Come to Nathan Perrin’s Ordination!
Caroline Steelberg
Illinois Mennonite Conference minister Cal Zehr will be on hand during our worship service on June 8 for a momentous duty: the ordination of Nathan Perrin, LMC’s Pastor of Christian Formation! Nathan has worked over many years—listening carefully to God’s voice—to discern and embrace his call to ministry and develop into a leader within the Mennonite Church.
In a recent conversation, Nathan shared his path toward ordination. He graduated from Barclay College with a double major in pastoral ministry and Bible, and two years of experience as a student chaplain. He began ministry at age 21. While at Barclay, he received the Rocky Mountain Yearly Meeting endowment, Merle Roe award for preaching, and the Jabari State Award in Kansas for leadership.
Nathan went on to pastor at the Valton Friends Church in Wisconsin. He attained his Master of Theology from Barclay, emphasizing Quaker studies. Drawn to Northern Seminary by Greg Boyd, he completed a certificate in Anabaptist studies. Nathan is currently working on his doctorate in Christian Community Development. He is the co-chair of Community Peacemaker Teams, serving on the board since 2019.
When asked what ordination means to him, Nathan responded that it will affirm his commitment to the Mennonite Church and the broader church. He believes ordination will provide him with a meaningful voice for social justice causes such as Palestine and incarcerated people.
While ordination is a serious occasion, it is also a time to celebrate! Please join LMC as we support and bless Nathan on this very special day. Following the service, we’ll join in community for cake and an ice cream sundae bar in the Fellowship Hall.
In This Issue
Phase 4 Project Approved at Congregational Meeting
Jeremy Kropf
If you were not able to attend the meeting on May 18, here’s the news. We passed the slate of candidates for leadership positions, and we approved the Phase 4 Renovation project. You can find the project summary here. For a printed copy, please contact the church office.
The Administration Commission will manage Phase 4. We’ll regularly update the congregation on progress and schedules through Vital Signs and the weekly LMC e-news. We are planning for this renovation to be completed by September 2026 (next year); we haven’t decided on all the details of the work. If you have questions or concerns, we are interested in discussing them with you.
A formal capital campaign will begin soon and our fundraising team will be in touch. However, we have enough funds on hand to complete the parking lot, so we’ll be working over the summer to line up a paving contractor for the fall. Our goal is to finish resurfacing the parking lot this year.
Maybe you have bid evaluation or project management experience or know someone who does. Please contact Jeremy Kropf to nominate them (or yourself) for the parking lot bid review and project team.
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Ministry
Nathan Perrin
During my sabbatical, I did a lot of reading on children’s development and a trauma-informed approach to children’s ministry. I chose these focuses as they are growth areas for me, emphases that I’ve realized my previous training at a Boys and Girls Club lacked.
As the Buffalo Center for Social Research puts it, “Trauma-informed care understands and considers the pervasive nature of trauma and promotes environments of healing and recovery rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize.” To apply it in concrete terms to a children’s ministry setting, when a child acts out, we shift the paradigm from asking “What is wrong with you?” to “What has happened to you?”
Understanding the root causes of behavior in children—that acting out may just be a result of trauma or developmental issues—helps us problem-solve the situation in ways that aid healing. For example, utilizing grounding techniques to help talk children down from panic attacks, or allowing space for their emotions so that students feel heard and safe.
A conversation with a dear friend who is married to an alcoholic underscored to me the importance of trauma-informed care. Her children go to Alateen, a 12-step support group for teenagers of alcoholics. Without that trauma-informed approach with her own teenagers, she shared that she didn’t know what she would do. I believe the church can learn a lot from programs like Alateen.
My frequent prayer for LMC’s youth is that the church remains a safe, warm place for them to grow. I think applying the principles of trauma-informed care is one of many ways this can happen.
Catch the Wave at VBS
Katharine Richert
Waves of Wonder will reach our LMC shores in July! July 21-25 from 9:30-11:30am to be exact, as we host an exciting week of Vacation Bible School. You can skip the lines and register now; the cost is $8 per child. Please invite your friends and neighbors, as well.
Children—ages 3 through entering 5th grade—will celebrate God’s creation and the role of water in it. We’ll discover the significance of water in the Bible, explore its importance in the lives of every creature on earth (including us!), and learn how to make responsible decisions about water and caring for creation.
Each day starts with Catch the Wave, a large group worship time that includes Bible skits. Then children will rotate between Bible Beach (Bible activities and the all-important snack), Creators Coast (art and science activities), and Seaside Games (active games outside).
Our curriculum from Shine/MennoMedia is full of great ideas, such as newspaper bead necklaces, using shaving cream and food coloring to illustrate storms, seeing how many pennies tinfoil boats will hold, etc.
With multiple ideas for each day and clear instructions, volunteers may love the curriculum even more than the kids. Look for emails soon from Pastor Nathan and Elise E. with ways you might plug in. For those unavailable during the weekday hours, we also need advance and behind the scenes help.
Catch a wave of wonder at LMC with VBS!
Thank You, Jamie and Rebecca!
Kelly Wilson
Jamie and Rebecca H. are completing their four year joint term of service as lay ministers of mission in June. For all of us in the Mission Commission, it has been a joy to serve under their leadership. Their tenure has been characterized by creativity, generosity, organization, hospitality, diligence, and fun (anyone remember their matching outfit matching grant announcement?).
Most of all, Rebecca and Jamie have demonstrated attentiveness to the needs of our neighbors, the energies of LMCers, and the movement of the Holy Spirit, seeking to mobilize all LMCers in God’s missional work near and far. In a Sunday school series, they led us to identify how LMCers have been active in mission in a variety of spheres and discern congregational priorities for future engagement. They shepherded ongoing and new relationships with friends of LMC, helping the whole congregation to connect with and learn from our neighbors.
Jamie and Rebecca were always open to new ideas and quick to respond to emergent needs. The Advent Giving Projects from the past two years especially highlight their responsiveness to immigrant justice and Palestinian liberation and their approach to mission as holistic and relational. We are so grateful for their service to the church!
Thank You to Cynthia, Eric, Laura, and Néstor!
Kristen Burk & Barbara Krehbiel Gehring
Cynthia K. is a treasure to our congregation. For those who have gotten to know her, we experience the gifts of wisdom, intentionality, and profound care. For these reasons and more, she has been an asset to our Pastoral Care Team (PCT) over the past several years. We have been thankful for Cynthia’s meaningful contributions in both discussion and action as the team strives to embody Christ’s hands and feet at a practical level.
While her time on the team has come to an end, LMC will continue to be blessed by Cynthia’s care and commitment to the life and work of our church. Thank you, Cynthia!
Eric L. brought to PCT both a caring heart and a professional background that enabled him to offer knowledge and resources helpful in this work. His quiet attentiveness and willingness to engage with LMC in a variety of ways resulted in valuable insights.
Eric thoughtfully wrote cards and offered prayers for many in times of need or to mark special times in their lives. We appreciate his kind and generous heart. We will miss all this as Eric leaves PCT at this time, but we look forward to his continued participation at LMC. Thank you, Eric!
Laura L.’s heart is welcoming and expansive. In her time on Pastoral Care Team, we have been so amazed and inspired by the intentionality with which she serves others. Laura has a way of connecting with just about everyone, and has an incredible memory for details and for following up on items that need attention. Our team was especially grateful for the way she oversaw the student care package project this year.
Although we will miss Laura’s thoughtful contributions in meetings, we are thankful for the many meaningful relationships and connections she will continue to invest herself in at LMC. Thank you, Laura!
Néstor has been a faithful part of the Pastoral Care Team, taking minutes each month to help us stay organized. His gentle compassion and long-standing relationships at LMC have made him a pleasure to work with and a valuable source of wisdom. Néstor is easy to talk to and interested in people. His kind and easygoing nature made him an asset to the team, and will continue to be a gift to LMC.
We’ll miss Néstor in PCT but look forward to his continued engagement in the congregation. Thank you, Néstor!
New and Returning LMC Leaders
Two-year terms begin on July 1, 2025
- Administrative Co-Chair: Jeremy Kropf
- Lay Minister of Mission: Katrina Baugh
- Administration Commission Members-at-Large: Jeremy Burk, Jeff Yoder
- Pastor Congregation Relations Committee Member: Ken G Kabira
- Pastoral Care Team: Rebecca Huff, Elliot Johnson, Doug Kimball