Retired Pastor and Wife Lose Everything in Tennessee Wildfires!

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Psalm 121:1-2

Update: LCC sent a check with your donations to Pastor Ed Maanum of First Lutheran in Knoxville, Tennessee, in support of LCMS Pastor Emeritus Larry Rockemann and his wife Jean who lost their home in Sevierville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, March 30 due to wildfires.
 
They are overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity, and for including them in your prayers:
 
"Into our lives over these weeks, the Lord has poured gold: pure gold. You, our dear brothers and sisters, are that gold that He has poured into our broken hearts. Your words and hugs, your notes and emails, your boundless kindness and generosity--your help--it was all pure gold poured out on us by God through you."
 
CLICK HERE to read the full letter from Pastor Larry and Jean Rockemann.

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LCMS Pastor Emeritus Larry Rockemann and his wife Jean lost their home in Sevierville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, March 30. Wildfires and unrelenting winds completely destroyed their home. Fortunately, they were not at home; however, nothing remains.
 
Tim Hetzner, LCC President/CEO, spoke with Rev. Rockemann about what happened and LCC will be working through his church, First Lutheran in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Pastor Ed Maanum, to provide Dollar Per Dollar support to help Rev. Rockemann and his wife.

In reflecting on his family's tragic loss, Rev. Rockemann shared the following while serving as a guest pastor: “'Loss.' 'Lost.' I had just preached on the Luke 15 gospel appointed for the Sunday before the fire. What the father 'lost' in the parable, Jesus told. What God lost in the beauty and preciousness of His creation, He lost us. He lost me. How did His heart feel when He experienced that loss? The answer is in a manger and upon a cross. 'In the fullness of time…' God's 'loss' is present upon the cross. The whole lot of it—the sum total of it—all of it—upon the cross. 'It is finished.'”

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During his many years of ministry, Rev. Rockemann served at Concordia University Chicago, Illinois; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Bristol, Connecticut; Vice-President of Student Services and Director of Placement, Concordia Seminary St. Louis, Missouri; Lutheran Life Communities, Arlington Heights, Illinois; and most recently, Director of Development and Church Relations for the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. He is well-known and well-loved for his pastoral heart and his public proclamation of God's Word.

Rev. Larry and Jean Rockemann touched thousands and thousands through the past decades, and the Holy Spirit gave the gift of faith to many through them. Now there is the opportunity to reach out to them as they put their lives back together, without any possessions, but the most important one—new life in Christ.
 

Please prayerfully consider donating to help these faithful servants through a difficult time of loss and rebuilding.

DONATE — ROCKEMANN WILDFIRE – FIRST LUTHERAN – KNOXVILLE TN