On behalf of Redeemer Lutheran Church and School, please accept our heartfelt thanks for your outpouring of friendship, consolation, and prayers as we mourn the loss of Margaret Kritsch Anderson, who died heroically in the line of duty as a federal law enforcement officer at Mount Rainier National Park on New Year's Day.

Margaret moved to Westfield in 1988 at the age of 11 when her father, Pastor Paul Kritsch, began his ministry at our church and school and in our  community. All who were fortunate to have known her and the love surrounding her in the Kritsch's home could be assured of the inner-strength, faith and values that she carried forward into adulthood, as a wife, mother of two young daughters, and professional. Our day of celebrating the beginning of a new year was suddenly darkened by the news of her tragic death and the anguish of an overwhelming loss.

At a special service of healing on Wednesday evening, as I witnessed the masses of members and friends spilling over from our sanctuary into the halls, I was reminded of how well-loved Pastor and Dorothy Kritsch have become in our community over the course of more than 23 years, loved not only by Redeemer's members but by countless others around us from various walks of life. As well, I was reminded of how proud I am to live in a town where friends and neighbors come together in times of tragedy and grief.

--Mike King, a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church and School