Some of the survey items related to Involvement are these: I feel cared for by a leader within this church.

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1 Monthly A PUBLICATION OF OUR SAVIOUR S LUTHERAN CHURCH Connections May, 2015 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. ~1 Thessalonians 5:11 I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about Caring Community, because that is both a reality and a goal. It's a reality because Our Saviour's is a very caring community. Again and again I hear about the way you are caring for each other - usually simple, everyday acts of kindness. When people are sick or grieving, I see how the community gathers around and cares. In times of celebration, I see the shared joy. Even in the midst of disagreements, I see people listening carefully to one another and respecting the varied opinions. We are a caring community. Caring Community is also a goal. It is our hope and intent that our care will grow, becoming both deeper and wider. How might we do that? What would it look like? As I've been wondering about that, I've been drawn back to the TAG Survey process that Our Saviour's worked on in We scored quite well in categories related to caring community, especially the areas of relationships, support, and ownership. However, there is one area related to caring community that shows significant room for growth. That is the area of "Involvement". Some of the survey items related to Involvement are these: I am involved in a regular smaller group within the church. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. ~Ephesians 4:32 I feel cared for by a leader within this church. I have a clearly defined role in the church. As people are involved in smaller groups and defined roles, they find connections with one another that lead to a sense of caring community. In those activities, there is the possibility for caring connection with leaders of the congregation - pastors, staff, and congregational leaders. As this area of involvement grows stronger, I think the sense of caring community will grow deeper and wider. Council and staff have been looking at this area as one way we can strengthen our ministry together in the year ahead. I'm excited about that. We are a very caring community. I look forward to making our caring community even stronger. In Christ, Pastor John Gerike

2 Council News By Lane Lewis As we highlighted last month, we are planning for an exciting, informative and interactive Annual Meeting. We are targeting June 20, please save the date. Finances and our operating budget will be one of the agenda items for the meeting. Council continues to take our fiduciary responsibilities very seriously and as such we are targeting a reduction in staffing expenses of approximately $200, from fiscal year through fiscal year , without dramatically impacting the programming or the vitality of our faith community. Again, please plan to attend the annual meeting to hear more details and also to celebrate our many missions and ministries performed in faith and love together. On a very positive note, collections from our Debt Free Capital Appeal continue to be strong and are a key enabler to our long term financial strength. Due to the generosity of one family in our faith community, the interest on our debt will be fully covered through approximately October. As a result, every penny that is collected over the next 6 months will go directly towards principal reduction! More funding is needed to completely eliminate our debt by June of 2018, so whether you have pledged and can accelerate payments or add to your contributions, have not previously pledged, or whether you can contribute much or even modest contributions...all are appreciated and go towards the strengthening of our faith community. Our vision remains, that as we reduce and eliminate our debt, our missions will be more fully funded and working towards Making Jesus Known! Thank you for being a part of this movement, your contributions and collaboration! Kindness, Patience, Compassion, Fruits of the Holy Spirit By Cindi Swanson, Disabilities Coordinator May is a good time to understand how we unwrap those fruits. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As part of our Disability Ministry: Connect, Support, and Inform, this is a great opportunity to inform. It is unlikely any of us have not been touched by mental illness. With the prevalence of mental illness, it is most likely in our own homes our children, our spouses, and our parents. One in 5 adults will have a diagnosable mental illness in any given year according to the CDC. Fifty percent of Americans will meet the criteria for a mental health condition. Half of those individuals will develop conditions by age 14. More than 41,000 people die by suicide per year in the US. Nine out of 10 who die by suicide had a diagnosable mental illness. Sadly, only 3 of the 10 who die by suicide received mental health services in the year before they die. Stigma has of course a great deal to do with why people may not seek help. Unkind flip comments, attitude, cultural norms negatively impact how willing a person may be to seek lifesaving therapy. When we are invited by the Holy Spirit to be patient, kind, and compassionate, it is during the more challenging times in our walks with our brothers and sisters. When we don t understand, when their behavior may frustrate us, we are called upon to reach out and connect and support. Our society clearly does not honor the struggle of mental illness based on how little public funding is dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention. Next time there is the temptation to slap up a bumper sticker announcing Support the Troops, recognize the fact that 22 veterans/military persons die a day by suicide! (Every 65 minutes) For a deeper understanding of Mental Illness, please visit the information and resource table in Fellowship Hall during May. The Disability Ministry will have handouts and resources available in our area.

3 Holy Week and Easter 2015 By Lynn Panosh We are so blessed to be able to worship, walk and remember the steps of Christ during Holy Week and Easter. What a powerful week we had! From the entrance of the congregation, waving Palms and singing Hosanna on Palm Sunday, to the remembering and sharing of the Last Supper and stripping of the altar and shrouding of the cross on Maundy Thursday. The Crosswalk, with young actors, sharing the story of Jesus last days for families with young children and the somber Tenebrae services, full of rich music and compelling scripture. And then the JOY of Easter! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! And, with 18 worship services in 7 days and over 2800 people in worship, we really did work as a team. All of this happens through the generous giving of time and talent of the people of Our Saviour s. A room full of people stuffing bulletins; many people setting up and taking down for the different services; many musicians of all ages, preparing music choirs, singers, band, brass, strings, percussionists; support teams serving as ushers, communion servers, acolytes, altar guild, parking hosts and hospitality. There are great stories of individuals and families committing to multiple services to serve as they were needed not just adults, but children, teenagers.all ages, serving side by side, because they live out their faith and serve together. The season of Easter continues for 40 days. We are a resurrection people let us

4 10th Anniversary Spring Sing Celebration By Kelly Gilligan As we enter the last month of this school year, we are preparing for a wonderful 10th Anniversary Celebration! The Children s Center first opened its doors in September of 2005 with just 6 teachers and 40 students. Today we have 25 on staff, and 250 children attending. God is good! We are so thankful for the 10 great years that God has given to us, and we look forward to the many more to come. Our program consists of 14 different class offerings. We have Parents Day Out for our 2 year old friends. We offer 2 and 3 day preschool options for our 3 and 4 year old friends. We offer 4 day Pre-Kindergarten options for our 4 and 5 year old friends. If that is not enough, we also offer enrichment classes with different themes including math, science, art, literature, and engineering. We also host 8 weeks of camp running throughout June and July here at The Celebration Campus. We are so thankful for this beautiful preschool space at The Celebration Campus. We have the support of our church and are a wonderful ministry to the larger Naperville community. Not only are we able to teach math and pre-reading concepts to the children that walk through our doors, but most importantly we are able to share the good news of Jesus with each of them. What a blessing it is to be able to plant the seeds of faith in these little learners. God is faithful, and blesses these efforts. Please join us in celebrating The Children s Center on its 10th Anniversary! The Spring Sing Celebration will take place on Sunday, May 17th at the 10:00am service at the Celebration campus. The children will be singing during the service, and we will have refreshments and fellowship following the service. Come one, come all and join the festivities! God is good All the time!

5 Children and Family Ministry By Janine Norgaard The Good Friday Crosswalk provided families with a chance to experience the events of Holy Week in a way that was age appropriate for children. Together families walked with Jesus and his friends in a Palm Parade in Jerusalem, dined in the upper room, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, witnessed Jesus trials in front of Caiaphas and Pilate, and finally saw Jesus led to the cross. Although the last scene was the cross the children knew, it was not the end of the story! Families were encouraged to celebrate the rest of the story on Easter Sunday! Each child went home with the entire story to share. Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is alive!

6 One Nation Under God Breakfast exemplifies Heart of Exchange (As printed in Positively Naperville, April 2015) The Exchange Club of Naperville recently hosted its One Nation Under God Breakfast at Meson Sabika, coordinated by the club s Americanism Committee. The annual breakfast is a time when individuals, organizations, and businesses are presented prestigious awards for their outstanding acts of patriotism and contributions to the community as well as their proper and prominent displaying of the American flag. Americanism has been called The Heart of Exchange because Exchange champions American ideals, and Exchange Clubs exist only on American soil. Exchange prides itself on its knowledge of American traditions, none less important than honoring the sacred American symbol of Old Glory. The Abraham Lincoln Award went to Al Carius of North Central College. American Spirit Awards were presented to 100+ Women Who Care, American Legion Post 43, Rudy Keller and Janet Jacobs. Proudly We Hail Awards recognized Cantigy Park, Navistar, the Jeff Prosapio Family, the Bob Wegner Family, Calamos Investments and Our Saviour s Lutheran Church. Since its charter on August 1, 1920, the Naperville American Legion Post #43 has been welcoming Veterans from all branches of the Armed forces, enabling military men and women to continue serving God, Country and Community. On behalf of members of Post 43, Commander Lee Lindberg accepted the American Spirit Award from The Exchange Club of Naperville. The special award acknowledges individuals or groups in the community whose actions demonstrate a commitment to a CAN DO spirit in their work and interactions with others (For more information about the Exchange Club of Naperville, visit ) Thank you Lee for accepting this on behalf of Our Saviour s! Sister Cities Celebration On April 17 and 18, the Naperville Sister Cities Commission hosted the annual Illinois Sister Cities Conference. Naperville has two Sister Cities, including Nitra, Slovakia and Patzcuaro, Mexico. This was the first time a Sister City Mayor attended an Illinois conference. Mayor Jozef Dvonc and Deputy Mayor Jan Vanco, from Nitra traveled to Naperville, for the weekend. Nitra is the home of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, one of our ministry partners in Slovakia.

7 4th Annual Men s Spring Retreat 2015 Article and photos by John Jackman, Member of the Communication Ministry Team God s Discernment in Our Lives. In the following quote, Guest speaker Pastor John Hildner talked about Bible Discernment. Lots of contradictions in the Bible, with many translations. It is the understanding that different words are translated differently, with different meanings and interpretations. Difficult to read it in a 21st Century perspective and yet we have to, in order to gain insight and discernment for our own world. The day was filled with speakers including: David Ashcraft spoke about Discernment: Making Inspired and Encouraged Choices. Pastor John Gerike framed the topic, God s Dream for this World and each of us. Jim Hiner and Dick Untch program: Doing What Comes Naturally is Part of God s Plan. Focused on the Holland Hexagon, participants did an exercise on finding our Associated Life Gifts, from the interest areas of enterprising, investigative, artist, conventional, social and realistic. We shared a great lunch and fellowship throughout the day. When asked what you learned from your experience today, Jim Sherman replied, I loved the similarities across many different men s life experiences. When asked if the retreat practical tools for everyday life, Mark Hallen replied, Yes, discernment has always been one of those mystical words. I would consider the three points, your head, your heart, and your gut, passion and faith factor. Mark was referring to points made during the program about making wise decisions and what do we listen to when making decisions. 1. Head - good judgement/common sense 2. Heart - listen to your deepest desires (planted by God) 3. Gut - Does it feel right? We left the day with the question to always ask ourselves, Is it God s will?

8 Soup Suppers Soar to New Heights By Debbie Montrose Hey!!! I have some great exciting news for you...this year, we brought in more volunteers, more money (yes, it s true) and attendance was up for our mid-week services. Woo hoo!. The energy was high, the teamwork was many, and the interest seemed to have increased. People wanted to be here on Wednesdays and we were happy to have them/you!! Soup Supper, midweek meal, dinner at church on Wednesdays. We call them different names but they are all the same thing. Each Wednesday during Lent, and beginning with Ash Wednesday, we host a dinner before our mid-week Lenten service. The dinners are run by a ministry team, or a group of friends and volunteers. Each Wednesday we offer a variety of soups that are actually made by volunteers. This year, we had several new people who wanted to be part of the soup process. Some even came and cooked in the church kitchen. It was a great feeling for me to know that others wanted to offer their time and talents and serve others. For those of you that don t know, ANYONE and EVERYONE can bring a soup, a salad, bread, and of course, desserts. These dinners are a time of sharing a meal and enjoying some fellowship, perhaps dining with visitors or people you don t see often, of maybe enjoying some family time. It s always a great time in the kitchen (and a little hectic) when teams show up to prepare, set tables, chop veggies for the salad bar, and sample soups and desserts. We make sure that those serving have a chance to sit down and enjoy their meal too. Our ministry teams this year were awesome. Thanks to all of our fabulous teams: 55 Plus team, Take 2! Team, Missions team and both the Women s and Men s Ministry teams! Thanks to the many individuals who signed up to help in any way they could and to those who just showed up to help. Behind the scenes were our dishwashing dynamite duo, Ken Miller and Joe Freese, who keep coming back year after year to clean up after us...thanks guys. And let us not forget our wonderful custodians who set up for us and took down for us! Finally, thanks much to our wonderful staff who show their support in so many ways. Truly, this is a team effort and it works!

9 Interest Free That s how much we have paid off in the Debt Free Campaign Until October 2015 So what does all of this really mean? 1/3 of our debt has been eliminated in the last 24 months! The amount is greater than what was paid off in the prior 10 years! That s commitment and focus on debt elimination in action! Interest free means just that. All of your gifts go directly to principal payoff because a very generous donor is paying the interest on our loan through October! Gifts given today not only reduce debt, but also reduce the interest charges in the future, which means more money can go to debt retirement. Therefore, reducing debt today is a gift that keeps giving into the future. Our current debt balance is $4.3 million down from $6.5 million. Our current interest payment is $15,000/mo down from $30,000/mo. We committed to pay down the debt, and we have. We committed to lower interest costs, and we have. We committed to keep everyone informed, and we have. Many, many thanks to the 380 families that have made this happen! If you are not part of that group, this is the time to make a big difference. Give a Debt Free gift today! Even the smallest gifts help make a difference.

10 The MEGA Garage Sale June 5-6 By Sandy Martenich Donation Drop Off Begins in May Where is your contribution now? The MEGA Garage Sale begins set-up this year on Tuesday, May 26 and the first donations may be brought to Celebration on Thursday, May 28. The sale accepts a wide range of items from furniture and housewares to electronics, clothing and toys. We sell seasonal items for holidays and outdoor sports equipment. If your donation is gently used, there is probably a department for it at the sale. If you donated an old laptop computer last year this may be what happened to it...purchased by a member of our congregation, laptops were reconditioned and loaded with simple word processing software. This spring, the computers made their way to a primary school in Uganda that is funded by an organization (Educating Africa s Children) started by their daughter in As enrollment increased and grade levels were added, the need for computers as a part of a modern basic education became apparent. Your old laptop may be the one used by these children to learn basic computer skills. After a long day of instruction at the center, a computer class is offered at 6:00 pm and it is a popular course. Like these laptop computers, your donation this year may still have quite the life left in it with a journey and story to tell. The MEGA Garage Sale has a huge tent erected on the parking lot at Celebration to house the furniture contributed to the sale. We get dressers, headboards, sofas, end tables, dining room sets, desks, entertainment centers, lamps and lots of chairs. Thanks to the popularity of the Flea Market Flip and diy network, creative buyers with paint, new fabric and a staple gun are snatching up deals. Last year some Victorian styled chairs were donated. A local artist was looking for interesting chairs to transform as artwork for the 2015 Bridge Communities fundraiser, A Chair Affair. Our Saviour s is a mission partner with Bridges Communities to help transition homeless families to self sufficiency. Our Saviour s provides mentoring and economic support for the family. The sale re-donated these chairs and the artist is currently completing the makeover. These chairs will be displayed in downtown Naperville this spring and then auctioned in June. Maybe you recognize your donations. With many possibilities available to you when you have goods to donate, we appreciate that you think of the MEGA Garage Sale first. Because what and where you donate does make a difference. Missions of the church and the wider community benefit as there are new journeys to take and stories to be told. More information about the sale will be available during May in Weekly Connections. There are many different volunteer opportunities, days and work shifts during the three week course of the sale..

11 VA Eliminates Net Worth as Health Care Eligibility Factor By Dawn DeBore, Advocate Parish Nurse Elimination of Net Worth Makes More Veterans Eligible for Health Care Washington The Department of Veterans Affairs is updating the way it determines eligibility for VA health care, a change that will result in more Veterans having access to the health care benefits they ve earned and deserve. Effective 2015, VA eliminated the use of net worth as a determining factor for both health care programs and copayment responsibilities. This change makes VA health care benefits more accessible to lower-income Veterans and brings VA policies in line with Secretary Robert A. McDonald s MyVA initiative which reorients VA around Veterans needs. Instead of combining the sum of Veterans income with their assets to determine eligibility for medical care and copayment obligations, VA will now only consider a Veteran s gross household income and deductible expenses from the previous year. Elimination of the consideration of net worth for VA health care enrollment means that certain lower-income, non-service-connected Veterans will have less out-of- pocket costs. Over a 5-year period, it is estimated that 190,000 Veterans will become eligible for reduced costs of their health care services. In March 2014, VA eliminated the annual requirement for updated financial information. VA now uses information from the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration to automatically match individual Veterans income information which reduces the burden on Veterans to keep their healthcare eligibility up to date. That change better aligned VA s health care financial assessment program with other federal health care organizations. Veterans may submit updated income information at or by visiting their nearby VA health care facility. For more information, visit or call VA toll-free at VETS (8387). Births and Deaths: A memorial service celebrating the lives of Dorothy and John Bell, Charter members of Our Saviour s, will be on Saturday, May 30 at 11:00 am followed by luncheon/reception At Our Saviour s campus. Please join their families in remembering them. We lift up in prayer: Kay Truemper and family at the death of her mother, Carol Grotemeyer. Ginny Rahmel and family at the death of her mother, Marjorie Kelleher. Jack and Lindsay Sullivan, and family at the death of their father, John Sullivan. Norma Zigler

12 Our Saviour's Evangelical Lutheran Church 815 S. Washington Street Naperville, IL Phone: (630) Fax: (630) Web site: Our Saviour s Mission "Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known" Our Saviour s Vision Live it Out! Generous disciples impacting the world Worship Services Our Saviour s Campus 815 S. Washington St., Naperville Saturdays at 5:00 pm, Sundays at 8:00, 9:00, 10:30 am Celebration! Campus 919 S. Washington St., Naperville Sundays at 10:00 am Leadership Staff Pastor John Gerike, Pastor Jade, Pastor Al Creighton, Lynn Panosh, Lynda DeVore Global Mission Partners Bohdan Hroboň - Slovakia Misheck Ruwa - Vida Humana, Chimoio, Mozembique Praying Pelicans - Haiti Feed My Starving Children For Children - (September - May) Church School is available from September - May for 3 year olds - 5th Grade on Sundays, 9:00 and 10:30 am - Our Saviour s Campus 10:00 am - Celebration! Campus For Youth (September - May) Junior High - Surge (Confirmation) Sundays 12:00-1:30 pm, Celebration! Campus High School - Ignition Sundays, 6:00-8:00 pm, Celebration! Campus Share your stories about how God is working in your life and the lives of others! All articles are due on the first Thursday of each month, for the following month s publication. Please send articles and photos to Jean Jepson at jeanjepson@oursaviours.com. Here are the deadline dates for the next 3 months. Monthly Connections articles for June are due on May 7. Monthly Connections articles for July are due on June 4. Monthly Connections articles for August are due on July 2.