Mt. Olive Lutheran Church Ranks Among Top Donors to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
*- Donations from Santa Monica, California Church Rank Among Top 12 of 15,000 Churches -*
*SANTA MONICA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 21, 2022 /* Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Santa Monica is proud to be among the top 2021 donors to the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), an 80-year-old national organization that assists refugees and migrants entering the U.S. Funds raised for LIRS help ensure that refugees and migrants are protected and embraced as they seek a new life in the U.S.
Mt. Olive Lutheran Church is among the top dozen donors nationwide for 2021, out of 9,000 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and an additional 6,000 in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The bulk of the congregation's giving in 2021 was directed to support Afghan refugees. Mount Olive is tracking to repeat its monumental contribution to LIRS in 2022, with $21,000 raised this year. LIRS has helped more than 500,000 refugees, migrants, and their children with resettlement, foster care, family reunification, and various support services to help them become contributing members of their new communities. Currently, the organization is focused on assisting Ukrainian refugees who fled their country due to the Russian invasion.
"Assisting refugees has been a passion project throughout my entire ministry, dating back to the 70s when we helped resettle Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees," said Mt. Olive Lutheran Church Pastor Eric Shafer. "I'm incredibly proud of our congregation for coming together to rank among the top 12 donors to LIRS out of 15,000 churches, especially considering the dire circumstances that Ukrainians face. As stated in Matthew 25, ‘When I was a stranger, you welcomed me.' These words make LIRS such a worthy organization, and what motivates our congregation to step up when people are in need."
More information about Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Santa Monica is available online at https://mtolivelutheranchurch.org. To learn more about LIRS, visit https://www.lirs.org. Donations of any monetary amount can be made online at https://www.lirs.org/give-now.
*Press Contact:*
Evan White
509.995.9105
Evan@EvanWhitePR.com
*SOURCE:* Mt Olive Lutheran Church
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