LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs & Hearts of Mercy & Compassion Bring a Comforting Presence to Chesapeake, Virginia, Community Following Walmart Shooting

Following an invite from Pastor Nate Speerbrecker from Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Chesapeake, Virginia, LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs responded with a loving and comforting presence, bringing hope to yet another devastated community affected by a mass shooting.
 
On Tuesday night, November 22, a Walmart night team lead began a deadly rampage less than an hour before the store was scheduled to close, killing six employees, injuring four (two critically), and traumatizing many Thanksgiving shoppers before taking his own life.
 
LCC also worked with Rev. Dr. Bill Harmon, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) Southeast District President and pastor at King of Glory in Williamsburg, Virginia, who welcomed both the LCC K-9 Ministry and Hearts of Mercy & Compassion (HMC) to continue serving the grieving communities in the Southeast District.

LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Amos (Our Savior's Way - Ashburn, Virginia), Claudia (Trinity - Toledo, Ohio), Kezia (Emmanuel - Baltimore, Maryland), and Solomon (King of Glory - Williamsburg, Virginia), and their handlers spent time with Chesapeake Fire Station 4 that arrived first on the scene. The teams also visited Chesapeake Fire Station 3, which responded to the shooting. The LCC K-9 Comfort Dog teams were honored to be able to meet the men on shift that night. The love, dedication, and care they display for the victims and employees are inspiring.
 
We thank all the first responders who responded quickly to the call for help: the quick-thinking 911 operators, the Chesapeake police officers, firefighters, and EMS. These brave women and men face and respond to tragedies that none of us can imagine.

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The LCC K-9 Comfort Dog teams and Chesapeake Community of Hope Lutheran Church worked together to put together LCC Hearts of Mercy & Compassion, Crosses for Losses for the six victims, and placed them at the memorial site near Walmart. 

The LCC Hearts of Mercy and Compassion ministry and the LCC K-9 Ministry teams serving the community in Chesapeake were blessed by the hospitality and loving assistance of our brothers and sisters at Chesapeake Community of Hope Lutheran Church together, sharing the mercy, compassion, presence, and proclamation of Jesus Christ with those who are suffering and in need.
 
"From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Ephesians 4:16
 
We continue to pray for the Walmart employees, their families and friends, and the community to be comforted, loved, remembered, and helped during this time of grief, pain, fear, and uncertainty.

In November, Lutheran Church Charities responded to other mass shootings and crisis anniversaries across the country. CLICK HERE to read more about how we were present and serving devastated and grieving communities.

LCC's K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry and Hearts of Mercy & Compassion Ministry never charge 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 these shocked and devastated communities and the first responders who serve them.

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