A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Illinois |
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From the Pastor's Desk . . . |
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Friends in Christ,
During the pandemic it has been hard to have activities at the church. We moved things online, we were able to have the Cookie Walk before we were hit with another surge. Things take extra time and planning now, and patterns changed over the past two years.
Worship has been consistent. The ways we worship adapt: online, communion is different, sharing the peace changed… Worship in itself continued and we never missed a week of reading the Word, hearing a message, listening to or singing hymns, prays lifted up, and connecting with God. We are now entering our third year of the pandemic, which means we are entering year three of the lectionary cycle, the bible readings during worship. Each year the Gospel readings focus on one book of the bible. This year we are reading through the Gospel of Luke. I mentioned in a sermon a few weeks ago that Luke is a Gospel with a different kind of agenda than Mark and Matthew. They are trying to point communities to understand that Jesus is the messiah. They want to share the miracles and conversation stories to share a point, that Jesus is God dwelling on Earth. Luke is not so concerned about making sure that the communities understand that Jesus is Emmanual, Luke wants the readers to understand why God needed to come to Earth as Jesus. Not just that it happened, but why it happened.
Luke is a social justice Gospel. In Luke Jesus says he came to proclaim “the gospel to the poor,” which includes liberty for captives and healing for the hurting (Luke 4:16–21). To read more about Luke and social justice, read Deacon Paul Carlson’s reflection here: Luke, the Gospel of Social Justice
As we work through Luke this year, we will connect the ways that the pandemic peeled back the veneer of our society that hid many injustices and how the gospel calls us to respond to the injustice we are now being confronted with.
Social Justice is at the heart of the Bible and it is Luke’s core. Christian history is full of social justice champions like Francis of Assisi, William Wilberforce, Hannah More, Walter Rauschenbusch, Sam Shoemaker, Albert Schweitzer, the slum priests of England, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Dom Helder Camara, Mother Teresa, Abbé Pierre, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Social justice is at the heart of Christianity, and our world is better when we embrace it.
Peace,
Pastor Meagan
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You may also mail your donation and/or your pledge form to:
Acacia Park Lutheran Church
4307 N Oriole Avenue
Norridge, IL 60706
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Acacia Park Announcements |
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Booster Shots
The CDC approved booster shot vaccines for all people ages 12 and older. Please get your booster shot to protect you from Omicron. They are available as a walk-in at all Walgreens and CVS, or call your doctor and schedule an appointment to get the booster.
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Annual Meeting
On March 6, 2022 immediately following worship we will have the Annual Congregational Meetings. Three items are on the agenda:
- Vote on the 2022 budget
- Vote on new council members for the 2022-2023 council
- Vote on Pastor Meagan’s contract for 2022-2024
The plan is to have the meeting in person. Updates will be given if the plan needs to change.
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A Thank You to the ELCA
During the month of January the council is making a special focus on saying thank you to the ELCA for all the ways they have been supporting us during the pandemic. We were able to obtain close to $30,000 in PPP loans which were forgiven, and the synod gave us an additional $5,000 grant when remote worship continued on longer than we all anticipated. Worship outlines and materials were developed for congregations to use for worship. The ELCA is supporting those communities that are experiencing natural disasters on top of the pandemic through their disaster response ministries. Missionaries were sent back out around the world to care for the least of these in countries without the kind of access to vaccines and medical care that we have access to here in the US. Bellow are some links for you to use to make a special donation to a special ministry of the ELCA.
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Council Positions
Hi everyone,
Our council membership is coming up for renewal and we are in need of a council secretary as well as council members in general. The secretary would take notes on our meetings, just touching on the highlights of the meeting as well as any council voting items. We are additionally looking for new council members that are interested in helping us think of different ways to do social outreach, ways to get our word out to new people and to help guide our church on an ever embracing course. If you are interested in joining our council you need to be an active member. We would LOVE to include you, please contact Karen Lanners at karen.lanners@yahoo.com (preferred) or (773) 439-9893 (cell). I hope to hear from you!
Karen Lanners, Council President
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The Forgotten Luther III
Looking for a new book to read? Here's what ELCA recommends:
The Forgotten Luther III: Reclaiming a Vision of Global Community invites congregations to consider the new shape of global mission in today's world, with essays by leading scholars, advocated and ministry leaders from around the world. This third book in the "Forgotten Luther: series examines the global implications of Luther's reforms and the theology that shaped them. The essays are informed by the ways churches in the global community address systemic causes of hunger, poverty and injustice, and they invite congregations and study groups to consider where God is calling us to be at this critical time in history.
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Prayer Requests
Please keep the following people in your prayers . . .
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Len & Karen Batson
Bonnie Cousins
The family of Charles Dupree
Katie Dupree
Linda Engler
Marion Engler
Frank Gondela
Ruth Igoe
David & Ann Jones
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Nancy & Bob Komada
Helen Lanners
Bruce Leckie
The family of Akina Lowery
Elsie Michelsen
Everly Ramirez
Erv Siemers
Sondra Wince
Oleg Kishka
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. . . and essential workers, health care workers, police officers, correctional officers, and the more than 800,000 Americans lost to Covid-19. |
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Please call the office to add someone to the prayer list or to request a visit from Pastor Meagan. |
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4307 N Oriole Avenue, Norridge, IL 60706
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Church office hours: Weekly Thursdays from 11:00 AM - 3:30 PM (or other dates as indicated in the weekly bulletin) |
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