Matthew 2:1-12

On January 6, we celebrated Epiphany (to manifest or appear). The Wise Men were sent on a mission from King Herod – ‘Go. Find the baby. I will follow and worship.’ We know that Herod did not actually want to worship the Christ Child. He wanted to have Him killed. Through a dream, the Wise Men were told by God to go back to their country by another route and not go back to Herod. The Wise Men wanted to worship their Savior and present gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They had Spirit-led desire.

As the New Year begins, may we all be like the Wise Men and seek out the Savior to worship and honor Him with our gifts, love, and time. Fall down on your knees and praise Him for His unspeakable gifts that we are given freely. The devil prowls and tries so hard to steer us away from the Savior. Stand firm in faith to turn your back on those temptations. Look to God for the strength and guidance that is needed to follow the path He has laid out for each one of us. Jesus leads to Himself and His gifts.

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, when trials come, step back and trust God’s plan is perfect. Stay in the Word. Take care of yourself to be Well. Use your words and life as a Witness. ‘In All Things’, God is faithful.

Surround yourself with people who listen, pray for you, and speak the best words!

Remember each day – Christ loves you and holds you close.

Serving the Master Teacher,

Lois Stewart

M.S. Walther, 10th grader

As schools begin working on their calendars for the 2022-2023 school year, please make sure to add Wednesday, August 10, 2022 to your plans. 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon is a great time to reconnect with staff and friends at other schools. The best way to start a new school year is in worship! Watch for more details and location in the spring.

After consultation with Dr. Rebecca Schmidt, Director of School Ministry, there has been an extension granted for reporting. The deadline to collect 2021-2022 school year statistics has been extended to January 31, 2022.

Please contact Rosters.Stats@lcms.org or by calling the Church Information Center at 888-843-5267 to obtain your login information if has been replaced. Let’s get 100% for the NID!!

As we begin 2022, we want to give thanks for the blessing of our NID schools, as well as the extra services the NID staff are blessed to offer for support, care, and encouragement. Please find the attached School Support letter. Please pray about and consider making a contribution to the fund so that we are able to continue to offer many services that are not part of the annual budget. Many thanks for considering $1.00 per student.

If you (a Commissioned Worker) are planning to retire at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year, it is very important that you share that information with the Education Office. Please contact sue.green@nidlcms.org with your retirement date. PLEASE note that you must contact Concordia Plan Services on your own. We do not process that paperwork.

If you are a Rostered Worker in the LCMS, please make sure you update your Commissioned Minister Information Form (CMIF) on an annual basis. If you need your access information, please contact lois.stewart@nidlcms.org.

Elementary and High School Administrators are encouraged to attend the three conferences offered during the school year. We meet at Concordia University Chicago from 9:00 a.m. until noon and then gather for lunch in the cafeteria. Monday, February 28, 2022 will be our next conference. The topic of the morning will be ‘Creating a Positive School Culture for Ministry’. The presenters for our morning of learning will be Dr. Sam Seefeld (Principal of Trinity Lutheran School in Mequon, WI) and Stephanie Herbert (Trinity’s Assistant Principal of Academics). You will definitely leave the day with great ideas for your school.

Early Childhood Directors (both in elementary schools and free-standing centers) are strongly encouraged to attend the Conference opportunities created for you. Please plan to join us on Monday, February 28, 2022 at Concordia University Chicago from 9:00 a.m. until noon (stay for lunch). The February topic will be ‘Benefits of Summer Programs, sample schedules, program themes, field trips, and more’. Your own NID Early Childhood Consultants will be leading this event. If you have a summer program, bring your Sizzling Hot Summer Ideas to share. Please see the links for registration information if you haven’t registered yet. See you there.

National Lutheran Schools Week will be celebrated from January 23 through January 29 in 2022! We give thanks for all Lutheran schools. Visit luthed.org/national-lutheran-schools-week/ to get resources for your celebration. I look forward to seeing a lot of great celebration pictures!

Visit lea.org for the information to register for the next National LEA Convocation. It will be held nice and close in Milwaukee.

If you are an active Commissioned Minister on Candidate or Emeritus Status, please consider serving as a non-voting advisory delegate to the Synodical Convention from July 28 to August 3, 2023. The convention will be held in Milwaukee, WI. Watch for a nomination form and informational letter in the future.

We ask God’s blessings upon the schools in the NID that will be hosting a NLSA visit team in coming months as they go through their reaccreditation process.

Keith Wilharm

847-529-8614

Please plan to join the Early Childhood Consultants on the next monthly Zoom for devotions, updates, and sharing on a topic. On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, we will gather at 6:30 p.m. and have conversation on the topic of Parent/Teacher Conferences and Student Assessment. The Zooms are great opportunities to learn new things and meet new workers in our Lutheran schools.

As the school year continues, please know, once again, that professional development credit is available through Concordia University Chicago. Administrators are asked to contact Catherine Nessling at Catherine.Nessling@cuchicago.edu. Catherine is the person you will want to contact in order to request professional development credits be offered for your in-house PD. This might be related to: student growth, curriculum development, etc. related to state standards. Please make sure to contact her at least a month ahead of time.

We are blessed to be a blessing. May we use our blessings this year to support the education of children in Belize. The 2021-2022 NID ‘Hearts for Jesus’ program is dedicated to supporting the Scholarship Program in Belize. Please consider making this a ministry that you support.

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