May Observations from the Deck By Pastor Tom Grevlos

Transcription

1 May 2010 A PUBLICATION OF OUR SAVIOUR S LUTHERAN CHURCH Observations from the Deck By Pastor Tom Grevlos blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. ~John 20:29 Evidence of Easter? Proof of Easter? Thomas, one of the disciples, sought proof but all the evidence he needed was overwhelmed by being in the presence of the risen Jesus. Thomas words are like a symphonic crescendo My Lord and My God! I believe that the proof of Easter is written each and every day, if only we believe. When we rise in the morning and lie down at night echoing the confession of Thomas, My Lord and My God we will see the evidence of the risen Jesus in life! We see it when we observe a mom of a toddler, who is seven months pregnant, pulling into Celebration! on Sunday night to spend time with high school-ers, young people seeking to navigate their way through the complex choices of life. We see it when women knit prayer shawls in the quiet of their home and share this powerful symbol of God s embrace for those who are struggling with life challenges. We see the evidence of Easter when fathers and mothers participate in the faith formation of their children, living out the baptismal promise to God to teach our children the Easter faith! We see it when prayer ministers, Stephen ministers, Eucharistic ministers, give time and attention to the needs of others, offering a listening ear and a generous life-giving spirit of care and love. We see the proof of Easter when men and women of faith gather to serve God s children who live on the streets, or spend time helping others by participating in the all-church garage sale, or grab their tool belt and spend a Saturday working on a Habitat for Humanity project. We see the evidence of the Risen Jesus Christ when the community of Our Saviour s shares financial resources to fund our ministry and our mission of Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known. We see it when our confession, My Lord and My God becomes a commitment to mychurch! The Easter church is the proof of Easter, for the church is what God has entrusted to share that the hope of the world is found in Jesus Christ!

2 Buds, Suds and Grub Eagle s Wings/ Hearts in Puppetry Annual Flower Sale Saturday, May 8 9:00 - noon at Main Campus Summer Opportunities! New Summer Worship Schedule Starting the weekend of May 28/29 we will have a new worship schedule. Saturday - 5:00 pm at Main Campus Sunday - 8:00, 9:00 and 10:30 am at Main Campus Sundays - 10:00 am and 6:00 pm at Celebration! Outdoor worship - At the band shell in downtown Naperville, June 6 and August 1. Summer Camps We still have spaces available for our summer camps. Check out all the details and register online at Golf Outing Fair Way To Heaven Proceeds To Benefit DuPage Pads and Haiti Relief Efforts June 7, 2010 Tamarack Golf Club Photo Directory Pictures Don t forget to sign up to get your picture taken for the photo directory. Look for sign up tables at both campuses. Pictures will be taken during June Everyone is encouraged to get their picture taken. DuPage PADS Our Saviour s will again be supporting PADS at our Celebration! Community Life Center every Friday night from July 9 through August 27. Together we can do something incredible; we can work to offer people hope and possibility. Watch for sign up tables. New Website and Computer Program This summer we will be launching our new website and our new interactive computer program called ACS. More details will be coming soon about these exciting new technology tools. Habitat for Humanity - Sponsored by the Men s Ministry Team Help build new homes and new lives the 3rd Saturday of each month from May through October. Sign up on thekiosk. Register By May 10 & Save! Have fun playing golf while providing funds to help those in need. More information about the event are in the brochures. For more information:contact Greg at OSLCgolf@comcast.net, or Judy at judybrandt@oursaviours.com or Watch for more details about these opportunities and others in the Summer Happenings! 2

3 Mega Garage Sale Coming to Celebration! Drop Offs Begin May 26 By Sandy Martinich Last year I decided to apply for an open posted job opportunity at my place of employment. I needed to update and submit my resume as well. While figuring out my skills and listing strengths that might make me a good candidate, I realized I didn t want to apply because I probably wouldn t be happy on the job for very long. While I like the challenge of solving problems, I need more variety than this situation offered. I m curious and have lots of interests. In my house that translates to lots of unfinished or never started projects. In other words I always have stuff to donate to the MegaGarage Sale every year. Let s see, books (Chicken Breeds and Care), art supplies (flower press), some sporting goods (bocce ball, a fourspeed bicycle), knitting needles and yarn you get the picture. So I ll be putting a cardboard box in each room of the house and they will be filled! Please join me in donating your gently used items. This year the first day of drop off at Celebration! is Wednesday, May 26. Collection continues thru Saturday, May 29 with the last date being Tuesday, June 1. Your donations are greatly appreciated and enable the Garage Sale ministry to serve in two ways: Providing goods at affordable prices to our customers and raising funds to help others. Goods sold are sorted into these areas: furniture, outdoors and sporting goods, toys, electronics, books and media, housewares, lamps, luggage, clothing, linens, baby equipment and seasonal decorations. If you have large items in good condition, they may be picked up by request, from first floor or garage only. No large appliances, monitors without computers, adult mattresses, steel desks, console TVs or tires. Volunteer sign-ups begin Saturday, April 24 and more information will be available at tables set up in the Fellowship Center and at Celebration! The Sale begins Friday, June 4 with half-price day, Saturday June 5. Thank you to everyone who has made a pledge to the mychurch campaign. If you have not yet sent in your pledge card, it s not too late. mychurch pledges are still being excepted, and can be sent directly to Jennifer Sevatson. 3

4 Holy Week Worship By Jeanne Grevlos and Lynn Panosh celebrated with trumpets and timpani, anthems and traffic jams! One Night, One Afternoon, One Morning, became an experience. We felt the Son s warmth streaming through our empty lives and coaxing us to once again, remember. When we do--when we walk and talk and pray and sing--before our very eyes, we are changed, we are transformed. The stones that entomb and weigh us down are rolled away by the power of love and grace. We shed our cold, dull grave clothes. Our lives bloom with vibrancy and color. That is the message. That is the victory. That is the gift, and it is retold every year every worship service. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia! As Easter people may our lives bring this message to life. We can fully appreciate Easter if we walk the journey to the cross Holy Week Worship Palms waving. Candles flickering. Music playing. People praying. Jesus riding. Jesus eating. Jesus dying. Jesus rising. The warm winds of new life were palpable last week. We midwesterners were filled with optimism as we felt sunny warmth streaming through empty tree limbs coaxing the daffodils into bloom. Before our very eyes we could see change. We could feel transformation. Once again, Earth was coming to life! The journey of Holy Week worship gave participants this same sense. From the gleeful shouts of Hosanna to the quiet reflection inspired during Maundy Thursday; from the weeping wail of violin and voices on Good Friday, to the jubilation shared in celebrating the empty tomb on Easter Christ is Risen, He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! Those of us participating in the passion of the final days and hours of Jesus were taken on a journey. Our week was not merely defined by several worship services; it was defined by the footsteps of Christ footsteps he walked because of us, each one of us! We walked with Christ, because Christ walked for us. The glimmering candles offered the sense of the Spirit wholly present and active. The music moved us viscerally it wasn t only around us, it found its way inside us! Words of Scripture told the old, old story once again the old story that proclaims newness! In being reminded the stone is rolled away, we As Easter people, we celebrate the incredible journey Christ made for our sins. We celebrate the gift of our salvation, made possible by the sacrifice Jesus life for ours. Worship during Holy Week is made possible through the gift of this community. People who work together and give their time to produce bulletins, stuff bulletins, do set-ups and take downs, provide meals and coffee/ snacks for musicians, volunteer to staff the parking lot, the shuttle, (or parked off campus!) sing or play in the many musical groups that serve in worship, act or do puppets as part of the Holy Week dramas, create and set the incredible liturgical art and flowers at the two campuses and on the screens, set up and serve Holy Communion, greet and assist the over 5000 people who come to worship. Many, many thanks, to this community who recognize the need to serve and give of their time, and their family s time, to serve and Make Jesus Known through this powerful season. May God continue to open hearts to serve and bless this community of believers that we may grow and grow, both in our faith, but also in those we serve. To God be the Glory! 4

5 Church School Daniel a Role Model of Faith Today! Children in the village church school spent three weeks learning the stories of Daniel. In spite of being held captive in the foreign country of Babylon, Daniel remained faithful to the One True God. Daniel s stories help us remember that God can do amazing things when we desire to please God first and do the right thing day after day. Children in the preschool classes heard about the miracle in Daniel 3. Hint: no one smelled like smoke! Through games, computers, music, and storytelling the children learned the stories of Daniel. Idol worship comes in all forms, but God alone, deserves our worship no matter what! After completing a computer game and discussing the story with their teacher, the children pray for courage like Daniel s to do the right thing in the coming week. Learning a Bible verse is easy when you make a game out of it! Learning the story by rapping in the music class! Three faithful men to the king said, NO! Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego! 5

6 Library Notes: Thank you to Eric, Meghann, Hunter and Logan Hollingsworth for the children's book The Angel with the Golden Glow, by Elissa Al-Chockhachy, in memory of Connor Allen Hollingsworth and to Dave and Shannon Mevis for Chicken Soup for the Father & Daughter s Soul. Mosquito Nets Help Save Lives We are pleased to offer The Prodigal God in DVD format for check out, also a couple of new DVD's, The Blind Side (rated PG-13), Pistachio,The Little Boy That Woodn't (Veggie Tales) and The Velveteen Rabbit. New fiction: The Hidden Flame (Bk 2) by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke, in The Acts of Faith series The Missing (Bk 2) by Beverly Lewis, Seasons of Grace series A Cousin's Prayer (Bk 2) and A Cousin's Challenge (Bk 3) by Wanda Brunstetter the Indiana Cousins series. Throughout the year, we have had several opportunities to help raise money to buy mosquito nets for areas effected by malaria. Here is a recent letter we received from Clarke Mosquito Control regarding some of our efforts. Exodus World Service Honors Member Of Our Mission Board On April 16, Exodus World Service (Welcome to America Packs) held its annual dinner at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. At that dinner, they honored our very own Anne Wentz and her friend, Sandy Cho, as "2010 Open Arms Volunteer Service Award." This award is given annually to outstanding volunteers in recognition of their exemplary work in service to refugees. This is an amazing honor for Anne and Sandy. Anne has quietly worked with refugees for many years, relying on the generosity of Our Saviour s donations. It is truly a labor of love for her, as Anne "comes to serve" regardless of race, nationality, religion, or anything else. We would like to congratulate Anne and Sandy on their tireless commitment to refugees! They truly know Jesus and how to make Jesus known to others. Dear Our Saviour s Evangelical Lutheran Church, I, along with the entire Clarke team, would like to thank you for your support for the Clarke/Carter Center Kanke Bed Net Project. Your donation, matched by Clarke, will send 304 nets to Kanke, Nigeria. Medicinal intervention has been unsuccessful in stemming the spread of lymphatic filariasis and malaria in Kanke. Until now, bed nets have been scarce and families must decide which family members can sleep under the nets, and which must sleep outside. With your help, we stand together in providing a healthier future for the people of Kanke. Thank you again. We are humbled by your support in this important undertaking. Together, there is hope! Sincerely, J. Lyell Clarke President Clarke Mosquito Control 6

7 Haiti Earthquake Relief Together we made a difference in the relief efforts. This ELCA letter shares the how we continue to Make Jesus Known. Dear Our Saviour s Lutheran Church: Thank you for your gift of $2, to ELCA International Disaster Response: Haiti Earthquake Relief. Your gift is already at work, efficiently and effectively, with our partners who have served the people of Haiti for years. In the capital of Port-au-Prince, gifts to ELCA International Disaster Relief: Haiti Earthquake Relief are providing not only food and shelter for people whose homes were destroyed by the earthquake, but also spiritual and psychological care. Southwest of Port-au- Prince, these gifts helped sixty teachers come together to talk about how to comfort the children in their care. And in the port city of Jacmel, gifts like yours helped bring bedding and hygiene kits to more than ten thousand people. Your gift brings both help and hope for the future. Your generosity makes it possible for us to be there with our neighbors in Haiti for the long haul. Thank you. Together in Christ s service, The Rev. Daniel Rift, Director ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal P.S. I invite you to visit to learn more about how gifts like yours are helping our neighbors in needs. Wellness Tips By Saralea Holstrom May is designated as Mental Health Month. Mental illness affects the mind, body and the spirit. It is a common and treatable illness, far more common than cancer, diabetes, heart disease or arthritis. As well as adults, young people can have emotional and behavioral problems (often called disorders) that are very real but also treatable through professional help. Our faith community can be an important part of the recovery process through support, prayer, and by helping individuals and families feel part of a caring community as a source of hospitality, healing and hope. Our pastors, Jane Kahle, LCPC, or Advocate parish nurse, Saralea Holstrom RN FCN are available for assistance We celebrate and pray for God s blessings and love for: Karlee and Brian VanKley on the birth of Shelby Rosanne VanKley Julie and David Semyck and grandparents Susan and Gillum Ferguson on the birth of William Conrad Semyck We express our sympathy and lift up in love and care prayers for: Judy Swanson and family on the death of her mother, Elizabeth Johnson. John Wanska and family on the death of his father-in -law, Bill Hardwig. Carl Neumann and family on the death of wife and mother, Jill Neumann. Lisa Pearce and family on the death of her father, John Cherveny. Paul Vandegriff and family on the death of wife and mother, Judy Vandegriff. Carol Milke and family on the death of mother, Teresa Church. Monthly Connections Deadline Dates Articles for June are due on May 13, Articles for July are due on June 10, Articles for August are due on July 8,

8 Our Saviour's Evangelical Lutheran Church 815 S. Washington Street Naperville, IL Phone: (630) Fax: (630) Web site: Connections Volume 4, Issue 5 Worship Services Saturdays at 5:00 pm, Sundays at 8:00, 9:00, 10:10, and 11:15 am Main Campus, 815 S. Washington St., Naperville Sundays at 10:00 am and 6:00 pm Celebration! Campus, 919 S. Washington St., Naperville Pastors Tom Grevlos, Mark Borgetti, Joe Schultz, Janelle Hooper For Children Church School is available for 3 year olds through grade 5 at the Main Campus Saturdays at 5:00 pm, and Sundays at 9:00 and 10:10 am, and at Celebration! at 10:00 am. Our Saviour s Mission "Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known" Our Saviour s Vision EXPERIENCE Christ, CONNECT others to Christ, REFLECT Christ Our Saviour s Core Values Model Jesus, Teamwork, Speak the Truth in Love, Pursue Excellence, Live Abundantly and Generously, Practice Hospitality VISION Our Saviour s Five-Year Plan for Ministry and Mission Grow Participation in worship, faith formation for all ages, generosity, serving Strengthen our Missions through focus and resourcing Foster Learning for all ages, making disciples and growing in faith Enhance Facilities for supporting growth