LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Bring Love and Support to the Firefighters Helping Battle California Wildfires  Lutheran Church Charities was invited by Jeremy Sanders, Battalion Chief, Cal Fire, Employee Support Services, to bring the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs to be the with the first responders protecting life and property of those affected by the California wildfires. LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Aaron (St. John's - Napa, California) and Micah (Light of the Valley, Elk Grove - California), and their teams deployed over the weekend to offer comfort to the firefighters and their leadership teams at Cal Fire Base Camp in Pleasanton who help battle the California wildfires. California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed in an update Monday that the extent of the fire damage ravaging the state is now at 1.2 million acres, nearly the size of the entire Grand Canyon.
Please pray for these courageous men and women who put their lives on the line to stop these dangerous and destructive fires. God bless them all and those affected by these fires.
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” (Isaiah 40:1) LCC never goes where we are not invited. The LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry NEVER charges those we serve. We pick up all of our travel and meals costs. We put boots and paws on the ground within 24 hours (often fewer) from the time we get the invite. Please consider a donation to the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry so that we may continue to show the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need.
75 LCC L.E.R.T. chainsaw certified volunteers and heavy equipment operators
from 24 different LCMS churches served to help those affected by the storms 
On Monday, August 10, Northern Illinois experienced a rare derecho with sustained winds of 60 – 90 mph and 15 confirmed tornados, causing widespread property damage throughout many cities.
Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) Disaster Response Lutheran Early Response Team (L.E.R.T.) volunteers have currently completed work at 34 homes and will be working this week at two other locations. LCC has served at these homes through 18 different Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) Northern Illinois District (NID) churches located in their disaster-affected cities.
In Marengo and Union, Illinois, one of the tornados ripped through four homeowner properties, ranging from 5 – 26 acres each, uprooting multiple trees and leaving a trail of destruction and damaged roofs. LCC L.E.R.T. chainsaw and heavy equipment operators spent four days working at all of these homes. Each of the homeowners expressed how they felt that God was blessing them with angels sent to help with what would have been an impossible job to do on their own or could have afforded to do.
LCC L.E.R.T. volunteers also worked at 6 homes in Kankakee, Illinois, mostly elderly or widowed congregation members, and also included Pastor Koeppen from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bourbonnais, Illinois. He expressed what a tremendous relief our ministry has been for all those helped in his congregation.
Approximately 75 LCC L.E.R.T. chainsaw certified volunteers and heavy equipment operators from 24 different LCMS churches have willingly responded to serve at all of these affected homes.
LCC never goes where we are not invited. We NEVER charge those we serve. We pick up all of our travel and meal costs. We put boots on the ground within 24 hours (often fewer) from the time we get the invite.
Please consider a donation to the LCC Disaster Response General Fund or LCC Disaster Response Equipment Maintenance & Fuel Expense Fund so that we may continue to show the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need. LCC Disaster Response to Help Cedar Rapids, Iowa Derecho and Hurricane Laura in the Gulf Coast After Finishing Local Storm Recovery LCC DR is making plans with LCMS Iowa District to assist in derecho recovery efforts in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after completing work in Northern Illinois. We are also closely monitoring Hurricane Laura as it approaches the Gulf Coast. $3000 Provides a Year of School for a Child Living in the Inner City Currently 15 students are at risk of not being able to return to the nurturing Christ-centered environment of Christ the King School in Chicago, Illinois.  Due to COVID-19, many families have lost their jobs and are unable to pay the school tuition. Other families are behind in their tuition from the last school year but are struggling to pay a little at a time. As COVID-19 lingers on the future of the children staying in school at Christ the King grows bleaker. In the Bronzeville community of Chicago, Christ the King Lutheran Church and School, as small as they are, has stood for 47 years and still stands as a big beacon of hope for the people around them. Pastor John Brazeal, Principal Geri Brazeal, the school staff, and members of the congregation for 47 years have been sharing the life-changing love and grace of God, in Jesus Christ and a quality education for the children of the families they serve. Students who have come through Christ the King School have had their lives drastically changed by the love of Christ showered on them through Pastor John and Geri Brazeal, and the staff.  Pastor John Brazeal and Principal Geri Brazeal with Darrell, Christ the King Graduate Please prayerfully consider sponsoring a child that they may have hope for their future! Your generous donation will enable Christ the King to continue the ministry of Christ-changing lives through their dedicated staff.
 LCC was blessed to have students from Concordia University, Mequon, Wisconsin, attend handler training on August 17-19. LCC is happy to welcome these wonderful individuals who have been called to go out and serve their home communities to share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need. The handlers spent a lot of time learning new handling skills and building their knowledge about the ministry. Each handler worked with either their affiliate’s dog or with a LCC K-9 Comfort Dog-in-Training. LCC welcomes the following new handlers from Concordia University, Mequon, Wisconsin to the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry:
Toddler Yoga Mat Donation A special thank you to LCC volunteer Kathleen Engstrom for another donation of 572 toddler yoga mats and to Bob and Eileen Desiron who drove to Racine, Wisconsin to pick up the donation. For one of our larger schools this donation enabled them to save $6,000.00 that they did not have to spend from their already stress school budget. For day care, preschool, kindergarten, and first and second grade teachers it allowed them to create safe social distance spaces for their students on the classroom floor and allowing them to create the social distance space when they move the classroom outdoors. Lutheran Church Charities was able to pass this donation of toddler yoga mats on to the following schools and ministries in Illinois: • Calvary, Wood Dale Baby Bank • Immanuel Lutheran School, Hillside • Immanuel Lutheran School, Palatine • St. John Lutheran School, Lombard • St. Matthew Lutheran School, Hawthorn Woods • St. Paul Lutheran Church, Oak Lawn • St. Peter Lutheran School, Schaumburg • Trinity Lutheran School, Roselle
Earlier this year Immanuel, Hillside, Illinois, began a new ministry called Put Your Hands Together Food Pantry. The mission is two-fold: to provide food for local families in need and to provide free food to congregations who have outreach ministries that serve their communities with food for people in need. Many of our congregations have outreach ministries that provide food for people in need but cannot afford to buy food from the Illinois Food Bank or the Greater Chicago Food Depository. In this new ministry, Immanuel as a distributor for an airlines warehouse supplied free food to the following congregations to give away.
We thank God for this and many other ministries of His Church that bring the Mercy, Compassion, and Proclamation of Jesus Christ amidst the darkness and hopelessness of our culture and the COVID virus.
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