The Rev. Tim Gierke thought he had a little more time. It was his first Sunday as vacancy pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in rural Hooper. Gierke taught a 9 a.m. Bible class, which he concluded ...

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod runs the comfort dog ministry through Lutheran Church Charities and is based in Chicago. Immanuel's comfort dog ministry started in the summer of 2011 after ...