 Rev. Chris Singer, LCC President/CEO, was honored to accept a generous donation from Ray Cowin raised during the 4th Annual Andrew Whowell Memorial Golf Outing held last month at Villa Olivia Golf Course, Bartlett, Illinois, for the LCC K-9 Police Ministry.
The golf outing brought together many of Andy's friends and family to honor his memory and was a fundraiser for the LCC K-9 Ministry. The Andrew Whowell Memorial Golf Outing raised $2,925 for the LCC K-9 Police Ministry in honor of Andy and the good work he did as an LCC K-9 Police Ministry handler. Andy was a retired Deputy Chief for the Arlington Heights Police Department and an amazing handler for LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Susie (St. Peter - Arlington Heights, Illinois). Both Andy and Susie are Permanently Deployed Serving the Saints and are missed every day by many. LCC thanks Ray Cowin for organizing the Andrew Whowell Golf Outing and his support for the LCC K-9 Ministry. LCC received an urgent request for assistance from St. Peter Lutheran Church Council in Greene, Iowa, for a Mission Trip leader who suffered a tragic accident. On July 20, Sarah suffered a horrific injury while on a Luther League Mission Trip to Montana. She fell down a flight of stairs, resulting in a traumatic brain injury along with other fractures to her wrist, face, and skull. Sarah was taken to the Bozeman Hospital before being life-flighted to St. Vincent Hospital in Billings, Montana. Sarah remains in the ICU at St. Vincent Hospital at this time. Sarah was a volunteer leader on the trip. She accompanied her daughter along with twelve teenagers and three adults. Sarah is a loving wife, mother, and friend. She has been a loyal volunteer at St. Peter for many years, including teaching, mentoring, and reading for services. Sarah is an outstanding member of our community and is always willing to give back to others.
 On Friday, August 25, a horrible tragedy took place at Choctaw High School's football game against Del City in Choctaw, Oklahoma. A 16-year-old student from Del City High School, Cordae Carter, was killed in a shooting, and four people were injured. So many young people, families, and school staff were there when the shooting happened. LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs from Oklahoma and Texas responded after an invite from the Principal at Choctaw High School to help the students as they process the shock, fear, and loss of Friday’s shooting.  LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Miriam (Emmanuel - Kingfisher, Oklahoma), Persis (King of Kings - Glenpool, Oklahoma), and Rufus (St. Mark - Edmond, Oklahoma) were at Choctaw High School on Monday and were joined on Tuesday by LCC K-9 Dogs Joy (Gloria Dei - Houston, Texas) and Triton (Messiah - Plano, Texas) to provide additional assistance and comfort to the students. The responding LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs and their handlers greeted the students as they arrived in the morning and spent time with the students, counselors, and staff throughout the day, providing a calming, loving, and comforting presence wherever they were needed. The teams also spent time visiting with the ROTC students, who were a great help during the tragedy on Friday. The teams carried with them the hope and love of Jesus to share with the students and staff. We are thankful that they could “Be There” for this hurting community.
After the visit today at Choctaw High School, the Comfort Dogs spent time with the hardworking and dedicated first responders at the Choctaw Fire Department, who had responded with care and skill to the shooting on Friday.
We lift up in prayer the family of Cordae Carter who is suffering his loss and for all the students, family, and community who are processing their grief and shock. May God’s light, love, and hope guide them through. LCC's K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry never charges those we serve as we bring the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need. We know that comfort is needed to help this shocked and devastated community and the first responders who serve them. 
Last week, the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog® Ministry received an Emergency Site Visit request to be at the visitation for Joe Wetherell, father of three young children who died unexpectedly a week ago on Sunday. He was only 34 years old. LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Charity (Brookfield - Brookfield, Wisconsin), Dora (Lutheran High School Association of Greater Milwaukee - Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Mary (St. Paul's - Janesville, Wisconsin), and Rhoda (Prince of Peace - Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin) were present in Jefferson, Wisconsin, to be with Joe Wetherell’s family and friends as they said goodbye. A few years ago, LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Eve (Permanently Deployed Serving the Saints), Jacob (Permanently Deployed Serving the Saints), Hannah (LCCS Staff), and Rhoda were at the funeral of another family member who lost her son. She kept and carries Hannah’s business card in her wallet. When her nephew Joe passed away, she remembered how much having the Comfort Dogs at her son’s visitation meant to her and her family. She used the contact information on Hannh’s card to reach out to the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry. She helped the family to arrange this request for Joe Wetherell’s family. Please keep Joe’s wife, three children, family, and friends in your prayers as they continue to grieve his loss in their lives. We pray for God’s light, strength, and reassurance to guide them through. On Wednesday, August 23, the LCC Kare 9® Military Ministry had the honor of sending off and welcoming the Honor Flight Chicago #110 veterans at Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on their one-day trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the War Memorials and other sites. LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dogs Brutus (LCC Squad) with U.S. Navy Veteran Gene Weisbecker, and Nigel (LCC Staff) with U.S. Army Veteran Jim Morrison were present to show their support and gratitude for the veterans who have served our country with honor and courage.  Participating in the Wednesday flight were LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry veteran handlers Bob Royce (Combat Veteran, Vietnam) and Dale Sasse (U.S. Army, Vietnam), who shared their experience. "It was a fantastic experience from start to finish. We felt honored, appreciated, and wowed many times. My guardian was outstanding, always looking out for me. Visiting the Vietnam War Memorial Wall was particularly special for me. I found the name of my high school friend who was killed in the war. The welcome was beautiful and unexpected. It blew me away. I didn’t expect it to be that big! Seeing people greeting us, shaking hands, and seeing my family really touched me. I would tell anyone, if you haven’t taken the flight yet, do it! Fill out the application and get on the list. It’s worth it!" shared Bob. Dale shared that it was a wonderful day and would recommend it to any Veteran.  Memorable moments are too many to mention. However, one that thrilled everyone was the World War II Veteran, Gloria Kerzner, who served as a Navy Wave (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). This lovely patriot will be 100 years old in September 2023. What an honor it was to meet her. A volunteer shared, “I have worked 25 Flights, and this never gets old!” The veterans were welcomed back with open arms and a heartfelt thank you for their service. The LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry is proud to have been a part of this memorable event for years and will continue to show their support for our military heroes. We salute our Veterans!
“OHANA IS EVERYTHING IN HAWAII”
A local family shared, “Hawaiian cultural belief is that the land is not ours. God gives us the land to take care of it, and if we do, it will take care of us. Lahaina was the original capital and where all of the original Hawaiian culture was preserved. Family, or Ohana, is everything, and all share what they have, tend the land carefully, and preserve our history by passing it down through generations.” This wildfire caused more than a loss of homes and land, but a loss of identity, loss of heritage, and a loss of ohana as known here. Everyone on the Island of Maui has been affected directly or indirectly by these fires, and all are suffering and mourning their losses. An estimated 12,000 people are displaced, with people in shelters that will be closing soon, placed in hotels by the American Red Cross for the next 45 days, or living in their vehicles, tents in the park, on the street, or with family and friends. With businesses destroyed, there is also a massive loss of jobs, income, and tourism
Lutheran Church Charities received an invite from Rev. Michael Lange of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod California Nevada Hawaii (CNH) District, CNH District Disaster Response Coordinator (DDRC) Phil Zabell, and Leif Sjostrand, Congregational President from Emmanuel Lutheran Church & School in Kahului on Maui to assist this congregation in how to respond effectively in their community from this devastating disaster. Rev. Chris Singer, LCC President/CEO, Jeanette Singer, and Kathy O’Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, arrived in Maui on Thursday, August 17. They immediately met with Russell Wilson, Head Elder, Diane Wilson, Church Secretary, and Josh Rempfer, Emmanuel Lutheran School Principal, to discuss what they were experiencing and hoping to accomplish during our stay.  “I want to thank you for helping LCC ‘Be There’ with those who were suffering and in need from the wildfires in Maui. The loss and grief was described as a dark cloud hanging over Maui,” shared Rev. Singer. “I heard stories of survival from displaced residents receiving free meals who lost their properties. One adult son who had been visiting his parents raced to their home with the fire bearing down onto their neighborhood. His parents were not in the house and, with just mere minutes, he grabbed a few photos that he could carry and ran to a safe distance onto the beach and watched his parents’ home burn. His mother and father recounted the details to me through tears. A hotel worker shared that their home was burned to the ground and that his wife and children were now being housed at the hotel where he worked. There were so many stories shared with our ministry team, who sat with each person in their grief. Our very presence alone brought so much comfort. Each person was moved to gratitude that could only be expressed by tears as we told them of the outpouring of financial support, the hundreds of prayers being lifted on their behalf, and LCC’s commitment to continue to be there through ongoing support of their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.” On Friday, we met with the school staff. Rev. Singer led devotions and explained LCC’s role and partnership with Emmanuel. Rev. Rod Hall and Jeanette Singer, Licensed Counselors, offered individual emotional and spiritual care opportunities to them and their students. Pastor Rod and Jeanette were invited to visit and talk to students in three classrooms. The children expressed many things they had heard from their parents and were reassured to “have faith in God.” Several staff members were also ministered to privately. Reaching Those in Need through Food Pantry  Last week we also met with food pantry leaders from Emmanuel and Wailuku Union Churches and a community distribution site in Lahaina to discuss how to get the needed food, hygiene, and paper products to distribution sites for survivors in need. Orphan Grain Train (OGT), a Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) Recognized Service Organization led by Rev. Ralph Schmidt on the Island of Maui, will be partnering with Emmanuel Lutheran Church to provide requested items to designated sites. A shipment will arrive in Maui this week for those in need. Tears of gratitude appeared on cheeks as all discussed the deeper ministry that occurs through relationships started through meeting one’s basic physical needs. Providing Spiritual, Emotional, and Trauma Care Lutheran Church Charities and Emmanuel Lutheran Church were invited by the Hawaii VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) to provide spiritual, emotional, and trauma care to displaced residents staying in hotels. Rev. Rod Hall and Rev. Mark Hannemann, President/CEO GracePoint Institute for Relational Health, have been ministering to these displaced residents. This entire team of servants has been ministering to those affected by this disaster at distribution and feeding centers, hotels, and other community businesses and sites, as well as first responders and National Guard soldiers. On Sunday, Reverends Chris Singer, Rod Hall, Mark Hannemann, and Ralph Schmidt led the worship services at Emmanuel. Rev. Singer delivered a message of hope to those assembled. When asked to consider what Jesus might be asking them, the congregation shared: "Do you trust Me?, Do you believe in Me?, Do you love Me?" Rev. Singer shared Matthew 15:21-28 and Jesus’ recognition of a faith that is trusting even when the “WHY” is not answered and God appears silent. During Bible Study, Pastor Mark Hannemann leaned into this as he instructed on Christian Care and the fact that the “WHY” question should be replaced with “WHAT” does Jesus want for us through this.
Inspiration from a Sunday School Student Rev. Singer was inspired by the faith demonstrated by so many as each one actively worked to care for the other. Emmanuel Lutheran School’s principal shared a story that inspired him the most as it came from the heart of an elementary student during Sunday school. “Me and my brother went to Lahaina to go help out the people stuck there. All you could smell was smoke if you rolled down your windows or through the AC vents, it was tragic. We gave water to all the people who were living on the beach. We gave them water to drink and to shower, and we gave them food to eat, but the one thing they were looking for was hope and happiness, which is what we did. We had made them so happy that they cried tears, and they were hugging us so hard that it was hard to breathe. After that, we went home and we prayed for them so they hopefully could rebuild what they had lost.” “What amazing faith,” shared Rev. Singer. “May each of us have our eyes and hearts open to the grief around us and respond with the mercy, compassion, presence and proclamation of Jesus!” Lutheran Early Response Team Training for Church Members Sunday afternoon, Deaconess Kathy O’Day provided LCMS Basic Lutheran Early Response Team (L.E.R.T.) training to twenty congregation members and school staff from Emmanuel. They learned what they could do as church L.E.R.T. volunteers to assist their community during the immediate and long-term recovery process, and received spiritual and emotional caregiving ideas. Deaconess O’Day will lead another Basic L.E.R.T. training at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aiea on the Island of Oahu on Saturday.
he congregation of Emmanuel and the people we have met and minster to extend heartfelt “Mahalo nui” for prayers and financial support sent on their behalf. The greatest need is for financial donations to help the people of Maui. They do not have the ability to take in any more donations of items. If you are so moved by this disaster, please donate generously so that we can help survivors with this unfathomable loss. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support for all of the communities affected by these wildfires as well as for the local first responders, LCC staff, and volunteers that help during the long recovery process. Be there with LCC to show them the love and presence of Jesus!
Lutheran Church Charities is ready to show the Mercy, Compassion, Presence, and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need. We only go where we are invited and we never charge those we serve. LCC works in coordination with LCMS Disaster Response national and local districts of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. |
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