Caring Ministry

As a community of faith, we seek to support one another during all the ups and downs of life. When disruptions come up in your life, we want to know and are here to offer prayer and support in whatever way you need.  For example, if you've received a new or difficult diagnosis, have a surgery coming up, a friend or loved one has passed away, or any other of life's challenges, we're here to support you and walk with you.

If you, or someone you know, is in need of pastoral care through a difficult or challenging time please submit a Caring Ministry Request so our Care Team will be notified. This request will go directly to members of the Care Team Leadership: Pastor Dan, Deacon Savannah and Pastor Steve

Learn more about Grief Support, Card Ministry and Meal Ministry.

Grief Literacy Series at Immanuel Lutheran Church

How do we, as a community, support one another in the grief that can accompany many different life transitions?

Join us for a speaker and time for small group discuss as we explore the dynamics of grief and how we care for one another in the midst of it. We will meet at Immanuel Saturday mornings from 9:30-11am (dates below). Each week there will be light snacks and coffee available. There is no cost, but please register beforehand.

• March 14 @ 9:30am: Grief Literacy 101 - What does grief look like, when do we grieve, normalizing and validating the experiences of grief and how do we respond. Speaker: Randy Ruckdashel. Randy is a retired Senior Care Chaplain. He holds a Masters Degree in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary, and worked globally in organizational change and leadership development for most of his professional career. He has a passion for helping people who struggle with change and grief.
• April 18 @ 9:30am: Caregiving and Receiving - What does it look like to care for ourselves and others while experiencing grief.
• May 16 @ 9:30am: Practicing Lament in a Community of Faith - Lament is the practice of passionately expressing our sorry and grief and is often a practice we largely avoid in the church. How might leaning into this powerful tradition help us to better care for ourselves, one another, and our relationship with God. What does it mean for us to practice lament as a community? And how might it offer hope in unexpected places?

Register HERE

In our human experience, grief and loss touch everyone. Sometimes no one can win. Those who are grieving—when they most need support—can feel alone, misunderstood, or even judged. And those who care deeply for them often struggle to find the right words, knowing that no words can ever truly make it right.

Our culture frequently treats grief as something frightening that needs to be fixed or moved past as quickly as possible. But recovery from loss is not about “getting over it.” It is a process of integration—learning to live alongside grief rather than overcoming it.

While grief cannot be fixed, there are tangible, concrete ways to support those who are grieving.

Immanuel Lutheran Church is offering a series of sessions on “Grief Literacy.” Together, we will learn to better understand the experience of loss, process what it means for ourselves and others, and grow in our ability to respond with compassion and care.

Our goal is to strengthen both individuals and our church family so we can provide thoughtful, effective support to one another in times of loss.

Join us as we grow in understanding, empathy, and faithful presence.

Prayer Requests

Immanuel is a praying community as we seek the love, grace, power and presence of God in our hearts, lives, community and world.

Please pray for the following:

• Karina Nelson's mom, Patricia, for returning cancer and new treatments underway
• Deb Carlson for successful knee replacement and rehab
• Dan Frye family on his unexpected death Feb 16
• Laurie Fetterman, mother of Katrina Stern, for health issues