tidings january, 2015 - irving park lutheran · 2015 is a wonderful, joyous year for all of our...
TRANSCRIPT
Phone: 773.267.1666
www.iplc.org
IPLC Office [email protected]
SERVICE SCHEDULE 8:30 am Worship in the Chapel
9:15 am Sunday School, Adult Study,
Parenting group, coffee
10:30 am Worship in the Sanctuary
STAFF
Rev. Erin Bouman
Dawn Benson Church Secretary/Bookkeeper
Roger Bingaman Dir. Of Music/Office Manager/Tidings
Editor [email protected]
Dwan Buetow Praise Worship Coordinator
Chris Richard Director of Ensemble
Phil Bole Custodian: [email protected]
Darcie Wadycki [email protected]
Nancy Hall [email protected]
Co-volunteer Sunday School
Coordinators
CONGREGATIONAL COUNCIL
Eleanor Barrett Phil Bole
Jonna Brodersen Sarah Clausen
Sue Geisler Jan Glure
Nancy Hall Sharon Iverson
Ginia Jahrke Eleanor Kepp
Richard Koehler Larry Lundquist
David McKenzie Bill Sherlock
Lee Stein Sandra Stumme
Darcie Wadycki Cory Wojtkiewicz
COUNCIL PERSON EMERITUS
Lloyd DaMask Gordon Johnson
Richard Wielock
GOOD TIDINGS by Pastor Erin Bouman
This is the season that gives our church newsletter, “Tidings,” its name. In the
language of the King James Bible, “tidings” are what the angel shared that first
Christmas Eve. On a dark and lonely landscape, an angel appeared in radiant glory and said to the shepherds, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. (Luke 2:10) I don’t know when our newsletter was rechristened “Tidings,” but I do think it
rolls off the tongue a little easier than its original name, “Forsamlings Bladet.” Of
course, it’s probably less of a mouthful if you, like our newsletter’s original audience, happen to speak Swedish. I don’t, so the pronunciation seems formidable.
But you do have to admire the non-fussiness of the meaning of “Forsamlings
Bladet,” which translates to “Congregational Newsletter.” On Christmas Eve and Day and the two Sundays after, as part of worship we
sing good tidings. Our song of praise is the song the angels sang when a host of them joined that first bearer of good tidings. This season we sing begins: “Glory to
God in the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth.” After making their
announcement and singing a song of praise, the angels left the shepherds. Then the shepherds decided to see for themselves what all the fuss was about.
I thought about the angels’ tidings and the shepherds’ response recently when reading an article about churches and evangelism. Many churches encourage their
members to invite people to church, the article said. They might even encourage
members, “Bring a friend with you to our church on this particular Sunday.” This is a great thing to do—but it can also be intimidating, and logistically challenging.
As another element of evangelism, the article suggested, as another way
encouraging people to come to your church, as an alternative to inviting, think in terms of recommending. Recommending is what you do when you have seen a
movie you’ve particularly enjoyed, or discovered a delicious restaurant, or read a great book. You are excited about it; it has brought you joy, and you want to share
that experience, that joy, with someone else. With recommending, versus inviting,
you don’t get bogged down in the details of which movie showing they’re going to, or when you will meet up with them at that particular restaurant. You simply tell
them about it. You tell them the good news about why you are part of a church and the difference it makes in your life.
Evangelism researcher and proponent Rev. Martha Grace Reese writes about
witness in a similar way. She encourages congregations to take the fear and intimidation out of “the e-word,” with this simple definition: “Evangelism is sharing
something you like with someone you love.”
Or, to relate it to the Christmas story, we can be evangelists like the angels on Christmas Eve. Like the angels, we sing a song of praise. The joy of life in Christ
radiates in our lives—by how we live, by the peace we experience, by the hope we know that overcomes fear. The good news of of God with us—God born and we
reborn—rolls right off our tongues. And then, after that announcement, that
recommendation, we leave. Those who have heard may decide for themselves whether they ought “to see this thing which has happened, which the Lord has made
known to us.” (Luke 2:15) We have good tidings to share. It’s an old, old story, that’s been told in many
languages. We can tell it, too. There is nothing to fear, and much to recommend,
about letting peace and joy be our witness.
TIDINGS from Irving Park Lutheran Church
January, 2015 The 42nd Volume, chapter 1
RETRUN TO SENDER It’s strange out things always seem to work out.
It has been relatively (weak pun, semi-intended) quiet for
a few weeks in the Return to Sender bureau. To date, the RTS campaign has returned letters that were written to IPLC Pastor
Joshua Oden during World War II to 131 veterans or their families across the country.
With the January Tidings, we paused to think about where
the Return to Sender campaign stands as we dive into 2015, the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
Should we print another letter from the collection of 105
“missing” letter writers and hope someone sees it? Or should we put on our Google cap and see where the search engine
journey leads us? We tried both options and hope to start the new year with another family receiving their loved one’s
letters.
We have been looking forward to the day when we get the list of “missing” names under 100. It might be possible by
eliminating a few people who had no known descendants. For instance, we have letters written by lifelong IPLC
member Mae Swanson. Mae was an only child, never married
and left no descendants. So we’re 99.9 percent sure that we won’t be returning the letters to Mae unless the Postal Service
can guarantee Express Delivery to heaven.
We thought there might be at least one other letter writer who had no descendants. A few old-timers may recall Jack T.
Hendricks, a 1932 Confirmation Class member who regularly attended IPLC services until the early 1980s. We recalled
seeing Jack at church but our admittedly fuzzy memory was
that he always attended by himself. So we thought we probably wouldn’t find a Hendricks relative. Well, now we
think we’re wrong. After typing in Hendricks’ one and only letter, we looked
at a few old IPLC directories. When Hendricks was Confirmed
in 1932, he lived at 4024 W. Barry. In 1968, Hendricks was listed in the directory as living at 5858 N. Luna. In the 1983
directory, we discovered Jack T. Hendricks had a wife, Helen,
and that they had moved to Bonne Terre, Mo. Well, well. Time to search again for more information about Jack and Helen.
After a few searches, and if our hunch is correct, we found that Jack died at age 84 in Wheeling. Helen lived in Wheeling
until she passed away in 2013 at age 91. An online obituary
said they were married 59 years and had three sons, two daughters, 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. So
much for our assumption that he had no family.
But, since RTS is a continuing series, and since we’re running out of space, and since we didn’t have time to track
down phone numbers of the Hendricks children before deadline, our search will resume in the February edition of the
Tidings. Hopefully, we’ll be able to report on a successful
return of his letter and learn more about Jack Hendricks. On a side note, the RTS bureau here at the Tidings hopes
2015 is a wonderful, joyous year for all of our faithful readers. Being an accepting Lutheran, we also hope the unfaithful
readers have a good year as well.
– Ralph Greenslade
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING New news. Old news. Good news.
As we welcome 2015 and experience a new format for the Irving Park Lutheran Church Tidings, it seems to be a good
time to go back a few years to see how the Tidings shared
IPLC’s “Good News” with the congregation. Here are a couple of highlights and observations about the
January, 1935, edition of the Tidings. (There might be a special prize for anyone who can find their original copy. A
gift certificate to “Hoarders” would seem appropriate.)
In 1935, the first edition off the press featured 16 full letter-sized pages, lots of type and no photos, plenty of ads.
The edition came out a few weeks after IPLC celebrated its
31st anniversary on Dec. 30, 1934. Mee and Ramme Funeral Directors had a full-page ad on
Page 2 with the comforting news that “Our Ambulance Service Is Always Ready at Your Call.”
In addition to the usual stories about the circles and
Sunday School classes, one story stood out. Pastor Joshua Oden, who also served as editor of the
Tidings, filled Pages 3-5 with a national radio address he gave “over Columbia Broadcast System, First Sunday after
Epiphany, Jan. 13, 1935.” A few pages later, in the middle of
other items on Page 8, we found this interesting item, reprinted here in its entirety, unedited:
COLUMBIA BROADCAST JAN. 13 Letters have come in from New York, Massachusetts, the
New England States, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan and from as far west as
California. The following is a letter which pastor received
from a pastor’s little daughter in Connecticut who at one time lived in Chicago. You will enjoy reading it:
“Maybe you will think it quite queer that I’m writing to you. But you know my father (Knut Erickson) and I know you
because I’ve seen you and heard you preach, and your brother
took my tonsils out. But anyway, who wouldn’t know you, broadcasting on the radio and everything!
“Since I am sick in bed with rheumatic fever after measles
I couldn’t go to Sunday School this morning. Mother brot the radio up to my room. We looked for a Lutheran service. When
we heard “Unfold Ye Portals,” we listened. When the choir sang, “The Lord is in His Holy Temple,” we were more
surprised. Our choir sings it, too. When you began the liturgy,
we knew it was Lutheran. We enjoyed the sermon very much, but wondered who was preaching. Were we surprised to find
that a good old-time friend had been preaching, and we had heard his choir! We certainly did enjoy it and I want to thank
you and your choir.
“I get a lot of company out of the radio and my kitty, who sleeps at my feet all day, while I am in bed. I also enjoy
getting mail and will enjoy all the letters you want to send me
(even if you ‘think’ you don’t know me). I know you, anyway. “I can’t write with ink or very well with pencil in bed.
You’ll excuse me, I’m sure.” Your radio friend, Charlotte Erickson
— Ralph Greenslade
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CARLSON COMMUNITY SERVICES
Irving Park Fine Arts Committee Presents Free Classical
Music Concert February 1st
The Irving Park Fine Arts Committee will present romantic
duos for flute and cello on Sunday, February 1st at 2:00 p.m. at
Irving Park Lutheran Church, 4100 N. Harding Ave. Just in
time for Valentine’s Day, the program is titled “Classical
Music Love Letters” and will feature cellist Dorothy Deen and
flutist Marie Bennett. The
program will include
Gary Schocker's Pas a
Deux, a Beethoven duo,
Burlesque pieces by
Wanek and romantic
opera favorites. Grab your
sweetheart and join us for
a romantic afternoon!
Admission to the concert is free, though a free-will offering
may be made. A reception with the artists follows the concert.
The Irving Park Fine Arts Committee is celebrating its 20th anniversary of providing high-quality, professional music and
theatrical events to the Irving Park community. The Irving
Park Fine Arts Concert Series is sponsored by Carlson Community Services, a 501(c)(3) non-profit connecting the
Irving Park community with programs that enrich lives through education, culture and service.
MAP Program to Hold Spring Break Camp Spring Break is on the horizon! The Magic After-School Place
will be offering full-day camp for students in kindergarten - 6th grade during the week of Spring Break this year. Children
of IPLC members are welcome to enroll! Over the course of
the week students will participate in a wide variety of structured games, team building activities, and special
projects. The cost of the camp will be $150 for the week, and
the camp will run 8:00 am - 6:00 pm the week of April 6th - 10th. For more information contact Rachel Lockhart at
[email protected]. Space is limited; so make sure you reserve your child's spot and make
your full payment by the February 20th deadline!
Carlson’s Soup & Bread March 1st
Soup & Bread, Carlson Community Services’ popular winter
warm-up fundraiser will be held on Sunday, March 1st from
5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Samples of soups from local cooks and
restaurants will be served at the Irving Park Lutheran Church
gym, 4057 N. Harding Ave. The event is patterned after the
popular winter event that started at the Hideout Bar. Proceeds
from Soup & Bread support Carlson’s programs – the Magic
After-School Place, Three Brothers Garden and Irving Park
Fine Arts Concert Series.
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Enjoying Messiah . Special thanks to the committee: Nancy Curtis, Jan & Fred Glure,
Gord, Lori & Chris John-son, Holly & Larry
Lundquist, Carl & Judy
Nelson.
APPLYING BIBLE PRINCIPLES A wise person once observed, “Half of any task is having
the right tool, and the other half is knowing what to do with it.”
Although we don’t often consider it as such, money is a tool which God uses in our lives as a means of spiritual growth.
Money is not an end in and of itself. It is a means to an end. And in God’s hands, one of its primary “ends” is to instruct us
and help us grow spiritually. God especially wants us to avoid
our natural tendency, which is a bent toward selfishness, greed, and hoarding. That’s why Jesus said, “Take care! Be on your
guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist
in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).
If an individual’s life does not consist in having a lot of
possessions, in what does it consist? Jesus provided an insight-ful answer to that question in Matthew 6:20-21, where he said,
“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
According to Jesus’ teaching in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25), there is nothing wrong with saving. There is
nothing wrong with investing or earning interest on invest-
ments. There is nothing wrong with being a wise steward by planning for the future. In fact, Jesus taught that those who do
so are to be commended. But our primary emphasis as God’s
children is to make our investments in the “Bank of Heaven.” When we do that, our investments are secure. They are not af-
fected by inflation, by theft, by wear and tear, or anything of the kind. These are investments in eternity, “treasures in
heaven” that will glorify God forever.
SUNDAY SCHOOL PROGRAM
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JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
1 Sarah Stumme 5 Dan Anderson
6 Simeon Stumme 9 Erin Bouman
10 Rich Wielock
12 Linda Fredrick 13 Dan Wheeler
16 Heather Smith- Grattan
21 Lloyd DaMask
23 Nils Clausen 24 Joey Crook
26 Isabelle Escobedo
Eric Hjelmgren 27 Loretta Cwiertnia
28 Frieda Lee Stevenson 30 Andy Fogelis
JANUARY ANNIVERSARIES
1.23.54 Marie & Lloyd DaMask 1.24.95 Sarah & Simeon Stumme
The Sunday School brought the Christmas message as well as the Easter message to the congregation at their annual
Christmas play on Sunday, December 14th. Forty seven children from three years to eighth grade with forty children
in costumes had prepared for weeks to present their Christmas
offering entitled Jesus Loves Me. The play centered around first year confirmation students learning about faith from the
second year confirmation students. The younger students were
told about how Jesus loves them by the third and fourth grade class and the three nursery three year old girls, relived the
nativity story as told by pre-schoolers, kindergarteners, and first and second graders, were reminded of the joy of the
resurrection by the fifth graders and learned how people have
been living their faith through the centuries. These stories were punctuated by the children singing the "love" songs ("Jesus
Loves Me", "Love, Love, Love", "We Love" and "Reach Out in Love")they have been learning this past fall in Sunday
School with Pastor Bowman. Not to be forgotten were the high
school students who did the lesson reading for the service and acted as stagehands for the play.
AROUND THE IPLC COMMUNITY
Choir Rehearsal Schedule for January will be on1.7, 1.18,1.28 Bells are on break until further notice.
Intro & Refresher Session for Parish Visitors Jan. 10th 9
am Are you a Parish Visitor, or would you like to be one? The
Parish Visitor makes contact by phone, in writing, or in person for the purpose of being a conduit of God’s love and an
extension of the congregational community. You are invited
to an introduction/refresher session on Parish Visiting on Saturday, January 10th at 9 am. We’ll be joined by the
Confirmation Students, who will then visit some of our homebound members. For more information, contact Rick
Reschke at 312-375-2134 or [email protected]
Sunday Adult Bible Study Real Faith for Real Life: Living
the Six Marks of Discipleship Might as well start the new year with resolutions—spiritual resolutions with real life
implications! Join us in Victory Hall Sunday mornings from
9:15-10:15 as we read and discuss this book by Lutheran pastor Michael Foss. To encourage readers to practice their
faith in everyday life, Foss describes six marks of discipleship:
daily prayer, Bible reading, weekly worship, Christian service, relationships that encourage spiritual growth, and giving in the
spirit of generosity. Using Bible passages and real-life stories, Foss illustrates how each mark of discipleship enhances and
supports the growth of a person’s faith journey.
Parenting Group We had a great discussion of The Blessing
of a Skinned Knee, Sundays 9:30-10:15am in the Chapel. In January, we’re taking a break as a separate morning study
group (Parenting Group participants are welcome to join the
Adult Bible Study in Victory Hall!). We’ll read another book, The Secrets of Happy Families, together in the spring. For
more information, contact [email protected]
Christmas Pageant Thanks! Many people work together
each year to make the Sunday School Christmas pageant a special event. Among the people who assisted Sandra and
Darcie in preparing for the program were Rebecca Haneberg
who helped with costumes, Kirsten Gettings and Alice
Sherlock who assisted in rehearsals, Roger Bingaman for
instruction on the organ, Tim Bouman, David Hall II, David
Hall III, David McKenzie, Bill Sherlock who helped move scenery, the Sunday School Teachers, the IPLC Staff, Sue
Geisler. Thanks to all of them. T hanks also to the high school students who worked as stage hands. Not to be overlooked,
we also thank the parents, Sue Geisler, Debbie Wojtkiewicz,
Holly Lundquist and other church members who helped with the lunch following our practice yesterday and the reception
following today’s performance. Of course we thank the parents who realize the importance of getting their children to
Sunday School. Our most heartfelt thanks to all of them. We
take a break from Sunday School on December 21st and Dec.
28th Classes resume on Sunday January 4th.
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Pizza, Cookies & Taking Down the Greens- Sunday Jan 4th Stick around after worship on Sunday, January 4th – pizza and
soda will be provided as we help up pack up and put away the Christmas decorations. You can also bring any leftover
Christmas cookies you might have!
Gym Renovation Project Update: Property Sale As per a
Congregational vote over a year ago, a church property, a two
flat located at 4112 N. Harding (next to the parsonage), was listed for sale in October, and the sale was officially closed on
December 12th. Previous tenants have settled into new places of residence. The Council is pleased with the outcome of the
sale, which will help seed capital repairs for the Educational
Building (Gym). Additional funds must also be raised to
support this important project, and a fundraising team is
evaluating next steps, while the Property Team pursues bids and timing of the hoped for spring renovation.
Yet MORE Thanks for IPLC Stewards! Last year we received 37 pledges. This year as of mid-December we’ve
received 49 pledges, 27 of which increased their pledges—
many by hundreds, five by thousands of dollars! Of the total number of pledges, 9 were new this year! Your pledge helps
sustain our ministries year round—especially when you make your gift electronically.) Many thanks to all who have been
and continue to be so very generous.
Sign Up to Host Coffee! See the sign-up sheet on the bulletin
board in Victory Hall. We are looking for a new coffee host coordinator, contact [email protected] if interested in helping
with this ministry.
Women of all ages, would you like to play volleyball with
friends from church? Games are Sunday afternoons at 2 or 3
pm at St. James Lutheran Church, 2101 N. Fremont. Practices are Friday evenings at the Irving Park gym from 7-9 pm,
beginning January 2nd. For more information contact Dwan Buetow [email protected] or call her cell: 773-430-0336.
$1,000 Worth of Cookies and Crafts – Proceeds Goes to Gym Renovation! The IPLC Miriam Circle is overjoyed by
the tremendous response through donations of time, talents,
and treasure towards the success of our Annual Bake Sale and Boutique, held after the Sunday School Play Dec. 14th. $1000
was raised towards the Gym Renovation! THANK YOU.
Piano Fund – 1Key Left! We’ve sent the piano off for
repairs (the current piano in the sanctuary is a temporary replacement) and all but one of the keys have been purchased!
If you would like one, now is your chance. (We could also “sell” the pedals, or the bench…) Make checks payable to
IPLC, memo line: Piano Fund, or visit www.iplc.org/Serve-
and-Give. We have all but reached our fundraising goal, though the total, final bill won’t be known until all the repairs
are completed. Thank you for your generosity and support for
music and worship at our church!
T I D I N G S From Irving Park Lutheran Church
3938 W. Belle Plaine Ave.
Chicago, IL 60618-1997
Address Service Requested
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