NID School Newsletter

Filled with living hope in Christ,

Confessing, Praising, and

Advancing His Kingdom.

School Newsletter: April 2, 2020

Jesus Remains the Same

‘ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ Hebrews 13:8 NIV

We serve a great God! In the midst of the fluidity in our world, I focus on the knowledge and reassurance that God holds us all in the palm of His hand. He is our Protector so let us place all hope and trust in Him each and every day (whether we face a pandemic or the cares and duties of the day to day).

I think about congregations that are holding worship in a new way and schools that are educating in a new way. Thinking ‘out of the box’ in sharing the love of Jesus is all around us as we hold fast to our doctrinal beliefs. Children are learning in a way I never thought I would see. Guess what? They are learning and growing in great ways. It is great to see principals starting the day with their whole school in devotions and worship via livestreaming and teachers holding live classroom instruction in a new way.

We are stronger together. Jesus is the same and will not change, even in this time of crisis. He is our strength, encouragement, and peace. We rest in Him. I give thanks to pastors, principals, teachers, and staffs that are staying focused on the main things in their ministries. I give thanks for volunteers who continue to offer their help as they are able. I give thanks for so many people throughout the NID and other areas that continue to be prayer warriors. To God be the glory as we stay in this together and will be blessed for our faithfulness.

Serving the Master Teacher,

Lois Stewart

Be Encouraged

I want to give a shout out to all of our schools who are doing a super job of ‘school in a new way’. I enjoy seeing the stories and sharing. Keep it up. We serve a big God and He will see us through.

On Tuesday, March 31, Governor Pritzker extended the closure of schools until the end of April. The instruction with the students is referred to as ‘remote learning days’ and all schools are to have a ‘remote learning plan’ that is being developed. From my conversations with many NID administrators, this has been going on for two weeks. Continue to develop the plan and best ways to reach and instruct your students. Focus on being slow and steady with them as work gets assigned. Please remember that families are doing their best to assist children with their lessons. Be encouraged to talk with other teachers that have children in the same family. How can you work together to accomplish instruction and keep the stress on the family at a minimum?

Continue to be energetic, creative, and a faith witness to the children and their families.

Be encouraged to visit www.nidlcms.org , www.concordiaplans.org , and www.isbe.net on a regular basis for updates.

Northern Illinois District Responds to Coronavirus

As the world responds to the coronavirus pandemic, our Northern Illinois District continues to support its schools, churches, and organizations in carrying out the mission of Christ.

Resources for churches, schools, church workers

Inquiries regarding legislative information on the CARES Act, as applicable to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, should be directed to Concordia Plan Services’ website at concordiaplans.org . They have been given the directive for the interpretation of this act as applicable for LCMS.

A Message from Vanda Toner (LCEF)

“If your ministry is facing serious financial impact from the COVID-19 crisis, please feel free to contact me so we can discuss possible options. I will do everything I can to work with you on developing a plan of action that makes sense for your ministry and LCEF. You can contact me through email at vanda.toner@lcef.org or on my cell phone at 224-423-1867.

WOW Weekends

Brighten the day! If your church, school, or members, are doing something special during this time, take a photo and share. Then tag us and we will share on weekends! Be The Church

Facebook

NLSA Cumulative Annual Reports and NLSA District Accreditation Fees

All Cumulative Annual Reports and annual NLSA District accreditation fees are due April 15, 2020. E-mail your reports to Keith Wilharm at Keith.Wilharm@nidlcms. Send your $125 annual fees to:

Keith Wilharm

207 N. Walnut St.

Elmhurst, IL 60126

Make checks payable to “LCMS Northern Illinois District.” An invoice for the District fee is attached.

NLSA Invoice

Empower Illinois and Bobby Sylvester

“I am happy to let you know that the state of Illinois has waived the testing for the Invest in Kids Act due to the school disruptions we are experiencing. There is no need to proceed with any of the planned testing."

School Sustainability Seminar Registration is Open

The follow up dates for the School Sustainability Seminars are June 10 and 11 to be held at Walther Christian Academy in Melrose Park. Even if you were not able to join us in January, please plan to attend in June and get valuable information and guidance in many areas of sustainability for your school. It is fine is you want to send a check for payment. Please send that to the NID Office and to the attention of Lois Stewart. The link to register is below. You may also register on the NID website. Go to www.nidlcms.org. On the website, you will find the registration under the School tab and Educator Conferences.

Seminar Registration

April 20 Leadership Conference

The spring Leadership Conference that was scheduled for Monday, April 20 at Concordia University Chicago has been cancelled. As an Administrator or Early Childhood Director, who registered for all three conferences, your $34.00 payment for April 20 will be credited to the 2020-2021 school year. If you have questions, please contact Diane Katz at St. Paul, Aurora.

Early Childhood Network Meetings

Please see the above statement regarding the April Early Childhood meeting at CUC. We also want to share that the Network Meeting scheduled for Ma5 at Immanuel, Downers Grove has also been postponed until next school year. I thank Jessica Gade and her staff for their willingness to host this meeting on ‘Nature Based Learning’. This will be a topic for the 2020-2021 school year.

Be encouraged to visit the Early Childhood Network blog. It has been updated and there many great pictures to view! Connect at https://www.preschooldirectors.blogspot.com/ .

44 ^th Annual Concordia University Chicago Early Childhood Conference

Concordia University Chicago Early Childhood Planning Committee regrets to inform you that after much prayer, discussion, and consideration, the Early Childhood Conference at CUC on August 7, 2020 has been canceled. The months of April and May are major planning and preparation times and with the uncertainty of COVID-19 they have had to halt the plans to move forward. They know that the Early Childhood Conference has always been a long-awaited, exciting event for educators and they look forward to planning for future conferences.

Hearts for Jesus

A goal has been set that each child in the NID contribute 2 quarters to the mission fund this year! What a blessing that will be for Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Please send your contribution to Lois Stewart at the NID Office (2301 S. Wolf Rd., Hillside, IL 60162). One check will be sent to Lutheran Heritage Foundation from our office on the behalf of all contributing schools.

Stay Connected and Informed

There are so many great things happening and offered in the NID. It is sad to think that there are workers in our schools not finding out what is happening. Please help us out…If you are a building administrator, please forward the School Newsletter and other NID mailings to your staff members. Better yet, share the following facts so they can connect directly:

Visit www.nidlcms.org
Click on the ‘Church Worker’ tab.
Click on ‘submit your contact information’.
After they complete the top portion, they may choose which mailings they want to receive.
Please share with the non-rostered workers that they, too, may receive the mailings.

Retirements and Vacancies

As we head towards spring, some workers may be considering retirement or being led by God to seek a call. Please contact Lois at the NID Office ASAP when you have a staffing change/vacancy for next year. If a worker is going to retire, please let Lois know what the final day of work will be so the office can assist with paperwork for St. Louis. The NID Office does not assist with Concordia Plan Services paperwork. The worker will need to contact CPS directly.

School Administrators – please encourage your rostered workers to update their Commissioned Minister Information Form (CMIF). They are encouraged to update this each year. It may take just a few minutes to review and resubmit the form. If there are changes to be made, the worker needs to make sure they ‘save’ each time they are directed to do so and then ‘submit’ at the end. Workers may get their personal access information by going to https://cum.lcms.org. This will direct the worker to Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services to gain access.

Electronic Giving Platform

LCEF offers an electronic giving platform called Joyful Response, for online gifts through your website, a mobile phone app, ACH, or text-giving. This platform is available for LCMS congregations, schools, and registered service organizations (RSOs). If you are not currently set up to take electronic payments please see additional information on LCEF’s website.