​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.”

Grace and peace to you in Christ.
 
On behalf of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas, I write with deep gratitude for your ongoing work and faithful service to those in need. Your generosity continues to reflect Christ’s love in tangible and life-changing ways.

Today, I humbly ask you to consider extending that compassion to one of our own members and her family, who are enduring extraordinary hardship. She and her husband have been navigating overwhelming financial strain while caring for their young grandson, whose medical journey has been both severe and ongoing.

In March 2024, at just 13 months old, the child was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. He has endured unimaginable medical challenges, including 24 surgeries, requiring daily care. His condition remains critical and complex.

The child’s mother is his full-time caregiver and is unable to work due to the intensity of his needs. The grandparents have opened their home to them, doing everything possible to provide stability and care. The grandmother works full-time while also helping care for her grandson. Her husband works both a full-time job and a part-time job driving for Uber and Lyft.

Recently, however, his vehicle suffered catastrophic engine and starter failure, eliminating their secondary source of income. The family is now facing mounting bills with no margin left. Most urgently, they are behind on rent for April and May and are at risk of losing their housing.

We ask you, as brothers and sisters in Christ, to prayerfully consider a generous financial gift to support this family during this critical time. Your contribution will directly help them maintain stable housing and continue providing care for their grandson as he courageously battles each day.
 
Thank you again for your faithful service and for being the hands and feet of Christ to those in desperate need. Please keep this family in your prayers.
 
In Christ’s service,
Rev. Andy Wright
Pastor, St. John’s Lutheran Church
Topeka, Kansas

​Camp Manitoqua opens its first session of day camp in a month, but the grounds of the retreat center and encampment are ready for guests. 

Last weekend, 46 beginner and advance Lutheran Early Response Team volunteers and LCC staff worked together as chainsaw and heavy equipment operators and draggers to clear leaning, downed, and dead trees from the Frankfort, IL, campground and its trails. 

Nathan Phillips, Manitoqua Program Director, expressed sincere thanks for the team cleaning up fallen limbs and dead brush after recent storms and getting the place ready for campers. 

The workday event, which drew LERT members from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, was preceded a Basic LERT Chainsaw Operation and Safety training, co-led by LCC/LCMS Chainsaw Certified Instructors and LCC advanced team leaders Marty Johnson and Pete Springmire.

Twenty-one first-time chainsaw operators and draggers received individual instruction and guidance from advanced team leaders in safely felling and bucking trees and limbs. The group later served with experienced chainsaw team members on making camp trails passable again. 

“It was a great servant event, learning opportunity, beautiful weather, and time of fellowship,” said Deaconess Kathy O’Day, Director of LCC Disaster Response. 

LCC thanks LERT volunteer Lori Powless for cooking and serving a hot breakfast and Good Shepherd – Frankfort for providing lunch on Saturday.

LERT chainsaw volunteers from the following Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin churches attended:

Illinois
Bethany - Naperville
Christ the Rock – Rockford
Cross – Yorkville
Good Shepherd – Frankfort
Immanuel – DeKalb
Immanuel – Dundee
Immanuel – Shobonier
Immanuel – Steger
Lord of Life – Elburn
Prince of Peace – Palatine
St. John’s – East Moline
St. John – Union
St. John – Wheaton
St. John – Wilmette
St. Paul – Matteson
St. Peter – Schaumburg
St. Peter – Gilberts
Trinity – Genoa
Trinity – Lisle

Iowa
Trinity – Davenport

Missouri
LCMS-DR

Ohio
Hope – Akron

Wisconsin
Brookfield – Brookfield

LCC Disaster Response thanks all of these volunteers for their willingness to learn and serve those in need. ​

​Rivas was a father of four who leaves behind a family and extended family acknowledging his loss as a “big blow.” He had taken the job to support his family and allow his wife Erin to stay home with children. 

The school has hurt too. In a letter to parents, Principal Jeff Wardle said that “Several staff and students witnessed this serious accident. Traumatic events like this can be upsetting to hear about.”

He reached out to LCC for some canine care, and teams from Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin agreed to come multiple days and greet students and staff in the library and common spaces in the school. Among them were Abednego(Immanuel – Crystal Lake, IL), Bethesda (St. Matthew – Hawthorn Woods, IL), Gethsemane (Lord of Glory – Grayslake, IL), Mary (St. Paul – Janesville, WI), Samson (Zion – Marengo, IL), and Shadrach (Prince of Peace – Palatine, IL).

Handlers from the teams picked a word that encapsulated the week of care, comfort, and conversations:

Team Samson – “My word is guardian. Orlando Rivas was a guardian for many, and I do believe he is now a guardian angel for them. Our dogs arrived this morning and assured the staff and students that they could trun to the dogs to guard and support their hearts while they learn to travel their paths with Orlando.”

Team Gethsemane – “Orlando showed sacrificial love for students in choosing this position in retirement and selflessness in his heroic final minutes. We met one student who said he was present for the accident and was struggling. We talked for a while and prayed with him. It’s a good reminder that we need to pray for those who witnessed the tragedy but are not yet able to process it or receive comfort.”
  
Team Gethsemane – “Community. This was such a beautiful visit. These students and teachers demonstrated so much love and care for each other. They were encouraging each other to come and pet the dogs and to come and sit with me.  Teachers were checking in with students and supporting each other as well. The staff made blank Bison cards, so we and the students could share their sympathies with the family. I can’t tell you the number of staff members who stated that Mr. Rivas knew every one of these students!”

Team Shadrach – “My word is protector. I learned today that Mr. Rivas wore the title of Safety Officer, and his last day was a final demonstration of his dedication to protecting the students of Buffalo Grove High School.” 

When a shocking, unsettling tragedy takes the life of a student, it’s not just a school community that hurts. A whole community aches, wrestling with what happened, why, and what comes next. 

Valley Forge High School in Parma Heights, OH, knows that kind of anguish. In late April, the campus lost an 18-year-old girl suddenly, leaving students, staff, administrators, parents, and town residents fearful, frustrated, and stricken with grief. Local media called it “raw, unresolved pain.”

Into that overwhelming sorrow and restlessness, LCC’s three Ohio-based K-9 Comfort Dog teams simply showed up, offering a sense of peace, hope, and love to a campus still numb and questioning. 

With daily visits Monday through Thursday at the school’s media center and a few classrooms, Damascus (St. Paul – Napoleon, OH), Honey (St. Paul – Westlake, OH), Saul (Bethany – Parma, OH) and their handlers met students and teachers with hugs, prayers, and quiet moments — just what was needed to work through the emotional toll. 

On the first day, Valley Forge counselors took the K-9 teams into classrooms to encourage classmates of the girl who had passed away. One of her tablemates, a young man just sat still, wary and slow to engage. One of the counselors sat down beside him as the K-9s offered a cold-nose hello to two girls who were sitting nearby. 

One knew her, but they weren’t really friends. The other had a casual connection with the girl at school only, not anywhere else. They said little as they pet Saul. After a while, the tears came and they reached out to one another in an embrace.

Two days later in the school’s media center, all three students sat down with the dogs to unpack their feelings even more. They were a bridge, counselors acknowledged — from personal pain to public peace. A long road still lay ahead, but these furry comforters had opened them up. Processing the trauma and distress seemed possible now.

For Team Honey, the sense of time was powerful. “It struck me how long some of the students just sat, not necessarily seeming to want to talk. But to just be,” one handler shared.

“This made my day,” one student told them. Peace and stillness were a welcome distraction.  

When other students asked about how Honey got her name, the team was eager to share her Bible verse from Psalm 119:103 — “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” 

God’s Word stands as truth and hope — and it never withers or fades.

Saul’s team also had a chance to turn to Scripture with two young women, relating the Acts account of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. “One student knew nothing about the Bible,” a handler recalled. “I love it when God opens doors to talk about His love, especially in a public school! We were able to explain Saul's Bible verse and share the Good News. God is so good!” 

The week’s interactions seemed to open doors to future visits. Saul, who lives in Parma, will make weekly visits through the end of the schoolyear, and Valley Forge officials are discussing having a staff-only visit after the semester ends.

In the fall, Saul also may get to make even more visits. 

A snapshot of the impact on the community can be seen in social media. On comments to Saul’s Facebook account, community members shared about how needed the outreach was. ​

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” – Matthew 5:9 

Last week, Chicago was shaken by the tragic loss of Officer John Bartholomew, a 38-year-old member of the force who was killed in a shooting near a local hospital. Another officer also is fighting for his life following the incident.

Invited to the Public Safety Training Center, Lutheran Church Charities staff members for Hearts of Mercy & Compassion (HMC) and K-9 Comfort Dog ministries spent time with police and fire recruits, as well as active officers, captains, and lieutenants, to offer a calm presence and listening ear during a heavy time.

Sarah Sekki, Director of Hearts of Mercy & Compassion, delivered an HMC in honor of Officer Bartholomew, featuring his name and End of Watch designation. It quickly filled with personal messages from those at the training center — each one a reflection of respect, grief, and gratitude.

One moment stood out. 

As Sarah shared, an officer pointed to the Bible verse on the heart and asked, “Is that really in the Bible?” When she confirmed it was Jesus’ own words from the Sermon on the Mount, he was deeply moved.

​When a young man is lost in a tragic accident, the grief weighs heavy. 

The Salem, IN, community knows this sorrow. The past few weeks, the town south of Indianapolis has been shaken by a heartbreaking shooting death of an 8th grader that has created an overwhelming void. 

In late April, K-9 Comfort Dogs Eternity (Cornerstone – Carmel, IN) and Magdalene (Cornerstone – Carmel, IN) visited Salem Middle School, where he a was a student with his half-sister, a 6th grader. 

“It was quite apparent that our team brought comfort and support to many of the students and staff at Salem Middle School,” a handler recalled. From bringing a little relief from the stress of testing to the loss of a beloved classmate, our Comfort Dogs brought much needed respite.  We could sense God's presence as the students interacted with us and our dogs.”

One classmate expressed uneasiness about how he was feeling. He wanted to honor his friend by attending a candlelight vigil, but he wasn’t sure. After laying next to Magdalene for a while, he got up to leave. “I asked him if he would like her on his lap,” one handler shared. “He said that he would and gave her a big hug while his friend took a picture of them. God was indeed present with everyone at the school today.”

The school counselor said in her years at Salem, she had never lost “one of her own.” Students decorated their classmate’s locker and wore his favorite colors of red and black.  

The atmosphere around Shreveport, LA, felt like a big-tent revival last week with love, support, and compassion filling the Cedar Grove neighborhood.

Yes, the community had endured a horrific tragedy with eight children aged 11 and younger killed in a domestic dispute that marked the deadliest mass shooting in America over the last two years. But for three consecutive nights, friends and neighbors of the two heartbroken families gathered at the corner of West 79th and Linwood Avenue mourning by candlelight, singing hymns, and praying.

The grief was overwhelming, but still they praised God.

Lutheran Church Charities volunteers from Oklahoma and Mississippi were there representing LCC’s K-9 Comfort Dog, Cares, and Hearts of Mercy & Compassion ministries. They brought hearts and crosses for the community to sign. They listened to stories and remembrances of the children. They offered prayer and presence as K-9 Comfort Dog Persis (Christ The Redeemer – Tulsa, OK) nuzzled into new friends for pets and cuddles.

For this brokenhearted community, LCC’s presence helped them take a breath.

“We were moved most by seeing faith in motion,” said Patti Lee of Christ The Redeemer Lutheran in Tulsa, who, with her husband Chuck, deployed with LCC for the first time. “We spoke to so many aunts, cousins, and lifelong friends who were so grateful for our presence and for the crosses.”

Surrounded by a large crowd, Karen Miller, HMC coordinator for Trinity Lutheran in Meridian, MS, watched as the vigil progressed. So many people were lifting up the name of Jesus and calling on Him in their grief. Dozens raised their hands in worship and gave shouts of “Amen!”, leaning into their faith amid their sadness.

One young person, sitting in a wheelchair nearby, lifted her voice, singing songs of worship and praise. Tears rolled down her cheek. Karen sat down beside her and the two talked about what had happened that week and how God was faithful despite the sorrow.

“What a faith-filled community this is!” Karen shared.       

A pediatric nurse, Karen sought out other children at the vigil site. Many were attending, having known the victims from school, sports teams, or the neighborhood.

One young child climbed in Karen’s lap to talk. Another told Karen, “I believe that these kids [who were killed] are with God right now, and God is also supporting their moms.”

As the team was ministering children and grieving neighbors, Pastor Scott Burmeister of Christ The Redeemer Lutheran in Tulsa, OK, sought out volunteers from other supporting organizations to uplift them as they served.

“Each person we talk to has their own griefs — lifelong or current,” Burmeister said. “We all have grief experiences that need support.”

That makes the Hearts of Mercy & Compassion so important, he said.

“In circumstances like this heartbreaking tragedy, the community wants something to do. They want to participate in the healing. When they have the chance to write an encouraging message of love, they feel they have helped, even in a small way.”

The eight HMCs were moved from the vigil site to in front of the home where the tragedy occurred, each cross and heart collecting more messages, surrounded by balloons, pinwheels, and toys in memory of each child.

Early the next morning, the team visited the police precinct that had responded to the call. At shift change, the station conducts a roll call at 5 a.m. and 7 a.m.

The LCC team was present for both, presenting the officers a heart of gratitude, recognizing the difficult job they perform at the crime scene and around the neighborhood.

With a police escort from the station, LCC volunteers also brought an HMC to the 911 Dispatch Center where workers were grateful to be remembered. “They were so happy for our visit as they are often overlooked behind the scenes and may not know the outcome of the calls that come in,” Patti said.

Karen agreed, saying the dispatchers were very open to hearing encouragement. “The call center gets exposed to the trauma of the moment, and after, they connect the call to the first responder. But they do not always get to see how those emotional moments are resolved. It’s a hard job,” she shared. “They were thank for our team’s presence and the heart we gave them. We were blessed to see them, thank them, and spend a little time with them.”