St. John's

On Friday, December 16, 2011, early in the morning, Larry Olson and his 7 children were involved in a house fire.  They were all able to safely evacuate the home and there were no injuries to any one of the family members.  We praise God for their safety.  Maybe some of you know the Olson's.  Many of their children were educated at our dayschool.

As a congregation we will continue to live out our mission of Connecting, Caring and Sharing in Christ as we provide support for the Olson Family during the weeks ahead.  This last weekend in worship, we provided an opportunity for members to drop of clothing items for the Olson's.  The response has been overwhemingly.  As of Monday afternoon ,the immediate clothing needs of the Olson's have been met.  Thank you God!  Michelle Simpson and her family came over to sort through the clothing and deliver to the Olson's.

Updated 1/11/2012  A recent new article from the “West Bend Daily News” has been attached at the bottom of the page.  St. John’s continues to support this family through our “Care and Share” fund.

Updated 12/21/2011 If you are so inclined to support the Olson Family with a monetary gift, you can do so in a few different ways.

One way is to write out a check to St. John's Lutheran Church and in the memo line write Care and Share Fund.  The monies will help not only the Olson Family, but many of our families who have requested help from St. John's.  By IRS regulations and for tax receipting purposes, we as a church, cannot accept dollars earmarked for specific people.

The other way you can support the Olson Family is through the American Red Cross.  St. John's and the ARC are partnering together to provide ongoing care for the Olson Family.  The ARC has assigned a caseworker to the Olson Family and is a collection point for cash or checks directly written to Larry Olson, as well as a place to collect gift cards for places such as Kohl's, Wal-Mart, Pick n Save, etc...As a ministry, we celebrate this partnership with one of our local agencies.

As we move forward, we will be partnering with the American Red Cross.  If you have further questions regarding the immediate needs of the Olson's, feel free to contact  Craig Toerpe, Director of Stewardship & Gifting 262-334-4901.  You can also contact the American Red Cross, West Bend Chapter, 819 Schoenhaar Dr. at 334-5687.

A big Thank You goes out to Michelle Simpson, a member of the St. John's community, who represented our Family Care ministry, by being the contact person for all the In-Kind donations that came in for the Olson Family.