We are so grateful to be able to host a blood drive at our Oro Valley campus. With your support, we will be able to raise awareness about the importance of blood donation and collect numbers of life-saving donations. These donations will undoubtedly make a profound difference in the lives of those in need within our community.

Sign Up for an Appointment Here

Donation Information Here

Anna Lawrence is a 3-8 school on the southwest side of Tucson. Resurrection volunteers work with school staff and the Comm. Food Bank of So. AZ to provide dry goods, produce, and bread to an average of 140 families as part of each of the 15 or so pantry days we operate during a school year.  Anyone interested in knowing more should contact Jerry_Olson36@msn.com

Scheduled Trip dates:

November 12-15, 2026 - Click for Registration

WHY WE DO IT

Casas por Cristo exists to open the door for local pastors and churches to share the love of Jesus Christ by serving.

WHAT WE DO

Our mission is to build and serve.

Build
We are builders. That’s who we are. We build homes for families that need to be reminded that Jesus loves them. We build relationships between volunteers, families, and pastors that would otherwise never have met. We strive to build the Kingdom of God by partnering with other local churches and ministries. We strive to build opportunities for growth by creating structured experiences that cause our volunteers to be stretched beyond their comfort zones.

Serve
Through this building process, God allows us to interact with our teams, local families, pastors, churches, vendors, and fellow missionaries. We do not want to take any of these interactions for granted. We believe that these are unique opportunities presented to us by God to serve each other.

Learn more about Casas Por Cristo here.

Click here to make a donation to Feed My Starving Children

The team members of this ministry arrange receptions for the families and friends of loved ones who have passed away.

Please contact the church office at 520-575-9901 or email rlc@orovalley.org to volunteer.

Members of the group knit or crochet prayer shawls, which are given to members, families of our members, or others in need of comfort.

Primavera Foundation now provides: 

• Emergency shelter and services through a men’s shelter, a women’s shelter, a scattered-site family shelter and two day drop-in centers
• Participation in coordinated entry through Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness (TPCH) with homelessness intervention and prevention and rapid rehousing
• Transitional housing
• Safe, affordable housing at 11 properties with 145 units
• Community building and engagement through gardens, public policy education and convenings
• Workforce development through Primavera Works, a temporary staffing agency
• Homeownership and financial education classes and workshops.

https://primavera.org/

​This ministry supports the Primavera Men's Shelter in Tucson.

You are invited and encouraged to participate in this new project by donating the personal hygiene products noted in the Items Needed list. Your contributions can be dropped off in the collection bin in the church office and will be collected and delivered to the Primavera Foundation.

Items needed include:

• Shaving Cream
• Deodorant
• Toothbrush
• Bar Soap
• Disposable Razors
• Toothpaste
• Chapstick
• Q-tips
• Lotion
• Shampoo and Conditioner 
• Body Wash
• Comb

*All items must be travel size*

The members of this group meet twice a month to prepare quilts for veterans, babies, and other charities who can use the quilts. ​

Meeting Date:  September through May on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. 

Meeting Time: 10 AM to 2 PM

Location: Music Room in the Sanctuary Area at the Oro Valley Campus

Contact: Pam Melick at 570-847-0875

Resurrection Lutheran Church Refugee Ministry in Partnership with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (LSS)

Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest is an organization dedicated to providing essential services throughout Arizona. They focus on stabilizing individuals in times of crisis, building foundations for thriving communities, and preserving dignity for vulnerable populations, including older adults, refugees, and families experiencing hunger and homelessness. Their services include food pantries, foster care, immigration assistance, and more. For more information, you can visit their official website: https://www.lss-sw.org

Called by God’s love, we serve our neighbors! We stabilize people during crisis and transition, build a foundation where people can thrive, and preserve dignity and respect for the most vulnerable.  Our Vision is a future where all people thrive! We demonstrate this through our actions that all people have value and are worthy of respect.

Resurrection Lutheran Church Refugee Ministry

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their home because of war, violence or persecution, often without warming. They are never able to return to their home country. Refugees receive a legal status granted by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) after passing a rigorous 8-Step process by the UNHCR. This involves initial assessment to determine whether to continue the process for resettlement. Less than 1% of people who have fled their home country move beyond the first step. The process includes background checks conducted by the FBI, Homeland Security interviews and screening by US Customs and Border Protection. The average length of time to receive UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is about ten years. Refugees leaving their country of origin are always considered to be FROM their country of origin. Whereas refugees born in refugee camps HAVE NO country of origin. They are citizens of "nowhere." This is a major reason they seek US citizenship, to have a home country, and why many refugees strongly defend the US, regardless of administration/politics. This reinforces our call to “welcome the stranger.” 

Many people confuse Refugees with Asylum Seekers, Immigrants and Migrants (see definitions below).

Asylum seekers: Those seeking protection from the dangers in their home country, but whose claim for refugee status hasn’t yet been determined legally. Asylum seekers must apply for protection in the country of destination. They must be able to prove to authorities that they meet the criteria to be considered for the legal refugee status. Many of those crossing the U.S. border from Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras—are asylum seekers. They have a well-founded fear of persecution if they were to return home.

Immigrants: An immigrant is someone who makes a conscious decision to leave their home and move to a foreign country with the intention of settling there. Immigrants also go through a lengthy vetting process to immigrate to a new country. Many immigrants become citizens.

Migrants: A migrant is someone who is moving from place to place (within their country), usually for economic reasons such as seasonal work.  Similar to immigrants, they were not forced to leave their native countries because of persecution or violence, but rather are seeking better opportunities. 

History of RLC Refugee Ministry Team (RMT)

The Resurrection Lutheran Refugee Ministry Team began in spring 2018 with a presentation by Lutheran Social Services-SW about the Refugee Resettlement program. At that time, they invited us to become a co-sponsor congregation to work with them resettling refugees into Tucson. After hearing their presentation, those present signed their name if they were interested in this ministry.

In August 2018, the current chair of the Social Ministry committee gave Jeff Kraus and Martha Berg all the documents to lead the RM (Refugee Ministry) and it “officially started”. The first activity was hosting two Orientation Sessions for the volunteers to be trained on how to work with refugees. Topics included fingerprinting requirements, cultural differences, dietary preferences, sensitivity to them so we asked no questions about why they fled their home country, etc.

After orientation in September, RLC member, Jeff Kraus signed a “Faith/Community Commitment Form” with Lutheran Social Service of the Southwest (LSS-SW) to co-sponsor/partner with them for a refugee family for 90 days.  A family is defined as a single person as well as a large family with children. RLC was on stand-by until we were alerted by LSS-SW that a refugee family had arrived.  Our first refugee arrived in October 2018 (more about that later.) Jeff Kraus and Martha Berg served as Resurrection’s first Refugee Ministry Team Co-Leaders. 

Jeff Kraus and Martha Berg made the decision to step down as co-leaders of the Refugee Ministry Team and Rachel Rulmyr assumed leadership in 2022 and Rachel Rulmyr assumed the general chair position. In the summer of 2023 Rachel Rulmyr requested additional leadership support, so Kris Perry assumed the leadership position assisted by Rick Wall. In 2024, Kris Perry invited Sharon Jarvis to become the third Co-Chair.

CO-SPONSORED FAMILIES OF RESURRECTION 

Ayinkamye Grace - 2018

On October 25, 2018 RLC’s first sponsored refugee arrived - a young single woman, Ayinkamye Grace, age 21. While Ayinkamye is her first name, we have always called her Grace. She was born in the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and fled her country when she was 7-years old. For 14 years before coming to America, she lived in Burundi, Tanzania and most recently in Nairobi, Kenya where she learned English. Members of the RM team cleaned her apartment, stocked the pantry with food and supplies, prepared a welcome meal, and met her at the airport. 

Grace immediately connected with several women of our Team and coined the phrase “my ladies” when referring to her new friends. These relationships deepened over time as her ladies continued to support her efforts to navigate public transportation, find employment, and maneuver her way through the higher education process.  Grace eventually became a home health aide while pursuing a degree in nursing and learning how to drive. She subsequently relocated to the Phoenix area for better employment opportunities and a chance to have a roommate for the first time. She still keeps in touch with many women from our Team, calls Tucson her home and hopes to return here once she finishes her nursing degree.

Resurrection sponsored another young lady,  Maombi Zawadi, originally from Afghanistan, who arrived from the Congo alone with no family.  Unfortunately, after setting up her apartment, the language barrier plus COVID made it difficult to continue the sponsorship. However, Zawadi found a community of friends who she connected with and is doing well. From what we know, she previously worked as a seamstress in Coolidge, and is now working at Tucson Tamale.  Maombi has friends in Tucson that she met in the refugee camp in Africa and has adjusted well to life in the USA.

Additionally, some members of our team have interacted with non-cosponsored families, like Nabila Nazir from Afghanistan, by taking her to the Reid Park Zoo.

Kerimi Family - 2019

Our third co-sponsored family arrived on March 19, 2019 from Afghanistan:  The Kerimi Family consisted of a widowed mother (Merziye Serifi) and her four children (Sekine, Fatima, Musteba and Latife).  The two youngest children were born after the family left their home. Prior to arriving in Tucson, they lived in Turkey for 7 ½ years.   We communicated using Google Translate English to Turkish, which was a second language for them; their native tongue is Farsi. We welcomed the family at the airport, provided their first meal, stocked their pantry and refrigerator, and had their new home ready for occupancy.  Jeff Kraus and Martha Berg, in particular, helped the family acclimate to our culture by visiting them and playing board games with them to help them learn English.  The family remained in Tucson until August 2021 before relocating to Virginia for personal reasons.  Jeff and Martha have remained in contact with the Kerimi’s to this day. All of the children are employed, the family has purchased a townhome in Richmond, VA. In November 2024 the three youngest children (Latife, Ali, Fatima) became US citizens and in April, 2025 daughter Aida became a US citizen. 

Mikechi Family – March 2022

The Refugee Ministry Team assisted other families who needed additional help until March 17, 2022 when we formally sponsored and welcomed the Mikechi Family from Afghanistan consisting of the father, Mmunga, the mother, Riziki, their son, Mmunga, and two daughters, Antonitte and Matrida.  They arrived in Tucson having spent time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. In November we learned the family is expecting another baby and the father found full-time employment.

Nazir Family – August 2022

We became friends with the Nazir family from Afghanistan, mother Nabila, daughter Marwa and a son, Zamir, who arrived after the others were here for several months. Unfortunately we only met Zamir once as he was not at home when we visited.  

From this non-sponsored experience, we learned that Americans often take for granted all of the advantages we have at our fingertips, like the ease of banking and having our mail delivered each day with relative ease.  We forget that our friends from developing nations do not have those same advantages and that we need to have patience and understanding when teaching them what we consider to be easy tasks that are a part of our daily life.   

Freddy Ndabunguye Family - 2024

On January 25, 2024 RLC welcomed our fifth co-sponsored family, the Ndabunguye’s from Burundi, Africa. Family members included Dad and Mom, Freddy and Nyarubanga, along with 6 daughters and two sons, ranging in age from infant to age 20.

Our RLC Volunteers jumped into action and accomplished the following:

• Secured used furniture in very good condition
• Received and/or purchased household items
• Cleaned the rental home
• Stocked the pantry with groceries
• Stocked the refrigerator with perishables

We learned that the following items are must-haves for any family we welcome – a TV in order to help with learning English, 1-2 cell phones in order to remain in contact with LSS and our refugee ministry team as well as to remain connected to family members back home and other refugee families who reside in their community, and a computer to help the children with school work.  

The RLC Refugee Ministry Team (RMT) ultimately made the decision to provide a TV with cable access, two refurbished cell phones with WiFi up to six month, and a gently used computer to all sponsored families to help them better assimilate into our culture. Additionally, thanks to the RLC Social Ministry Committee, the RMT will have a storage locker in which to collect gently used household items and furniture for our families.

In March, 2024, the RLC RMT was asked by LSS-SW to help set up four apartments for incoming families, three from Afghanistan and one from Africa because they were unable to identify a sponsoring congregation in Tucson.  Three of the four families subsequently moved to other parts of the USA where family were located, and one family remained in Tucson.  We made the decision to sponsor the Nazari family of seven from Afghanistan. 

Nazari Family - 2024

Jeff Kraus and Martha Berg, along with LSS staff, met the Nazari family for a short initial visit on June 4, 2024 bearing gifts of fresh strawberries and chocolate/oatmeal bars, all of which were a big hit. Family members include Dad and Mom, Kirwais and Krishna along with three sons and two daughters ranging in age from 18 months to 15.

The RMT provided a smart TV (for English learning), and three cell phones (dad, mom, and oldest son) for communication with LSS and RMT members. 

The family settled into their new home, Dad has secured employment and the children are enrolled in school.

Refugee Ministry Crisis in January, 2025

On January 24, 2025 Lutheran Social Services-SW received the news of a stop-work order from the US government calling for refugee resettlement agencies to immediately stop serving nearly 6,000 newly arrived and approved refugees nationwide, and all funding provided by the federal government came to an immediate halt. For LSS-SW specifically, there were 388 refugee clients who were within their first 90 days in Arizona who were impacted by the stop work order.  

With the lack of funding in food, housing, education, job placement and healthcare, there are many needs that directly affect the 22 families who arrived in Tucson legally in November, December, 2024 and January 2025.

The recent executive actions taken by the Administration directly affected the Refugee Resettlement work of LSS as well as co-sponsor ministries with partnering congregations like Resurrection. The combination of the stop-work-order and executive order cut off critical funding overnight, leaving 130 families who had already arrived in Tucson and Phoenix in immediate jeopardy. The executive order to stop our work was more than a policy shift, it was a crisis for the most vulnerable among us.  

Several (24) of our LSS employee friends in Tucson were subsequently laid off, including our community resource coordinator, and our resource and housing assistant. The RLC Refugee Ministry Team (RMT) subsequently jumped into action working closely with the skeleton crew staff that remained at LSS to ensure our co-sponsored family and 8+ other refugee families residing at the Ocotillo Apartment Complex in Tucson were taken care of with furniture and household items. Additionally, Ministry Minutes (a.k.a. Temple Talks) were offered in February at worship services by Team Co-Chairs, Kris Perry and Sharon Jarvis inviting financial donations as well as goods and services donations. As a result, over $39,000 has been donated in support of our refugee friends to ensure that none of the Tucson refugees become homeless. Many members and friends have donated furniture, household items, food and clothing which has been a blessing to all who received these wonderful items.  You all answered your Baptismal call to love and serve neighbor. God bless you all!

Nykueth Tim Chol Riam Family – 2025

On January 6, 2025, LSS welcomed our seventh co-sponsored family, Nyakueth Tim Chol Riam and her six children, ranging in age from infant to age 17. Originally from South Sudan, they spent 5 years in Kenya and 8 years in Egypt before receiving the good news that they would find a home in Tucson.

Mom Nyakueth, a.k.a.Viola speaks very good English and is fluent in her native Arabic as well as Swahili. She is determined to master the English language as soon as possible. The two older children speak good English, while the younger boys are learning quickly. 

Additionally, LSS welcomed approxinately 24 new refugee families to Tucson and only three of the families had a co-sponsor. Seeing the great need for help with furniture and household items for so many families, the RMT team decided to help 8+ additional families at the Ocotillo Apartment complex where our new co-sponsor family resides. We subsequently received a generous amount of furniture and household items that were gifted to these families from February through August.

The RMT subsequently formed two additional ministry teams to address specific needs. The ESL (English as a Second Language) Team are RMT volunteers who will mentor 6-7 women refugees at the Ocotillo Apartments, another LSS refugee from Mexico, and our former co-sponsored family, Freddy.  The Care Team will work with our current co-sponsored family, Viola, to provide transportation and support to many doctor appointments.  

Viola has secured employment, the family now has a car, and the children are thriving.

CLOTHING DONATIONS FOR REFUGEES 

The RLC Refugee Ministry is not able to accept used clothing for our refugees, but St. Mark’s Clothes Closet in Tucson is happy to accept your gently used and clean hand-me-downs.

St. Mark’s Clothes Closet

3809 E 3rd Street

Tucson  AZ  85716

St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Tucson has been gathering gently used, clean clothing along with NEW underwear and socks for adults and children for several years to fill a need to migrants passing through Tucson at two local shelters. The shelters have since closed and the distribution center is now located at St. Mark’s at Alvernon and 2nd Street where they receive gently used clothing to help migrants, refugees, and others in need. Nancy Retson manages the large room with bins of clothing arranged by gender and size. 

Clean clothing may be delivered to the church office, Monday through Thursday, 9:00-11:30am.  Clothes shopping for our refugee families is available on Fridays only from 9:00a-noon by Resurrection representatives or LSS personnel only; refugees and others in need are not allowed to shop at the church.  Please call Nancy Retson at 520-465-2884 to make arrangements to shop for clothing for our refugee families. Meet her at the church office at the back of the church off of 2nd Street. No paperwork is required, but you must bring along the Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest Tax ID Number which is 86-0252302. Plastic bags of donations are okay for smaller batches of clothes, but it’s more difficult to keep the clothes flat, organized and labeled correctly.  Bring markers/labels.

When donating clothing, they request that clothing be refolded (after fully opening up the shirts) with the sleeves folded in so they can see the size and the sleeve length.  Shoes are placed together in large bins.  Children’s shoe sizing can be quite different from their clothing sizes.  (A chart would be useful for those who don’t remember the different sizes of their various grandchildren.)  Gently used, clean clothing (no rips and tears) is a must with no obvious stains.

When shopping for our refugee friends, teams of 2 or 3 work best for shopping.  Bring along lists of specific items and sizes in order to maximize your time. Items can then either be delivered to the specific refugee family or you can drop the items off at the LSS Office located at 3777 E Broadway Blvd, Suite 100 in Tucson 85716. Don’t forget to jot down the LSS Tax-ID number which is 86-0252302.

Wagons are available to deliver the clothing and other items (hand sanitizer, etc.) to and from your car. 

Further information about the St. Mark’s Clothes Closet is available by contacting Nancy Retson at 520-465-2884.

Youth on Their Own 

There will be a fundraiser sometime in the next few months.  Please watch The Vision for more information.