Be Prayerful and Filled with Joy

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2

The days are growing longer with more daylight. What I have learned over the years is that the more daylight we have, the busier we seem to grow as we add more to our schedules. It is rather humorous because we still have the same number of hours in a day. 

The reason I mention this is to recognize that the school year is quickly coming closer to an end. Yet there are so many things to attend to in the course of a school week – field trips, track meets, musicals, fine arts fairs, spring testing, and the list could go on. I pray some of these activities will take place at your school. We have a history of reaching a certain point in the school year and realizing there are so many things “yet to be accomplished.”

Let me encourage you to pause, take a breath, and realize that it is all in God’s time and control. We are His workmanship with a ministry of teaching and encouraging the students who sit before us each day and the fellow staff members we are blessed to work with. “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Be glad in the busyness and the schedules. Rejoice in the projects and the activities to wrap up the year. It is the Lord’s Day and He will see you through. Today is a gift.

Be devoted in prayer as you need the energy to plan that final field trip or work at that last track meet for the school year. Be thankful for the blessing of work with God’s precious children. But … be watchful that the devil doesn’t sway your thankfulness into bitterness because there is so much to do and you are tired. Repent of any and every bitter thought! Jesus brings joy as a gift! He paid for our bitter thoughts and attitudes.

As Psalm 118:4 says, “Let us rejoice and be glad.” As we work together to accomplish all of the end of the year tasks, devote yourself to the positive side of getting to work with each and for each other in Christ.

As we place our faith and trust in God, we can all be thankful that God holds us in the palm of His hand and gives us what He knows is best for us. So, as we walk through changes in our lives, step back and know God’s plan is perfect. Stay in the Word. Take care of yourself to be Well. Use your words and life as a Witness. 

Serving the Master Teacher,

We Celebrate Schools Together

What a joy to have schools participating in activities together! Some of our NID schools are involved in a project called “Adopt a Pilot.” Earlier this spring, students from Immanuel, Elmhurst and Trinity, Tinley Park met at the airport for a day of learning. Through this program, Pilot Chad (11 years) and Pilot Amy (12 years) visit with students in their schools and then culminate with a great day at the airport. Oh, the things they learn! Thanks to the leadership of Katrina Kloess (Trinity, Tinley Park) and Sue Knitter (Immanuel, Elmhurst) these students get to experience a great learning opportunity.

Rostered Workers

All LCMS Rostered Workers are strongly encouraged to access their Commissioned Minister Information Form and review all of it. You may not have anything to change, but PLEASE look through it. You may access your CMIF here. If you do not remember your worker identification number, please contact me at lois.stewart@nidlcms.org or (708) 223-3110. It is important for all of us to have updated information available. Thanks for your help with this.

School Administrators

Planning has begun for the 2023-2024 conferences. Watch for details in your email box in the near future for registration.

Early Childhood Conference

On Saturday, May 13, 2023, many Early Childhood Directors and Lead Teachers gathered in the Oak Park/River Forest Room at CUC for a great day of learning. The Lutheran Education Association received an Endowment Grant from the Northern Illinois District. In collaboration, the “Spiritual Nurture in the Early Childhood Classroom” series is being developed from that generosity. The participants went through some of the training modules and will then train their staff. What a great opportunity for our Early Childhood Educators! Thank you to Cheryl Haun and Andrea Lohman for this training in the NID.

Hearts for Jesus

We are thankful for all of the schools that supported the Mercy House “Hearts for Jesus” project this year. If you have contributions to send in yet, please do so by June 15, 2023. You may mail those contributions to:

LCMS Northern Illinois District

1107 Monroe Ave.

River Forest, IL 60305

Attention: Lois Stewart

Hearts for Jesus 2023-2024

In your planning for the coming school year, please remember our focus to support the mission of the Belize Mission Society as they serve. Here is a little note that talks about the new project for 2023-2024. “Hearts for Jesus” will support the expansion of the feeding program to the school in Georgetown.

Principal Ramirez is so thankful for the opportunity to pilot a feeding program at Richard Quinn Elementary School in Georgetown. He shared these words:

This note is intended to officially convey our deep gratitude for supporting the pilot feeding program for our dear students. Student attendance has increased. We are grateful for this program since it guarantees that our pupils will always have food while they are learning. Additionally, we noticed that the beneficiaries are now forming a number of moral principles and are doing well in class as a result of their contentment. May God richly bless your entire team and thank you very much for your continuing assistance.

School Theme for 2023-2024

The theme for the 2023-2024 school year has been shared. It is based on John 15:1-5. Watch for more information such as Chapel Talks, Lutheran Schools Week Resources, etc.

Save the Date for Back-to-School Worship - August 9, 2023

Plan ahead for the 2023-2024 school year. All administrators are highly encouraged to put this date (August 9, 2023) on their 2023-2024 calendars so members of your faculty and staff have it. What a fantastic way to start the school year (worship, fellowship, and a lot of energy) together with fellow workers in the NID. We are excited to share that the host congregation will be St. Peter, Arlington Heights. We will be uplifted and energized by our keynote speaker Mychal Thom, the Chief Diversity Officer from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota. Watch for details in the future.

Educator Conference - October 6, 2023

Save the date of Friday, October 6, 2023 for the next NID Educator Conference. We are really looking forward to bringing educators together for a day of worship, learning, and fellowship. It has been a long time since we have gathered in conference. All NID teachers, administrators, and Parish Professionals will receive registration information in the future. We would also love to have pastors join us for the day. We are thankful to St. Peter Lutheran Church and School in Arlington Heights for welcoming the NID onto their campus for the day. Watch for a special email in August letting you know that registration is LIVE!!

Illinois State Administrator Conference

We are very excited to announce that the Illinois LCMS State Administrator’s Conference is being revived! Administrators from the three Districts will join together for a conference from July 17-18, 2023. It will be hosted here in the NID, and we are looking forward to welcoming fellow principals to this event. Please keep this in prayer as the planning continues.

TEC21

In TEC21 news this month!

Brent Dieckhoff, founder and executive director of TEC21, assures us that our Lutheran schools can continue to register here for Season 15 over the next few months. Register as soon as possible, however, to secure your seats as some cohorts will begin to reach capacity. If you don’t know which teachers you will send, register with your (principal) name. The 2023/2024 season begins September 2023 and workshop dates will be set in June.

There is much in the news today about advancements in technology and the dizzying speed of change. This raises questions and concerns among our Lutheran school teachers and parents. There is no better time to register your teachers for the TEC21 Workshop Program to equip them to answer these questions and we wholeheartedly encourage your participation. TEC21 meets all the benchmarks of effective teacher professional development and is firmly rooted in discipleship and principles of adult learning. 

We encourage you to reach out to Brent here to schedule a video or telephone call to get simple questions answered, explore funding, or learn more about how master teachers from our Lutheran school family approach the workshop sessions.

“Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens the other.” Proverbs 27:17

 Pictured above (left to right) are workshop facilitators Scott Akerson, Chelsea Speers, Brett  

 Meyer, Kelli Ongman, and Mark Hess as they prepare for another year to support their teachers.