The monthly newsletter of Faith Lutheran Church

April 2013

The Renewal Team has been hard at work. If you've been able to be in worship in March you have heard in the sermons of the progress thus far. You have heard that we have been in the process of interviewing community leaders. Some of those interviewed are the Village president, the police and fire chiefs, local grammar and high school principals and vice principals, leaders from some of the service organizations and clubs. We will be meeting to compile those responses in the next weeks.

That brings us to the part where we now need the congregation's input again. The first three Sundays in April will include time for us to hear directly from you. There will be a series of three questions each week. Each week will focus on one of the following: the "Wows" or Passions of the congregation, the Assets of the congregation, and the Needs of the congregation. It is imperative that we have as much participation from you, the members, as possible.

Please make every effort to be part of these discussions during or immediately after worship. We will provide the questions one week ahead of time so that you have some time to think about your answers.

Following the collection of all this information, the Renewal Team will meet to compile it. Then there will be another Saturday morning event, probably in May. At that event, Pastor Daubert will walk us through putting the gathered information into a guiding purpose and plan for the congregation. More information about that event will be coming in Announcements and the Voice of Faith. Please keep your eyes and ears open for that.

As always, we covet your prayers for the Renewal Team, the Congregation, the process itself and most importantly God's presence and guidance!

Have this mind among yourselves,which is yours in Christ Jesus, who,

though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing tobe grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant ...

(Philippians 2:5-7; RSV).

During the winter before I formally entered my driver education class, my father decided to do a little preliminary driving instruction of his own. He told me that if I were going to live in Chicago, before I got my license I needed to learn some things about driving in ice and snow. So, after a bit of practice in ordinary conditions, he took me to a large open parking lot on a very snowy night, after the stores had all closed,and told me to drive around the lot.

Suddenly he shouted, "Step on the brake," which I did, sending the back end of the car spinning out to my right. Instinctively, I turned the wheel to the left to steer out of the skid-which, of course, sent the car into a pinwheel spin. After my heart rate slowed back down to normal, my father began to teach me the necessity of getting on top of my anxiety in this situation, to move counterintuitively, and to steer into the skid rather than out of it. I have not only remembered this advice, but can also think of several occasions when it has literally saved my life.

We live and serve in a time when the focus of anxiety in many of our congregations and ministries is the fear of emptiness. Our pews are no longer as full as they once were. Our Sunday school classrooms are way too empty. Our offering plates aren't full enough either, and more and more of our offering envelopes are left empty because ... well, because our pockets and bank accounts are empty too. And as I travel from congregation to congregation the conversation quite naturally turns to thinking about how to fill everything up again. "How, Bishop, shall we steer ourselves out of this pinwheel tailspin we are in?"

It so rarely occurs to us that the Jesus who emptied himself for the sake of the world might just be calling us to steer into the skid instead of trying to steer out of it. Perhaps, instead of grinding endlessly on strategies for filling ourselves, we are being asked to resist our anxiety by remembering who we are and whose we are. Maybe we are asked to have the mind of a church where synods empty themselves in service to a congregational leadership culture that is emptying itself in service to the priesthood of all believers. These believers are thinking and living every day with a mind to pour themselves out as a libation for the mission to call the whole creation into a closer relationship with God through the love of Jesus by the

power of the cross. And we do this self-emptying not so much because we have less

anxiety than everyone else, and not necessarily because we love the emptiness, but rather because living with this mind among ourselves is our way of following Jesus into the

hope of things as yet unseen. And this hope will not disappoint us.

The Christian Ed Team enjoyed presenting Faith's first Cross-Generational Sunday School, February 17 and 24. The two Sundays were filled with fun learning opportunities and activities. We are looking forward to planning another series soon!

Our Sunday School children will begin a six-week unit on April 7 - "Peter, Feed My Sheep." The children will learn about how the Christian church grew and what was important in those early days of the church. This series will run from April 7 - May 5, and May 5 will be the last day of Sunday School for this year.

Our monthly Table Talk Bible study will take place on Sunday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m. at The Grand Tavern, 3733 Grand Boulevard, Brookfield. 

ELCA Global Mission

Fighting malaria with honey

There is a lot of misinformation about malaria treatment and prevention in southern Africa - particularly about the mosquito nets many organizations provide to people in areas afflicted by the disease. Some people fear that once you're sleeping under that net, it's like you're in a coffin -- you're literally dead. Others believe children cannot be conceived under a mosquito net. Still others are distrustful of the health practitioners who take blood to determine whether people are infected, believing the practice to be linked to satanic rituals. And then there are those who find their mosquito nets to be more useful as fishing nets or covers for their crops or, in the case of one woman, a wedding veil.

The ELCA Malaria Campaign - an initiative rolled out by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2011- is helping the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa create new programs in Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These programs are meant to change the way people think about malaria prevention by reshaping culture altogether. In order to fight malaria, it's essential to fight poverty.

In northwestern Zambia, for example, people are engaged in beekeeping but often aren't connected to the marketplace to make money from their harvest. The program has introduced a value chain component and linked beekeepers with the right people in the private sector. They have been introduced to improved ways of keeping the bees, better bee hives and improved harvesting of honey. A similar program in Mozambique is connecting sugarcane farmers with ways to improve harvest and link up with manufacturers who can use the sugarcane in their products.

The idea is that as people are able to make a sustainable living for themselves, they will use their money to not only provide a safer, healthier lifestyle for themselves but also to contribute to improving the community. And perhaps with an improved quality of life, people will have more time to focus on learning more about and actively trying to prevent malaria.

Click here to see our current calendar.

Memorials 

Given by:                               In Celebration of:
 

The Cannizzo Family                  Faustino Giron

Carol Dumas                             Faustino Giron 

We all need prayers. Please take a moment to speak with our prayer ministers after Sunday worship. Sean Nonn is available after the 8:30 service and Fran Blumhagen or Karen Lindberg serve the 10:30 service. Whether you share a joy or concern, for yourself or a loved one, the prayer ministers are here to pray for you or with you. We also have prayer slips available in the pews which you can place in the offering basket.  You can also submit your prayer at our website and by clicking here .  

Hitzeman Funeral Home

FREE FUNERAL PLANNING SEMINARS

In conjunction with Lyons Township Adult & Community Education, Hitzeman Funeral Home, Ltd., Brookfield, IL is proud to assist our community and their loved ones to learn about Funeral Planning. FREE seminars are being held at Lyons Township South High School (LTHS), Wednesday Evenings during the month of April, 2013.  You may sign up for the entire series or the one that is most important to you.

Chuck Hitzeman is a licensed funeral director & insurance broker, and he will guide you through each seminar with ease.

The Benefit of Pre-Planning - #80051

Wednesday April 10, 2013 7:00 -8:30 p.m.

South Campus Room B111 

How to Pre-Fund your Funeral - #80052

Wednesday April 17, 2013 7:00 -8:30 p.m.

South Campus Room B111 

Veteran Burial Benefits - #80053

Wednesday April 24, 2013 7:00 -8:30 p.m.

South Campus Room B111

Each lecture will take between 30 - 40 minutes with the remaining time open for a question and answer session.  Be sure to bring a family member or a friend and learn together. For further information; visit http://www.hitzemanfuneral.com/seminars 

To register online go to www.lths.net, click on the "lths web store" and then on the "adult education" or call 708-579-6573.

Whether or not we have served your family in the past, this is a great way to learn about your options when it comes to Funeral Planning without obligation.

We will be honored to have you join us and we look forward to seeing you soon.