By Dean Maschoff
In the March 2022 Faith Matters newsletter, you saw articles about how our church worked with Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) to help Delonya Driver and Rev. Mark Willig in their hour of need. I didn’t know much about LCC, so I contacted Dianna Bonfield, Director of Volunteers and Human Care Service, to get some background on LCC.
LCC is a nonprofit ministry that supports and provides resources to our congregations, enabling them to do ministries they cannot do by themselves. Today, LCC works with and in partnership with churches like Faith, “bringing the Mercy, Compassion, Presence, and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those Suffering and in Need” (from their website).
Dianna told me that “LCC partners with Lutheran congregations, other care groups, and even individuals to obtain funds for specific causes and specific needs. LCC operates with a Dollar In – Dollar Out funding process, meaning that EVERY dollar given for a cause goes directly to that cause or need.”
Presently headquartered in Northbrook, LCC really has a national scope and may be most well-known for disaster/crisis response through their LCC K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry®, which was launched in 2008. Today, LCC currently has trained and placed over 130 LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs, serving in more than 27 states and operates training facilities in Illinois and Nebraska.(Faith’s Asher is one of the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs!)
The LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs and handlers, Kare 9 Military Ministry Dogs and veteran handlers, and LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dogs and law enforcement officer handlers are a bridge for compassionate ministry, opening doors for conversation about faith and creating opportunities to share the mercy, compassion, presence, and proclamation of Jesus Christ. Dianna said that “upon request and at no cost, LCC brings comfort dogs to address the needs of anyone who is suffering and in need by providing comfort following injuries, deaths, disasters, and crises.”
Dianna stated that LCC’s Disaster Response capabilities include LCC Lutheran Early Response Teams (L.E.R.T.), that is, volunteers who can provide on-the-ground support to communities and families that need help when disasters strike. For example, in December 2021, LCC Disaster Response worked with communities around St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Paducah, Kentucky, following devastating tornados that leveled or damaged many homes. Other recent examples where LCC Disaster Response provided support include the Christmas parade attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, (November 2021) and the Surfside, Florida, condominium tower collapse (June 2021). Dianna shared, “It was our support of families involved in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut (December 2012) that really expanded LCC to a national scope.” LCC very recently welcomed Rev. Larry Myers, a retired pastor and United States Air Force (USAF) Reserve Chaplain to help direct critical financial aid to Ukrainian citizens affected by the Russian invasion.
Other LLC outreach includes Crosses for Losses via the LCC Hearts of Mercy & Compassion initiative. Dianna noted that “Hearts of Mercy & Compassion provides hearts and crosses to families and friends who have suffered loss or serious illness of a loved one as physical and spiritual symbols of faith.”
LCC also has several targeted services, including an LCC Mobile Food Kitchen, an LLC Hot Dog Cart, and LLC Hot Dog Care. The Food Kitchen, for example, is mobilized with LCC volunteer teams who prepare, cook, and serve a meal on-site at disasters.
Like Faith, LCC has a mission statement: To Share the Mercy, Compassion, Presence and Proclamation of Jesus Christ to those who are suffering and in need.
There are a variety of ways individuals (and of course, congregations) can contribute to help those suffering in other, specific situations as they are led by the compassion and love demonstrated by Jesus…just by going to their website www.lutheranchurchcharities.org.