We are grateful for the service and commitment from Ted and Dody Hawkins who supported LOMC for many years.
As both these saints have passed, Ted and Dody established an endowment to support the ongoing needs of Dody House and Hawkins Hospitality Center.

We are excited to be replacing the roof at Dody House with a new steel roof that will last for many, many years!

Room 4 of Dody House also recently received a new shower enclosure solving a long-standing issue of leaks. Beautiful!!!

Coming soon, the walkways at Freedom Tree Village will be replaced and repaired.

An amazing campaign for LOMC! Our Spring Giving Tuesday campaign was held on Tuesday, May 3 and we surpassed our goal.

Goal: $25,000
Raised: $34,850

Matching Gifts: $15,755

Gifts were received the week before and the week of the event and with dollar-for-dollar matching gifts from the LOMC board and staff (up to $15,755), LOMC surpassed the $25,000 goal.

With a very slow 2021 fall/winter and 2022 winter season due to continued COVID cancellations, the campaign has helped put LOMC back on track. Thank you to everyone who contributed to help LOMC continue to welcome people into nature.

Thanks to the Moline family, the Moline Dining Hall is set to receive new air-conditioning units for the main area of the building. Groups, summer campers and more will enjoy a more efficient and effective cooling in the Dining Hall. Thank you Moline family for the significant and exciting donation to get this needed project done.

Units have been delivered but not yet installed in this photo.

Thanks to Thrivent members, LOMC received over $2,000 in directed Thrivent Choice Dollars during the month of April. Each month supporters of LOMC that are Thrivent account holder designate their Choice Dollars to LOMC and over the year it means thousands of dollars to help LOMC grow and thrive.

Thanks to a generous $1,500 grant from First Lutheran of Decatur, IL we are beginning to install stations along our trails providing resources for meditation, nature learning and inspiration.

When this phase is complete, we will have six stations along our beautiful trails that will help hikers experience God’s creation in new and unique ways.

Thank you to many wonderful donors that together helped raise money for a new Gaga Ball pit at LOMC.

$2,500 was raised to replace the rotting, plywood-based Gaga Ball pit with a new and durable version.

The year-round staff joined together one morning to assemble the new pit and it has already been used by an overnight group. This new “pit” is larger and will last years longer than the older version.

Thanks to three congregations, LOMC is able to help summer campers and church workers alike!

$5,000 has been donated in January and February to LOMC to help the Scholarship/Grant Fund. We would like to thank the following congregations for supporting LOMC and allowing us to help everyone experience God in the outdoors:

• First Lutheran Church in Freeport, IL
• Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL
• Resurrection Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL

We received the following gifts recently from our Amazon Charity Wish List.
Visit our charity list here…

• Thanks to Karin Nelson and Jean & Jerry Gieraltowski, LOMC now has 9 sets of snowshoes for guests to use.
• Thanks to Dalene Arlington we have a new fishing rod and pool toys.

We are so thankful for this wonderful support!

Two tremendous gifts for LOMC to use in emergencies:

Thrivent Action Team
Dan Dilbeck organized an Action Team to purchase and organize supplies that can be used in emergencies. The Action Team allowed LOMC to purchase first aid kits, lanterns and batteries that will be used throughout LOMC. To organize your own team for LOMC visit this page.

Amazon Charity Wish List
From an unknown donor, we received this incredible emergency EMT backboard to be used with head, neck and spine injuries. We hope to never use it but we are glad to have it on-hand for emergencies (replaces an old board). To see our Amazon Charity Wish List visit this page.

We received a very generous $15,000 donation from the closing of Grace Lutheran Church of Westchester, IL (Chicagoland). We are always sad to see the closing of a congregation yet the funds from the closing can be a very important help to other churches and organizations. Our Gift Acceptance committee has designated $10,000 be put into our capital fund and $5,000 into our scholarship/grant fund.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1928 as a mission church, and was the first church to be established after the formation of The Village Of Westchester.

We received over $1,700 in donations from the closing worship of Freedom Lutheran Church of Oregon, IL. We are always sad to see the closing of a congregation yet the funds from the closing can be a very important help to other churches and organizations. Freedom started their ministry holding their first worship service in LOMC’s Dody Lodge and then moving to our Hospitality Center and then the Moline Dining Hall. Freedom eventually held worship services in town (Oregon, IL) and returned to LOMC’s Hospitality Center for their closing worship.

Freedom Lutheran held a very wonderful closing worship featuring many local ELCA rostered leaders including Bishop Jeffrey Clements. Members from Freedom attended along with other special guests and the service included liturgy, personal stories and call for hope.

LOMC was very thankful to receive not only a generous donation from the people of Freedom Lutheran but an altar cross, processional cross, baptismal font and several Bibles to be used in LOMC’s ministry.

Thanks to a Thrivent Action Team sponsored by Dan Dilbeck we were able to add puzzles, games and replace a fire grate. Marander and Dody Lodges will both receive a special edition of Monopoly and two small puzzle games. The fire grate in Marander was damaged by heat and the Action Team allowed us to replace the grate and make experiencing a fire safer and more enjoyable. Pop corn poppers are were also purchased to allow guests at LOMC to enjoy popping corn over a campfire or in a fireplace.

Thrivent Member? Learn how you can support LOMC…

A huge thanks to the Elkay Family Foundation and the work of DeAnna Clutter who enabled LOMC to receive a brand new Elkay bottle filler station for the Moline Dining Hall. The Clutter family are long supporters of LOMC and DeAnna, through her work at Elkay, was able to help us apply for this wonderful addition to the Dining Hall. Guests, campers and visitors will be able to use the standard drinking fountain and also fill up reusable water bottles with filtered water. This is an amazing gift!

Elkay Family Foundation website…

Typically each month, Thrivent sends grant funds to non-profits through their Thrivent Choice Dollars program. Thrivent members choose LOMC as their preferred organization to send their Choice Dollars. The dollars cost Thrivent members nothing and it benefits LOMC and other non-profits greatly!

The following folks helped LOMC receive over $70 through Thrivent Choice in October:

• Rob Gieraltowski
• Thomas Gould
• Fernando Mercado
• Stella Schroeder

Thrivent Choice Information

Your support has helped LOMC stay open, ministering and improving. Without so many people supporting LOMC through: donations, service work, Thrivent Choice Dollars, Thrivent Action Teams, helping promote LOMC in churches and so much more… we cannot imagine where things would be for the LOMC ministry.

Since the pandemic you have helped LOMC:

• With providing needed funds to keep LOMC going. With all your donations we have continued to pay staff, limit staff reductions, pay all the bills, welcome guests and keep ministry flowing. Thank you for your monetary donations!!!
  • LOMC was also very thankful to receive help through the federal government with both rounds of PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) grants.
  • So many churches have helped LOMC! Find out about all the churches and organizations that have helped LOMC in 2021…
• Install a new trail to Meadows Retreat Cabins and trail maintenance on the Meadows/Timbers Trail.
• Give Moline Dining Hall deck a protective stain courtesy of Tri Church.
  • Tri Church also painted parts of the playground and completed painting of the bridge (near the Office) which THEKA camp sanded.
  • Immanuel Lutheran came out for “God’s Work. Our Hands.” to paint the Drama Drum.
• Improve the John Califf Memorial Garden (near the Moline Dining Hall) with solar lights, weeding, plantings and significant work to improve a drainage ditch thanks the Carol Walter and the Thrivent Action Team.
• New tables, artwork, nature posters and more in the Nelson Program Center thanks to Bob and Sue Gingras (and also for their Thrivent Action Team).
• Improve the Prayer Labyrinth with new plants, weeding and rock placement thanks to Pr. Carla Thompson Powell and her Thrivent Action Team.
• New HVAC units for the Hawkins Hospitality Center paid for through LOMC’s capital fund.
• Install new curtains throughout Marander and Dody Lodges at Freedom Tree Village thanks to Thrivent Action Teams and volunteer work.
• Place smart thermostats throughout LOMC to help save LOMC money, keep guest fees down and more accurately maintain temperatures.
• Provide games, puzzles and more for guests in Marander and Dody Lodges.
• Revamp (many times) what we offer to guests from opening up to Household Getaways, providing Church Worker Retreats and a more expansive experience for our Retreat Together events.
• Plan and offer hiking events in fall and spring allowing small groups (during the pandemic) to safely get outside and experience the creation around them.
• Encourage Day Events with great experiences including hiking, canoeing, team building, archery and more.
• Purchase a new LOMC maintenance truck that replaces two (falling apart) trucks. The new truck also now has a fantastic new plow for snow days.
  • We also had a generous donation of a pickup truck that got us through some tough months when the other trucks were on their last legs.
• New decorations for Marander and Dody Lodge fireplace mantels. Each season we are adding different decorations reflecting the season.
• To fully deep clean the Retreat Cabins (bunks) especially the bathrooms and through a donation we were able to upgrade many of the mattresses in our bunk beds.
• To be fully equipped with hand sanitizer, air cleaners, disinfectant sprayers and more to help us all stay safe.
• Cut down dead trees at the Tent and Trailer area as well as other areas to make things safer. Thanks to amazing volunteers who do amazing work!!!
• The Health Center was improved at the end of 2019 through memorial funds and recently an additional hallway had new flooring, overhead light and baseboards installed.
• Obtain new paper towel dispensers in the Hospitality Center at Freedom Tree Village which are working so much better compared to the old ones.
• New boiler (thanks to our capital fund) for Marander Lodge that will keep guests warm all fall and winter.
• Provide new signage throughout LOMC!
• Provided three overnight camps in summer 2021 with Middle School Scurry and high school THEKA bringing 29 youth to LOMC for a partial or full week.
• By praying for the land, staff, programs, facilities, guests and all of LOMC! Thank you for your prayers!!!

Thank you Immanuel Lutheran in nearby Dixon, IL for coming out on “God’s Work. Our Hands” day to help get our Drama Drum in great shape. The Drama Drum is centrally located in our main area and serves as a stage, gathering location, activity headquarters, resting spot and so much more. An old barn silo foundation, the Drama Drum is a favorite spot at LOMC and needed a refresh. A few summer camping groups had been peeling old paint off to get it ready for a coat or two of paint.

We are very thankful for the Immanuel Lutheran group who came out on a hot September Sunday to give our beloved Drama Drum a facelift!

“God’s Work. Our Hands.” information… 

• Kristie Burmood
• Albert Campbell
• Dan Dilbeck
• Rob Gieraltowski
• Kathleen Zank
• Ronald Zank
• James Hanson
• Carl Heggen
• Anders Lundsberg
• Pamela Lundsberg
• Carol Walter
• Kristie Burmood
• Jennifer Campbell
• Charles Schroeder
• Eric Strack

Thrivent members are encouraged to check their accounts to see if they have eligible dollars to designate to a non-profit of their choice.
Thrivent Choice dollars benefit LOMC greatly each month!

Learn more here…

Today we purchased a previously-owned heavy duty truck to help us maintain our 600+ acres at LOMC. Our truck that we used to plow LOMC roads was seriously rusted out and we prayed it would start each time we needed to use it. Goodbye old rust bucket and hello to our new truck!

Thanks to a very generous donor and the long-searching work of Bob Gingras (Property Committee Chair) and Ken Dilbeck (Property Manager) we can now breathe easier this winter and throughout the year as we diligently maintain the beautiful land of LOMC.

• Claire Edgecomb
• Todd Peterson

Thrivent members are encouraged to check their accounts to see if they have eligible dollars to designate to a non-profit of their choice.
Thrivent Choice dollars benefit LOMC greatly each month!

Learn more here…