 

This week, with Legislative hearings dredging up unhealed wounds, seven Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dog teams from six Texas churches arrived on the scene to offer them a few moments of peace and rest — and then join them in outreach to a community that’s still reeling mentally and emotionally.  
More than a dozen LCC volunteers and their K-9 Comfort Dogs traveled from hundreds of miles across Texas to serve on a two-day, whirlwind mission trip in Kerrville and Hunt: Comfort Dog Elijah (Our Redeemer – Wichita Falls, TX), Comfort Dog Joy (Gloria Dei – Houston, TX), Comfort Dog Martha (Bethany – Austin, TX), Comfort Dog Olive (St. Paul – Fort Worth, TX), Comfort Dog Pax (St. Paul – Fort Worth, TX), Comfort Dog Shamgar (Our Savior – McKinney, TX), and Comfort Dog Triton (Messiah – Plano, TX).

The congregation at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream, Illinois is currently walking alongside Margie, a member of our local community who is facing a difficult and unexpected hardship.

Living on Social Security Disability, Margie recently encountered an unforeseen medical expense that has made it impossible for her to keep up with her basic monthly bills.

As a congregation, we are committed to helping ensure that Margie can remain safely in her home during this challenging season. She has expressed deep gratitude for the compassion, encouragement, and support she has received, and we are thankful for the opportunity to share Christ’s love in a tangible way.

Through gifts designated to Lutheran Church Charities, congregations like ours are able to respond quickly and faithfully to urgent needs within our communities.

Your generosity makes it possible to provide hope, stability, and mercy to neighbors who are struggling. We invite you to prayerfully consider making a gift to support this effort.

Every contribution, no matter the size, becomes a blessing to those in need and a reflection of Christ’s compassion at work through His people.

​Thank you for partnering with us in this ministry of mercy and hope. Your prayers, kindness, and support are deeply appreciated.
 
In Christ,
Pastor Ken Estes (pictured)
Our Savior Lutheran Church
Carol Stream, IL

​Valerie Winston (pictured at right) loved teaching — a holy calling God had on her life. She happily followed, positioning her career and talents around bringing joy to the classroom, singing, dancing, praising Jesus, and sharing the faith He gave her.

For the past two years, she served as the sixth-grade homeroom and middle school science teacher at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran School in Eastpointe, MI, and before that at Immanuel Christian Academy, where she made a lasting impact on countless students through her dedication, creativity, and unwavering belief in their potential. 

Last week, Ms. Winston passed unexpectedly, leaving her St. Peter’s students, colleagues, and school community shocked and saddened. 

But Principal Beth Jablonowski knew who to call. 

Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 Comfort Dogs had visited months earlier when a parent had died. Their care and comfort would be needed again. 

Ready to be there again with love, encouragement, and calm were Damascus (St. Paul – Napoleon, OH), Lazarus (LCC Staff), and Michael (LCC Staff), whose wagging tails and peaceful demeanor gave St. Peter’s the lift they needed as they said goodbye.

​The dogs and their handlers visited on Tuesday and Thursday that week, on either side of the on-campus memorial service on Wednesday, when there was no school. 
 
“In this time of sorrow, we look to God for strength and comfort, and we hold onto the hope we have in Christ—that Valerie is now at peace, rejoicing in the presence of her Savior,” the school shared on its Facebook page. “Her legacy will live on in the hearts of her students and all who knew her.”

Students echoed those words of appreciation and love. 

“When we saw the sixth graders, we asked them what they liked about Ms. Winston,” a handler reflected. “They talked about how she could rap and mentioned many of the things that made them all laugh!”

She was firm but fair, students agreed. 

“Clearly they had a lot of respect and love for her,” handlers said.

The K-9 Comfort Dogs visited teachers and the younger grades too, allowing students to pet and read to them. That week, the school had reflected on Psalm 30 of David extoling the LORD and asking for deliverance with Verse 5 being especially meaningful.  

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

From the principal to the teachers to the students, the sorrow the school has endured this year has left them vulnerable, yet grateful for the encouragement the Comfort Dogs brought. 

“We are so thankful for the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs for their care and support of our school community this year,” St. Peter’s shared on its Facebook page after the two days of visits. “They came alongside us not once, but twice, during seasons of loss, responding quickly and faithfully whenever we needed them. Their presence brought comfort, peace, and calm to our students, staff, and families during some very difficult moments. We are deeply grateful for their ministry and the gentle way they serve others through compassion and love.”