Mercy forever.

Joplin a year later: ‘thankful,’ but needs remain

Stacey Grapengater — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:02:13 +0000

Many special events commemorate the May 22 one-year anniversary of the deadly tornado that decimated Joplin, Mo. But Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin plans to continue doing what it started immediately after the catastrophe — serving the community as it recovers. “We don’t feel the need to add any more [commemoration] activities,” said Trent Davis, [...]

Alabama Disaster Relief Update—Lutheran Volunteers Going The Distance

Stacey Grapengater — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:08:53 +0000

Photo caption: Volunteers from St. Paul Lutheran Church, Grafton, Wis., brought their own New Holland Skid-Steer and loaded city dump trucks. The city of Clay had already owned three dump trucks, but had no way to load them for disaster response efforts in Clay, Ala. The storms with tornadoes that ripped through Alabama on Jan. [...]

Celebrate with Hope Village, Minot, upon their official ribbon-cutting Saturday, May 12

Stacey Grapengater — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:50:11 +0000

Photo: New bunk units made possible by the LCMS arrived in Minot, along with housing units from Orphan Grain Train (OGT), an LCMS RSO in Norfolk, Neb. OGT also provided a mobile kitchen and shower units for Hope Village. Join the Hope Village Board of Directors in celebrating the official ribbon cutting for “Hope Village” [...]

Woodward, Okla., member homes damaged in deadly twister outbreak

Stacey Grapengater — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:09:26 +0000

The Rev. Gregory Brown spent part of Sunday morning, April 15, checking on members of Trinity Lutheran Church, Woodward, Okla., after a deadly tornado outbreak in the Midwest that caused at least five reported fatalities in Woodward and damaged some LCMS member homes in that city. “We were able to have services this morning, but most [...]

Congregation shares Christ’s love after Texas twisters

Stacey Grapengater — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:11:44 +0000

As Dave Ricks, a member of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Arlington, and the congregation’s Disaster Care committee, checked on congregants the day after the powerful April 3 tornadoes in North Texas, he came across a man sitting on the curb, his head in his hands, crying. The man, Ron, told Ricks how he and his [...]

Texas twisters latest in string of disasters — LCMS checking on damage in Lone Star State

Stacey Grapengater — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:08:26 +0000

As circuit counselors in the LCMS Texas District continue to assess damages, the LCMS’ disaster response ministry leaders are giving thanks that, so far, there have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries to member families after a series of tornadoes shredded homes and hurled tractor-trailer trucks into the air on April 3. “[It's] [...]

Storms Surprise McAllen, Texas

edwardgrimenstein — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:05:34 +0000

photo: Mrs. Carmen Olivares, oldest member of El Buen Pastor Lutheran Church, cleaning up following storms in McAllen, Texas Late Thursday evening, devastating storms, including severe hail, slammed unexpectedly into the town of McAllen, Texas. Rev. Ruben Dominguez, pastor of El Buen Pastor Lutheran Church in McAllen, said the parsonage received moderate damage. The storm broke [...]

Indiana Tornado Response Update – “Volunteers are Needed!”

edwardgrimenstein — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:51:54 +0000

“We need hundreds of volunteers each week, not just dozens.” This was one of the sentiments of Tricia Major, member of Our Savior Lutheran Church (Louisville, KY – Indiana District) and also an integral part of the Indiana District’s Lutheran Early Response Team. Tricia and many others have been helping to coordinate volunteer efforts in [...]

Download the spring 2012 LCMS Parish Nurse Newsletter — now available!

Stacey Grapengater — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:27:02 +0000

Budding spring flowers bring thoughts of hope, but in our secular society we often hear people speak of hope when the phrase ‘wishful thinking’ would be more accurate. Lutheran parish nurses can, and do, bring real and lasting Christ-filled hope to their congregations and communities. This of the Parish Nurse Newsletter examines ways that parish [...]

LCMS leaders head to Chile this week in wake of weekend quake

Stacey Grapengater — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:01:02 +0000

Photo: Rev. Omar Kinas, (pictured here with his family) a missionary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina, currently serves as mercy project manager and missionary in Chile. LCMS disaster-response officials are headed to Chile this week after Sunday’s magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck near Talca, a city of more than 200,000 people. Our partner church, the [...]