Connections In This Issue:

Meet the New Council

Members

New Year Preschool

Adventures

Caring Through

Cooking

Preparing Our Hearts

For Lent

Winter 2016

QUARTERLY

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was

performed by students of al ages

from Our Saviour’s. See article

inside this issue of Quarterly

Connections for more details.

Worship Services Our Saviour’s Campus 815 S. Washington St., Naperville Saturdays at 5:00 pm, Sundays at 8:00, 9:00, 10:30 am Celebration Campus 919 S. Washington St., Naperville Sundays at 10:00 am This is the NEW Quarterly Connections. We are testing changing Monthly Connections to Quarterly Connections. By doing this we will be bring you more devotional information and complete stories in one quarterly issue. Look for more stories on an on going basis in Weekly Connections, e-connections and on Facebook. If you are currently not receiving the e-connections email, and would like to do so, please contact Michelle Hamilton at 630-355-2522 or at michellehamilton@oursaviours.com so we can get your email address. We are always looking for stories and devotionals about our authentic, caring faith community. Please contact Jean Jepson at 630-281-4225 or at jeanjepson@oursaviours.com any questions or stories.

“Knowing Jesus" goes hand in hand with "Making

Jesus Known". The more we know Jesus, the more

we are anxious to share the good news with others.

And the more we share the good news of Jesus through

our words and actions, the more we know Jesus.

During Advent and Christmas, we have been celebrating the love that is

revealed through Jesus, who came to Earth many years ago and continues to

come to us today. We have been focused on "Knowing Jesus".

Beginning on January 6, we move into the Epiphany season. In this season,

we focus on our response to this good news. How do we live in response to

the amazing love that God has given us? How do we reflect God's love to

those around us?

The wise men are major players in the Epiphany story. Sometimes we forget

that they were outsiders, foreigners. Was the good news for them, too?

Indeed it was. Is the good news for us, too? Indeed it is.

The Wise Men received the gift of the baby Jesus and they also came bearing

gifts—gold, frankincense, myrrh. We receive the gift of Jesus in our lives and

we also are given gifts to share—our time, talent, and treasure.

As Christmas has filled us with the joy of Jesus, may we now live each day

reflecting that joy. As we know Jesus, may we give ourselves away making

Jesus known. And that will help us know Jesus more and more.

Blessed Epiphany!

In Christ, Pastor John Gerike

Thank You to All and to All a Happy New Year!!

Thank you ALL for a wonderful Christmas here at Our Saviour's. We had so many people walk though our doors

both at Celebration and at Our Saviour’s. Christmas Eve was filled with joy and excitement at the Good News that

was coming our way. We truly could not have done it without all of you and your support and service. From

beginning to end, your smiles and welcoming presence were a sight to behold. It truly is a wonderful life!

Happy Birthday Jesus, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all.

News from Council Written by Lane Lewis

Happy New Year! The Nominating Committee that you elected at the June Annual Meeting

has put forth a slate of Candidates for Council. The slate included returning Council

Members Christine Robinson and John Updegraff and new members Steve Spayer, Graham

Brenna and Susan Miller. The slate was approved.

Council took action at our most recent meeting to insure that 100% of all Debt Free contributions will go 100%

towards principal reduction for the balance of the Debt Free appeal period (June 2018). This is made possible by a

committed contribution from the Mae Frutchey Estate that will cover interest. Additionally, the Finance Committee

has developed a financing option through Thrivent that will enable us to realize a lower interest rate on a portion of

the loan balance, saving interest and further accelerating our pay down. Thank you to all members who have

contributed to the "Debt Free, to be..." appeal. Together we continue to move closer and closer to being debt free!

Our Saviour’s would like to thank Lane Lewis for serving as Council President over the past few years. Lane

has been a strong leader for our faith community during a time of transition. We would also like to recognize

Cindy Huenecke and Julie Michael for all their contributions to council over the past few years. All three of

these council members have finished their time on council this January, and new member have stepped on

to the council team.

John Updegraff and wife, Kristin

Reenstjerna, have been members at Our

Saviour's for 11 years. He has been

actively involved in the Career Transition

Workshop, volunteers as an Usher,

member of a great Bible and Wine small

group, PADs, and Feed My Starving

Children.

Christine Robinson is serving her second

two year term on Council. Christine and her

family have been members since 1996. She

has been actively involved in communion

serving, greeting, hospitality team member,

CARE Moms Women’s Ministry, and a

small group.

Steve Spayer is new to council in 2016.

Steve and his family have been members

since 1997. He has been actively involved

as a Junior High Youth Mentor, Marriage

Mentor, Stephen’s Minister, Prayer

Minister, Visioning Committee, a recent

Call Committee, Transition Committee,

PADS, Garage Sale and Men’s Ministry.

Graham Brenna is new to council in 2016.

He has been a member of since 1992.

Graham served as a mentor for the Junior

and Senior High programs, been part of the

Slovakia mission team, the website team,

and the IT Geek team. He was on staff as

the Media Director .

Susan Miller is new to council in 2016. She

and her family have been members since

2007. Susan has been actively involved

with the Bach Ringers, the Altar Guild,

CARE Moms, Buds, Suds, N Grub, the

Celebration Clinic and the African Summit.

Neil Springer and his wife, Janet, have been

members for two years. Neil has been

involved with PADS, Celebration Clinic and

Feed My Starving Children.

.

Ruth Nelson and her husband have been

members since 2002. She has been actively

involved in the Garden/Columbarium

Committee, Pastor Call Committee, Human

Resource Committee, and Bright Stars of

Bethlehem.

Jennifer Schuler and family have been

members for the past 16 years. She has

been involved in Church School, VBS,

Meals for Moms, Pastoral Call Committee,

and Baby Care Kits.

Greg Nasman and his family have been

members for 19 years. Greg has been active

as a Church School Teacher, served on Fair

Way to Heaven Golf Committee, PADS, and

worked as a Celebration Clinic Volunteer.

Meet Our Saviour’s Council Members The Our Saviour’s Council is here to help lead our faith community. We encourage you to get to know them, and to share

your thoughts and ideas with them and the Our Saviour’s staff.

For more information about these council members, check out our website at oursaviours.com

Written By: Allison Tupek,

Communications

Last month, we featured an article about the ways in

which God’s love is revealed through Jesus’s birth at

Christmas. As a follow-up to that topic, this month we

will explore ways that we share Christ’s love inside and

outside of OSLC. Pastor Brian has once again agreed

to share his insight on how we make Jesus known!

Pastor Brian and his wife, Mandy, immediately felt a

warm welcome from our congregation. We take

hospitality seriously, and it is one of the strongest ways

that our community has revealed God’s love. Pastor

Brian even conducted an experiment in order to

determine just how serious we are about hospitality.

Pastor Brian and Mandy had some close friends visit

the two campuses and refrain from sharing that they

knew them. They were pleased to discover that their

friends received the same warm welcome as they did,

which shows that we are genuine and authentic in our

caring community (and that we weren’t trying only to

impress the new pastor and his wife)!

Hospitality is one of the ways we reveal Christ’s love to

each other, but we also reveal His love to others beyond

our church walls. Pastor Brian has observed this love

shared through the Children’s Center Preschool. “Did

you know that our preschool is composed of only 11%

of our members? That means that every day we are

ministering to Naperville families. The majority of them

do not belong to our church, yet they are coming

through our doors, walking our halls, loving the care

they receive, and sharing news of this awesome

ministry with others,” remarks Pastor Brian. “I love the

work that is being done at the Children’s Center. The

staff begins each day with prayer, which really

impresses me. Every morning, they ask for God’s

blessing and guidance - even before they welcome

these families, enter their classrooms, and preach

God’s love to the children.” Pastor Brian also

appreciates that he’s had the opportunity to visit

different classrooms and become acquainted with the

students. “The kids know me and they know my puppy!

It’s during these times that we are building relationships

together that we have an opportunity to express God’s

love. I am very thankful for the ministry that the

Children’s Center provides on behalf of OSLC.”

Pastor Brian hopes that our church will continue to

create a loving community that is focused on sharing

God’s love in simple ways. “I have a new theme/motto

in life: Keep It Simple,” he states. “When church and/or

life become too complicated, people stop getting

involved and participating, and I can’t blame them.

Jesus showed us simple acts of sharing God’s love

through water, wine, and bread. Jesus teaches us to

love Him and others and to do it is as often as we can.”

“I have been thinking and praying about the ways that

our church can continue to be connected when we are

apart,” says Pastor Brian. “The most popular way to

connect is through social media. Hashtags (#) are used

to bring together certain topics in the virtual world. For

instance, everyone who watches the Bulls game on TV

might write on Facebook and/or Twitter, #GoBulls. It’s a

way to collect the same topic by everyone using an

identical hashtag. What if OSLC used a hashtag when

they experience God throughout the week? I believe

there are times in our lives when we are handed love

notes from God. Maybe it’s a beautiful sunset or maybe

it’s through a loving message from your child. I have

invented the hashtag #FG2U (From God to You); so (for

example) when you see a random act of kindness,

experience an amazing small group moment or mission

meeting, we can post a story or picture on social media

with #FG2U. This could be OSLC’s official hashtag to

share God’s love with the world!”

John 13: 34-35 states, “A new command I give you:

Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must

love one another. By this, everyone will know that you

are My disciples, if you love one another.” Pastor Brian

has experienced our church truly living out our motto of

Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known, and thus

revealing God’s love. As we begin the new year, let us

commit to revealing Christ’s love to one another, inside

and outside of our church community!

God’s Love Revealed, Part 2

New Year, New Preschool Adventures Written by Kelly Gilligan

Happy New Year!! At The Children’s Center Preschool we are

happy to be back at school after a long Christmas break. In

December, we celebrated Christmas Around The World by

visiting different classroom “countries” and doing activities that

they would do in their country to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We highlighted five different countries that have Christianity!

One of our favorite countries to visit was Australia. Here we

sang Christmas carols with Pastor Brian while holding glow stick

“candles.” Pastor Brian even played the didgeridoo. This is a

special hollow instrument carved out of wood, standing five feet

tall, that the Aborigine people of Australia play. We then

stamped our passport and traveled to the next country. We

even got to travel around the world in our pajamas! It was a

great way to end our busy month of December.

During this cold January month, what better way to warm up

than with a good book? So we are once again starting our

Grandparent Reading Program that will run from January

through May. Are you a Senior who enjoys reading and

spending time with preschoolers? Have you always wanted to

be an invited guest of The Children’s Center but just didn’t have

a reason? If you answered YES to either of those questions,

you might be just the candidate for our Grandparent Reading

Program that will return in January. Each month we will have

guest readers in our preschool classrooms. You don’t have to

have a grandchild in our preschool program. You don’t even

truly need to be a grandparent to participate. If you, or someone

you know, might be interested in reading, please contact Eileen

in the preschool office at eileenlindgren@oursaviours.com. We

will provide you with a classroom and a picture book and will get

you on the schedule. Please come share your time and talents

with the preschoolers.

Finally, registration for the 2016-2017 school year is well

underway! We welcome church members to come take a tour of

the preschool and find out about our program and curriculum.

We want you to be part of our Children’s Center Preschool

family. Hurry and secure your child’s spot for next school year!

Come learn and play with us! Call Kelly at 630-281-4300.

How do we Make Jesus Known

to others?

Written by Janine Norgaard

Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known takes time. On

Saturday, December 10, Family Time Christmas was enjoyed

by children of all ages.

Using the four faith practices of caring conversation, devotion,

rituals, and traditions and service, the families got to know

Jesus and each other a little better.

Families enjoyed a Nativity challenge game, hearing the

Christmas story, making an Epiphany picture for our senior

lunch guests, making a Nativity silhouette and enjoying some

cookies and conversation.

How do you make Jesus known to others? By making time to

be together, by listening to God’s stories, by serving others,

and by sharing and celebrating God’s love for each one of us.

And not just at Christmastime, but throughout the year!

Who is missing?

A Charlie Brown Christmas was a Joyful Success!! Written by Terry Thompson

On Sunday, December 20, A Charlie Brown Christmas was presented with nine of our middle school students in

the lead roles. Under the direction of Ed Perry and Terry Thompson, they learned and memorized the show in

eight short rehearsals! The story, based on the classic animated television special, A CHARLIE BROWN

CHRISTMAS, reminds Charlie Brown, Snoopy and all of us about the true meaning of Christmas. It was a

powerful night as they shared the Christmas Story! The show was a part of the Youth and Family Potluck and

Caroling!

Cast and Crew:

Megan Neville - Lucy

Andrew Felbein - Schroeder

Matthew Felbein - Charlie Brown

Eleanor Schuler - Sally

Kayla Licitra - Linus

Nick Bollendorff - Snoopy

Ryan Anderson - Pig Pen

Lauren Gilfillan - Violet

Kaia Lacombe - Frieda

Susan and Kayla Gere on Sound/Lights

Chris Brown -Technical Director

Paula Felbein - Set & Props

This summer there will be a Summer Theater Camp for Junior High and High School

Students. This is a great a opportunity for student to try acting and creating stage

props in a smaller setting. Watch for more details in March about the summer

program, along with other opportunities for summer camps for students of all ages.

Love Revealed though Our Saviour’s

Youth:

Eagle's Wings High School Choir spread Christmas Cheer at

Tabor Hills by caroling

Junior and Senior High Youth wrapped presents. Thanks to a

grant by Thrivent, all donations went to support the Baby Care

Ministry.

Junior and Senior High Youth brought in a lot of warmth to share

this holiday season: 34 pairs of mittens or gloves, 75 hats or ear

muffs, and 5 Scarves.

Senior High Youth made fleece blankets and no-sew hats for

homeless and Christmas cards for the elderly.

40 plus High School Youth and mentors combined their money

to go shopping for presents for Toys-for-Tots!

Caring for Our Saviour’s Community through Cooking

Written by Janet Pivarunas

A new small group ministry has been formed with the intention of easing some of the strain for those individuals or families who would benefit from a little extra kindness in the form of a meal prepared with love in the Our Saviour’s kitchen. A dedicated group of women have been meeting once a month to prepare and freeze meals that can be delivered by our parish nurse. The meals are delivered to Our Saviour’s members who are ill, who have had surgery, who are caregivers themselves or to those who need a little meal assistance. Since September 2015, over 40 meals have been made and delivered to our community. It has been a win-win for this community. The small group is blessed by sharing God’s work and growing in faith together. The Our Saviour’s community recipients benefit by receiving meals that have been prepared and prayed over by fellow church members. God’s spirit is at work in this small group ministry that feeds the heart, mind and body.

“Our whole family enjoyed it (casserole) very much tonight! Your kindness is very much appreciated!...Thank you for thinking of us and making my day! “

“...It all truly WAS made with love! Thank you all so much! Your thoughts and prayers are in our [hearts]!”

“Please pass this note on to your newly formed Casserole Kitchen Crew! The chicken divan was delicious and we got two meals out of the dinner! I think this committee will be a wonderful enhancement to all the caring groups we have at Our Saviour’s. I'm so blessed to belong to such a thoughtful, caring congregation! If I was their "guinea pig" tell them all how I most appreciated a good meal during my confinement! Keep up the good project!”

“What a thoughtful and caring way to send prayers. Thank you.”

Preparing Our Hearts for Lent

By Pastor Al Creighton

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in

love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant

offering and sacrifice to God.” ~Ephesians 5:1-2

“I hate you!” An ugly remark but it expresses the spirit of many

in our modern world. Almost equally unpleasant is “I ignore

you.” This is the attitude of unconcern, of I-couldn’t-care-less,

which has become the norm of a large percentage of society.

Obviously, neither “I hate you” nor “I ignore you” should

characterize the Christian. Rather our approach should be

summed up in three words – I love you. The only problem is

how do we learn to love? How do we learn to love protestors,

terrorists, nasty neighbors and boring relatives and all the other

trouble-makers in today’s world?

The answer is that we must learn from Jesus. As we enter Lent

perhaps we can spend some time each day learning how to love

as Jesus has loved us. I think we can practice this discipline by

three simple steps.

We begin with God loves me. This may seem a roundabout

way to get to it but it is absolutely necessary to begin with the

idea that God is the source of love and that God created us

within this source. Jesus makes this idea so clear. His lived his

whole life in the revelation that God loved him. Everything he

spoke and did, including his death on the cross, showed this

love.

Next, God loves not only me, but rather God loves all people.

Jesus prayed for all people, including his enemies. This is a

hard step to grasp.

We like to think of love as something deserved, something

earned. But God’s love, as demonstrated by Jesus, is pure

grace – God’s unmerited, undeserved love for all of us.

Finally, we must love all people. If God loves us and he also

loves all others, then we must love them too. It would be

difficult if not impossible for us to accept the forgiveness and

peace brought to us by Jesus and at the same time deny this to

others. Even when people attack us, or ignore us we must

remind ourselves that Jesus died for love of them too.

This love, then, must become a way of life. Love is not a matter

of pious phrases, but of action.

Our Saviour’s mission is Knowing Jesus and

Making Jesus Known. Our 2016 vision to

help us focus on our mission is Live It Out,

as an authentic, caring community. Being an

authentic, caring community helps us build

relationships both within our faith community

and beyond. As part of our faith community,

what part of being an authentic, caring

community will you live out?

Authentic

When we look at the definition we see

words like real, genuine, true and

worthy of acceptance.

What does it mean to you in our faith

community?

How can you become part of an

authentic community?

Caring

Some synonyms for caring are kind,

warmhearted, tender; more concerned,

attentive, thoughtful, considerate; loving,

understanding, and compassionate. Do

you remember hearing “and they will

know we are Christians by our love”?

How will you care for and show others

love in this faith community and

around the world?

Community

Being a community means that there

is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a

result of sharing common attitudes,

interests, and goals.

How can we all work together

to have all those who walk

through our doors feel

part of this faith

community?

Special thanks to Kelly Gilligan, Greg Nasman and

Lisa Hamman for their input on the vision.

Teaching and Reaching Others The following is a letter from a new friend, John Bartko, a man from Pennsylvania who joined The Luther Footsteps

tour last year, and it shows how this ministry is helping people grow in their faith.

Dear Members of Our Saviour’s,

The Center for Christian Education (CCE) is a project I learned about via, what else but the internet, when I was searching for mission and volunteer opportunities in the Slovak Republic. My father came from Slovakia, and before my trip with Our Saviour’s in 2014, I had visited Slovakia on six previous occasions, which included visiting cousins, being on organized tours and one summer of language school in Bratislava. I have a good command of conversational Slovak, which has served me well in my visits.

Via the CCE website, I learned of a number of USA Lutheran churches which support the CCE with summer work and teaching programs. I contacted some of them, but for various reasons, coordinating with their trips did not materialize. But when Our Saviour’s announced the Luther/Slovakia Insight Trip in October-November 2014, I leapt at the chance of joining you all. Graciously and perhaps courageously, Don Swanson and Gail Jernberg took a chance on an unknown living in Pennsylvania and agreed to my joining the trip.

I met the group at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, and they were welcoming right at the onset. Bohdan Hrobon, the director of CCE, met us at the airport and remained with us for the duration of the trip. We traveled to Luther sites in Germany, then on to Slovakia, Martin and the CCE, and then on to Nitra, the sister city for Naperville. The Luther sites strengthened and educated me further in my Christian beliefs and my Lutheranism.

Having visited communist Slovakia in the seventies and observing the devastating effect it had on Christianity, I was so moved by the steadfast courage of Bohdan in working almost feverishly to rebuild Lutheran Christianity via the children. We visited CCE classrooms and had slide presentations and discussions about the current status of the CCE and its further developmental plans.

Without exaggeration, the stunning, emotional, hard-hitting moment for me came when Bohdan, at his great-grandfather and grandfather's church, displayed a 400-year family Bible and declared that he was willing to part with it to the highest bidder to further support the development of CCE. With that kind of feeling emanating from Bohdan, how could I not feel otherwise moved?

Since that visit I am proud to say that I have made a commitment to support the CCE, financially and otherwise. I am so pleased that pathways have opened for Bohdan to embark on further capital expansions into adjacent buildings. Thank you again, Our Saviour’s, for allowing me to travel with you. The spiritual rewards cannot be expressed in words.

God Bless one and all,

John Bartko

First Lutheran Carlisle, PA, December 11, 2015

Water for Africans

Written by Anne Wentz

In May of this year, my husband, Bill and I went on a

safari in Africa. We were with a wonderful tour

company and had a total of 13 people in our group,

from Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

We visited Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. We had

wonderful sightings of lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos

and even a pangolin (rarely seen).

One of the most interesting things about this kind of trip

is meeting the local people and learning about the

cultures of their countries, which are so different from

ours. Our guide, Luke, is a 40-year old man who lives in

a little village of about 500 people in Zimbabwe. There

is no electricity or well water in his village or the two nearby villages. They get all of their water from a

nearby polluted river. The villagers live a subsistence life, growing vegetables, owning a few chickens,

building their dwellings with termite dung, wood, and roofs of thatched grass. They cook their two meals a

day over a fire outside their dwellings.

When we talked to Luke about his dreams for his village, he said he wished for a well. He said the cost for

the borehole would be about $2,800, a price beyond what the villagers could ever imagine affording. As we

talked to others in our group, we all agreed that if we all contributed, it was a small cost to each of us but had

the potential for a huge impact on about 1500 people in the three villages.

So we decided to build a well in Zimbabwe. Understand that Zimbabwe is a very corrupt country, and we had

no guarantee that any money we sent there would actually get to the intended destination. And we were

depending on Luke to be our “man on the ground” to connect us with a reputable drilling contractor and

oversee the process. Bill set up an account here, all the tour members sent their checks to us, and we have

now wired money three times for the survey, drilling and partial payment of the pump. The drilling was done

on Thursday, November 5. The well is 40 meters deep and has good water flow. People from three villages

will benefit from this well. We look forward to the installation of the pump and pictures of flowing water.

Dear Anne,

I cannot thank you enough for a great job you did for me and my community. You have changed our lives.

When the borehole was drilled I was right there but unfortunately I could not communicate with you since

there is no internet in the village. I have to go to town which is a good two hour walk plus a 25 minute bus

ride. Yes three villages will benefit from the borehole but some people are about 5km away. A big thank you

to you and all the folks that contributed. Now we are only waiting for the bush pump (hand pump). At the

moment there is a pipe sticking out that we covered with a drum so that cows or donkeys do not run into it.

Thank youuuuu!!!!

Regards

Abiot

Praying for Each Other

Life brings ups and downs for each of us times of praise, and times of

sadness. Being part of a faith community praying for each other is something

we can offer, especially when we don’t seem to have the right words to say to

someone during the highs and lows. In addition to praying for each other, we

have several prayer options here at Our Saviour’s.

Prayer Chapel - There is a small, intimate prayer chapel located at the end of

the hall near the Bach Room at Our Saviour’s Campus. This room has soft

lighting, and a beautiful stained glass art piece, which is the perfect setting for

personal prayer, or to pray with one or two other people. The prayer chapel is

open for anyone who would like to have personal prayer time. Pastors can be

available to pray with you upon request.

Worship Prayers - These are the names read aloud when the Prayers of the Community are read during worship.

Because of many privacy issues, we must ask permission of the person for whom we are praying to say their name

aloud. If that person is unable to give us permission, we ask a spouse, parent, or other relative for permission.

Because such investigation takes a while, we may not be able to get the name into the prayers on the following

Sunday. It is also helpful to know how long they would like to be in the prayers. Usually the name is submitted

because of some critical situation and the length of time is one or two weeks. The Care or Pastoral Teams will

follow-up with the person to continue personal ministering that may be needed.

Prayer Line - Our Saviour’s is blessed with Prayer

Ministers whose ministry is to pray for people regularly and

to be a presence during worship services for people who

would like a private word of prayer and/or share a concern.

Names can be given or submitted to a Pastor or a Care

Team member or to Judy Healy (Prayerline coordinator)

without needing permission since most of these prayer

requests are for name only. Once a month the Prayer

Ministers meet for a time of review, sharing of concerns,

and a time of prayer for each other and those in need of

prayer.

Prayer Ministers - Most services there is a prayer minister

that is available during communion. The prayer minister will

pray with individuals regarding anything you want to pray

about. This could be prayers of celebration, concern or for

those in need. The prayer ministers are located at the back

of the worship space at both campuses and are available

for anyone in need of this type of prayer.

Prayer Shawls - A prayer shawl is intended to be a reminder of God’s ever present love which is as near to you as

your own body is to your spirit. This prayer shawl has already helped one person, the knitter, to be open to the

presence of God. When you receive or offer this gift, know that someone prayed during its creation. May you

experience comfort and peace in the loving presence of God. Prayer shawls are available through our Parish

Nurse, Dawn DeBoer. Donations are always welcome so that we can continue to purchase yarn.

Winter Sports and Brain Injuries

Submitted by Dawn DeBoer, Parish Advocate Parish Nurse

Winter sports, such as ice skating and skiing are a great way to keep active during the colder months. But

these sports can also put you and your family at risk of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). In fact, the American

Academy of Neurology states that 20,000 of the 300,000 brain injuries that occur each year happen while the

sufferer is participating in winter sports. TBIs can occur when someone falls and hits his/her head or is struck

in the head by an object. Head injuries should never be ignored, and children and adults who suffer a head

injury should seek medical attention immediately. TBIs can have a long-lasting impact on a person’s health

and, in serious cases, can lead to permanent impairment or death. Special care should be taken when

participating in winter sports. Both children and adults should wear a protective helmet, and, if it is damaged

during an accident, they should replace it with a new one. People who exercise outside should also be

careful as sidewalks and streets when slippery increase the chance of falls for walkers, runners, and cyclists.

Resource: Advocatehealth.com •

Births and Deaths

We celebrate with:

Sarah and Brandon Jagneaux at the birth of their daughter, Kensley; grandparents are Pete and Sue Harvey, great grandfather is Roger Modder, aunts are Rachel, Emily, and Grace Harvey.

Kristina and Ernie Sessa on the birth of their daughter, Nicole Rose; big sister is Ashley Rae and proud grandparents are Donna and Delane Finke.

We lift up in prayer:

The family of Dave Planting, brother-in-law of John Uhrich, as they mourn his passing.

Lu Koerper and family at the death of her brother, Ken Weber.

Patrick and Suzanne Hughes at the death of Pat’s father, John Hughes.

Sandy Henrichs and family at the death of her brother-in-law, Howard Henrichs.

John and Laura Stout at the death of his uncle, Gary VanBuskirk.

Rick and Alison Lebeck and family at the death of his mother, Dorothy Lebeck.

The Prayer Wall - This wall is to the left of the

Fellowship Center as you leave the worship space. If

you wish to write a prayer, paper and pen are available

on the shelf below the display. Prayers are written,

paper folded, and prayer inserted into the slot on the

wall. Names do not need to be added. This form of

prayer will remain on the wall until the one who placed

it there removes it. We encourage you to write your

prayers and offer them up to God.

If you or someone you know is in need of prayers,

please contact Pastor Al at pastoral@oursaviours.com

so that we can help

Our Saviour's Evangelical Lutheran Church 815 S. Washington Street Naperville, IL 60540 Phone: (630) 355-2522 Fax: (630) 355-2553 Web site: www.oursaviours.com

Will you help us tell the stories of God’s love

and the love of other?

How have you experienced an authentic, caring

faith community at Our Saviour’s? Share your

stories about how God is working in your life

and the lives of others! All articles for the

Spring Quarterly Connections are due by

February 28, 2016. Please submit all articles and

photos to Jean Jepson at

jeanjepson@oursaviours.com.