When You’re Too Busy
Barbara Krehbiel Gehring
When you’re too busy for that new thing that you’d really like to do, do it weekly. That’s advice I’ve offered on many occasions. Certainly, sometimes we need to say no, even to good things. I appreciate a quick, clear no, knowing that a yes from that same person in the future will be a heartfelt yes. But what about those things we feel drawn to but can’t quite figure out how to fit in our lives? The temptation is to say, “I’ll try to do it once a month.” Usually, though, once-a-month things are the ones that fall by the wayside.
As the school year begins, we have lots of opportunities vying for our commitment. We can do theater, sports, PTA, or take a class. We can nurture personal relation-ships or build community with any number of groups. So, perhaps this is also a time to consider where church fits into all this. Because if we don’t intentionally put it in the mix, we may unintentionally find ourselves meaning to do a church thing once a month and…
A few weeks ago we included an insert in the bulletin about ways to plug in at LMC. The truth is that the pandemic left many of us feeling unconnected. It can be hard to know how to best plug in again. It is tempting to wait for the outlet to find you, but in truth, you may need to find the outlet. For a glimpse at some opportunities, click here.
Also In This Issue
- Pledge to Support LMC’s Mission in 2025
- Fresh Look to Website
- Sabbatical Time of Reflection
- Church Retreat A Big Success
- Grant a Game Changer for Radical Hospitality
- MYF Dive Into the Bible
Pledge to Support LMC’s Mission in 2025
Eric Nelessen
Hi, friends. It’s everyone’s favorite time of year: budget planning! The Administration Commission has started working on the 2025 budget and we have a request that would make the process much more accurate. Would you please prayerfully consider submitting a pledge for what you are able to give during 2025? This will help us tremendously in crafting a spending plan that will fund our missions, Christian Formation needs, enhance our worship, support our pastors and staff, and maintain our facilities throughout 2025.
You can be absolutely confident that your contribution will help support LMC’s mission to be A worshipping community rooted in God’s love, following Jesus, seeking peace and justice, and serving others.
There are several ways to submit a pledge:
- Online here.
- By mailing a pledge form to the church office, Attn: Katharine Richert, or by placing it in her church mailbox. Forms are available in the narthex or I can email one to you! Just drop me a line.
- By sending a confidential email to Katharine at [email protected]. Thank you!
Fresh Look to Website
You may notice this website looks completely different than before. We have just finished a complete rebuild. Our new site supports up-to-date web development standards, is ADA compliant and mobile friendly, and offers some new features that the old site did not. Thanks to Kristin C. and CJ Y. for developing the new website!
Time of Reflection
Nathan Perrin
It’s a little surreal that my sabbatical is just around the corner. I’m excited to see what God has in store for me. And I’m deeply grateful that LMC is the type of congregation that wants this for their pastors.
This sabbatical provides me with an opportunity to reflect on where God is taking me as I journey alongside our church. I’ve fallen in love both with our church and neighborhood; I see Lombard and the greater Chicago area as somewhere I want to live long-term. I’m excited about the visioning and insights I’ll gain in this resting and reflection period. As always, I’ll be keeping everyone in my prayers—and I look forward to seeing you when I return.
Message from Leadership
During Pastor Nathan’s time away he will focus on learning about early childhood education and on further developing his knowledge about Mennonite theology and culture through coursework and interviews. While Nathan is on sabbatical, pastors Richard and Barb Krehbiel Gehring will provide coverage for ministerial concerns. Elise Ewert, LMC’s lay minister of Christian Formation, will be the point person for matters related to Christian Formation and Sunday school classes. Reach them by email or by calling the LMC office at (630) 627-5310.
Church Retreat A Big Success
Jill Yordy Stasch
The church retreat was a huge success, complete with rock climbing wall, hayrides, boating, and games.
It’s not a weekend at Menno Haven if you don’t spend an evening clustered around a roaring campfire while singing beautiful hymns and snacking on s’mores. This year, a generous benefactor provided awesome light sabers to all the kids. This person has a hobby of rebuilding them; can you guess who it is?
We had a great church service with more beautiful music and a much-loved skit by the pastors. Someone snuck out before it started to get homemade pies from Myrtle’s Pies in Princeton, bringing back pie orders for everyone who got wind of the plan.
Thanks to all who participated and made this weekend so much fun.
Matching Grant a Game Changer for Radical Hospitality
Katrina Baugh
It’s a big season for the Radical Hospitality Team! We can’t thank you all enough for your support as we continue laying a solid foundation to do this housing ministry for formerly incarcerated persons for years to come.
James and I have been asking for prayers as we recently submitted a major grant application that would allow us to move forward with purchasing the Radical Hospitality House and expanding our ministry to welcome more folks. As this is the third year in a row that we have been blessed with the church’s support through the matching grant, we were able to point to this funding as evidence of ongoing community support and a solid reason that we should receive a major capital investment.
Beyond funding our ongoing service provision and support of formerly incarcerated folks, the matching grant has become foundational to the reason we’re going to be able to establish ourselves permanently and expand our ministry in this community. We are truly overwhelmed with gratitude!
At this time, we’re also going through a process of official licensing by the city of Wheaton. We’ve temporarily paused intake while this is being settled, and we hope that we’ll be ready to welcome new residents next month. This is a season of laying the necessary groundwork for us to be successful and well-established in this ministry moving forward; we are so grateful for such a supportive community to walk alongside us as we do.
MYF Dive Into the Bible
Adrien Keables Hayward
The MYF (our high school youth group) has an exciting year ahead! During the Sunday school time this fall, the MYF will be focusing on the Bible. The youth recently got a chance to compare different Bible styles and translations, discuss the challenges of translation, and consider how scripture is used at LMC. In the coming weeks, the youth will explore different ways of engaging with scripture, including lectio divina, Bible journaling, music and poetry, and Bible study.
In the spring semester, we will focus on Mennonite faith and baptism. This will give our youth an opportunity to more fully explore a Christian identity in a Mennonite and peacebuilding context.
Our activities started off with a splash with an end-of-summer trip to Centennial Beach in Naperville. We recently reached new heights with a high ropes course at GoApe Treetop Adventures. Upcoming events include a trip to Abby Farms Corn Maze (joint activity with the Venture Club), a work weekend at Camp Menno Haven, the annual lock in, the high school winter retreat, and hopefully ice skating in downtown Chicago.
This summer, the MYF will attend the Mennonite Church USA convention for the first time since 2019! Please keep the youth in your prayers as they navigate busy lives and the pressures of being a teenager.