Lord of Life Lutheran Church 847-895-8877 Fax: 847-895-1339 Website: www.lord-of-life.org APRIL 2015 Email: LOLoffice@lord-of-life.org SPRING CLEAN-UP DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 25 TIME: 8 A.M. UNTIL? LOL HAPPENINGS HOLY WEEK and EASTER SUNDAY Come when you can Stay as long as you can Help where you can April 2, Maundy Thursday Holy Communion 7:00 pm L O R D O F L I F E L U T H E R A N C H U R C H LIFELINES Lunch will be served. Please call the church office or sign up in the narthex. This is helpful when figuring how many will be here for lunch. THANK YOU for your participation Rain Date: May 2 THOSE WHO MOURN The members and friends of Lord of Life offer prayers and condolences to: Elaine Janssen on the death of her friends, Betty McGath, Jack Bavaro, and Dr. Larry Corolla. The Chen and Luthardt family on the death of Dean Chen. Susan Dennis and family on the death of Susan s father, Gerry Dennis. Ken and Barb Olson on the death of their friend, Shirley Lewis. The Coltrin family and many friends on the death of Larry Coltrin. May the memory of our departed loved one always be a blessing. April 3, Good Friday Worship Service 7:00 pm April 5, Easter Sunday Holy Communion 8:00 & 9:30 am Saturday, April 25 LOL spring clean-up day 8:00 am-? Saturday, May 2 LOL spring clean-up day rain date 8:00 am-? Sunday, May 2 New Grand Piano Concert & Luncheon 11:00 am Sunday, June 7 Annual Meeting Please mark your calendar New Grand Piano Celebration Sunday, May 3, 2015 11:00 a.m. Concert & Luncheon Watch the bulletin for more information to come! 9:00 am
Page 2 UNTIL ALL ARE FED For more than 20 years, Lord of Life has faithfully contributed to ELCA World Hunger. Your donations to ELCA World Hunger support training and education, advocacy, and projects around the world focused on food, water, housing, health care, and debt relief addressing the problem of hunger from all angles. In the April 12 & April 19 Lord of Life bulletin you will find a special ELCA World Hunger offering envelope. As you consider your gift, remember the many ways in which God has blessed you, and pray that you may be a blessing to others. Please make checks payable to Lord of Life, and feel free to return your envelope at any time in the coming weeks. THANK YOU! Book Discussion News The following books have been selected for discussion in April and May, 2015: As you consider your gift, remember the many ways in which God has blessed you, and pray that you may be a blessing to others. April 13 th - Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford Henry Lee comes upon a crowd outside the Panama Hotel, once the pathway to Seattle s Japantown. The new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. Set during one of the most conflicted times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. May 11 th Still Alice Lisa Genova Dr. Alice Howland, professor on linguistics, learns that she is suffering from early onset Alzheimer s disease. Alice begins to try memorizing random words that she writes and then hides on a blackboard, as well as setting up important personal questions on her phone that she tasks herself with answering every morning. At the end is a message telling her to go to a video she recorded which instructs her future self to commit suicide via sleeping pill overdose should she be unable to answer the questions. After having a video chat with her daughter, she tries to open a file her daughter sent her, but opens the file addressed to herself. She willingly complies with its instructions, but her door is suddenly opened by her caretaker. Her daughter moves from her home to care for her worsening mother. Lydia reads Alice a section of the play Angels in America, and upon being questioned about its meaning, Alice, now barely able to form words, manages to speak one: love. The Book Discussion group meets the 2 nd Monday of each month (September-May) from 1:00-2:00 p.m. in the adult library area. New participant are always welcome. For more information call Ruth Ann Pickard.
Page 3 Green Team Message PRAY FIRST, THEN PLANT A TREE! Earth Day is April 22. It has been observed for 45 years now! Why not take a moment to pray for the earth, God s perfect environment for us. Lord, grant us the wisdom to care for the earth and till it. Help us to act now for the good of future generations and all your creatures. Help us to become instruments of a new creation, founded on the covenant of your love. Amen. We are God s hands and feet on the earth; we are to use them to do God s will. What do you think about the second line of the prayer? It spurs me on. It reminds me that the earth is not here just for me and my contemporaries; it is meant to last as home to mankind and all the creatures as long as they exist. I have no doubt that God is capable of anything, but God has also equipped us with brains and talent to solve problems. We are God s hands and feet on the earth; we are to use them to do God s will. Don t you think maybe it s up to us to take charge of cleaning up our air, our water, our messes of the past? The latest consensus from scientists is that if our planet warms up more than 2 degrees Celsius, we will be looking at a very different world. Humans may be able to adapt, but wildlife will not have enough time to evolve. At Lord of Life, we are trying to change things for the better. Our parking lot lights are now energy-saving LEDs, and the fluorescent lights in both the church and the Annex have been changed to more efficient fixtures. We have a windows committee working on finding new windows for the church so that our heating and air conditioning costs will drop. I am proud that we are being proactive, working to reduce our energy use, and hence, our carbon emissions. Have you personally begun to respond? Here are some things you can do: Turn things off! If you re not currently using your computer, your TV, that light, stop drawing electricity for it. Reduce your junk mail. Producing, delivering and disposing of junk mail creates more greenhouse gas emissions than 2.8 million cars. Search online for companies that will remove your name from lists. Update to more energy-efficient appliances, light bulbs, and windows. Install a programmable thermostat and take advantage of it. Turn the heat/ac down at night and when you re gone. Cut back gas consumption by combining trips, carpooling or walking or bicycling. Switch to a hybrid or all electric vehicle. Telecommute if possible. Think about whether you need to make a trip. Print on both sides of the paper. Clean your plate. One-quarter of all the food prepared annually in the U.S. gets thrown away, producing methane gas in landfills, and transporting wasted food results in more carbon emissions. Plant a tree! Trees absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. As always, reduce, reuse, recycle. HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Page 4 CONGREGATION COUNCIL MINUTES Thursday, February 26, 2015 Congregation Council Minutes Council Members Present: Pastor Linda Covey, Don Smith, Linda Walser, Jim Dobson, Paul Scanlan, Bill Lundeberg and Cathy Thoma. Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. Linda Walser led us in devotions. COUNCIL MINUTES from January 22, 2015: Discussed and approved as read. SPECIAL FIANCIAL REPORT BY DEL NEEL. Del gave us reports on the overall financial health of Lord of Life: Endowment Fund: Report showed Overall Total and details concerning the gifts given. It was suggested that the gifts given should be in the church bulletin or newsletter. Budgets Need a timeline to distribute budget sheets to all committees in preparation for the Congregational Meeting financial report. Contribution Analysis 200 giving units and worksheet on analysis Projects Cost Summary Lord of Life major expense analysis covering projects from May 2011 to February 2015. Financial Summary Would like to create a vision team to brainstorm and prioritize projects for the church. LOL Connections: Chili supper was successful. Several problems were solved over previous years. Building upkeep: Window committee has a meeting on March 5 th to determine the type of windows for the upstairs. NEW BUSINESS Christian Ed committee When is next meeting? Nothing currently scheduled. Breaking up into groups appears to be working well. Committee reports received Need to make sure all members are receiving reports. Jim motioned to receive, Paul seconded, motion passed. TOPS discussion on group that is meeting at our church. Areas of concern: -No Lord of Life member in group -Safety concerns using lift -Stewardship of our space -Lack of contribution -No form has ever been filled out -Request they look for another location to meet Jeff made a motion to request that they look for another location with one month notice. Bill seconded. Motion pass. -Pastor will talk with group. PASTOR S REPORT Stewardship: Theme this year is What we can accomplish when we come together. Pastor will be talking to the congregation concerning their giving and asking those that can, increase their pledge. Letter to go out with Pledge Card on April 6 th. Pledge Sunday will be April 19 th. We will be having several church members speaking on What does giving to Lord of Life mean to you? Women s Retreat March 21 st 9:00 to 4:00. OLD BUSINESS Meeting Ended with the Lord s Prayer Next meeting: March 26, 2015 Snacks: Pr. Linda Devotions: Don Respectfully submitted, Cathy Thoma Substitute Secretary
Lord of Life Lutheran Church 119 West Wise Road Schaumburg, IL 60193 DATED MATERIAL: PLEASE DELIVER PROMPTLY Know, Grow, Serve, Share Lord of Life is a community of faith that is warm and welcoming. We strive to KNOW Christ by honoring traditional forms of worship as well as being open to innovations. We continue to GROW in Christ to a closer relationship with our Lord through learning and study. We SERVE Christ in the work of ministry by volunteering our time, energy and faith to church services and social programs. We SHARE Christ in mission and outreach within our church and community by supporting those who need our assistance and relief.