TIDINGS St. Timothy Lutheran Church Newsletter MARCH 2019

How are we doing? Everyone needs a check-up from time-to-time. We are assessing personal and congregational health—physical, emotional and spiritual—during the next several months. We want to see how we are doing and what needs to be done. All the information gathered will assist our church council in its goal setting process currently under-way.

Here are several things you can look forward to that will help you be healthier and stronger.

Spiritual Life Assessment--What do you want from your church? Sarah Swindall, a second year seminarian, is doing field work at St. Timothy as part of her preparation for pastoral ministry. She is developing a spiritual life survey to assess the top things members want from their church and spiritual leaders. For example:

Help in understanding the Bible in greater depth Help in developing your relationship with Christ A feeling of belonging Help to develop a prayer life A clear pathway to guide spiritual growth Compelling worship services Challenge to grow and take the next steps Provide strong programs for children Promote a strong serving culture

These and other priorities appear in national congregational surveys. Sarah’s work will provide a picture of St. Timothy and help shape future faith formation ministries.

Communication & Marketing Assessment—North Central College students have been surveying St. Timothy members to as-sess our internal and external communication methods and strategies. Becky Barnhart, a St. Timothy church council member and graduate of North Central, is coordinating this effort which will help improve congregational marketing and communication efforts, while also assisting students complete their educational program. Results of both the internal and external surveys will be available by the end of March.

Healthy Life Assessment—Beth Squires, a St. Timothy member and instructor in the Department of Public Health at Benedictine University, is conducting an investigation of our congregation to help identify health risks, which can be reduced with targeted health information. Your participation will take about 30 minutes to complete a survey and to have three non-invasive measure-ments taken height/weight, waist and blood pressure. Kim Runge, St. Timothy’s Faith Community Nurse and Beth’s graduate stu-dents are assisting. The information gathered will help you and Kim as she plans future programs. This screening is open to mem-bers 19 and older. Watch for further information in March.

Monthly Highlights– Mark your calendar

March 5 Mardi Gras POTLUCK 6:00 pm and worship follows

March 6 Ash Wednesday Services at 7:30 am and 7:00 pm March 10 Daylight Savings Time begins– Spring forward! March 16 Life Line Screenings 9:00 am—4:30 pm March 17 Happy St. Patrick’s Day March 21 Lunch Bunch celebrates St. Paddy’s Day– 12:00 pm March 26 & 27 HESED HOUSE

Pr. David Miller

Worship and music

Mardi Gras Tuesday, March 5, 6:00pm Come celebrate the last day before Lent with some great food, live Dixieland Jazz and a Mardi Gras parade. Dinner is a potluck with a best Chili and Cajun dish competition. A great event for families and kids of all ages!

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday worship March 6, 7:00 p.m. Lent is a time of penitence and preparation where we admit our sinfulness and remember our need for God’s grace. Marked with the ashes of human mortality, we hear God’s promise of forgiveness and taste God’s mercy in the bread of life and cup of salvation.

We will also offer a 7:30 a.m. contemplative service with imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday morning.

Giving up … taking up, sermon series for Lent

Lent is a time for our spiritual renewal. What shall we give up … and take up during Lent this year? Wednesday worship will carry us deeper into God’s love and guidance as we consider that question in several ways:

March13 – Give up fears / Take up trust (Luke 4:1-13) March 20 – Give up indifference/Take up acceptance (Luke 13:31-35) March 27 – Spring Break, NO worship or programs April 3 -- Give up grudges/Take up forgiveness (Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32) April 10 – Give up excess/Take up simplicity (John 12:1-8) As always, the Ignite singers and band will lead, but with more reflective music that will touch your heart and carry you through Lent to the Easter celebration of Christ’s resurrection. To deepen your Lent and get to know others in a thoughtful ... and fun ... gathering, come to the to the

adult LOGOS discussion group that meets in the Conference Room at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday, then stay for worship.

Retreat in Daily Life You are invited to develop an intimate relationship with Christ during the Lent and Easter seasons by learning ways of Christian meditation and contemplation. We will meditate on Je-sus passion, from the Lord's Supper through the crucifixion, for four weeks, March 14 and 21, April 4 and 11; before meditating on the Resurrection for three weeks, April 25, May 2 and 9. All meetings are on Thursdays in the Cornerstone Room, 7 - 8:30 p.m. Pastor David leads. Register in the narthex.

Social Ministry

Hesed House Our commitment to Hesed House is March 26 & 27 Your time volunteering and donations of food are vital to the success of this ministry. There is no better way to Live the Love of Christ, than to serve your neighbors in their time of need. Thank you for supporting this ministry. MANY THANKS! Feed The Need Mobile pack 2019 Final Stats: 2/16 & 2/17 North Central College

1,330,992 nutritious meals and so much HOPE!

10% increase vs 2018

171 pallets + 6 boxes

5 Tractor Trailers

5800 volunteers

18,544 children will receive one meal a day for one year

Puppy Tails:

I’ve only been on the earth for a little over two years, but there are still a few things I can say with confidence. This is one of them: come the beginning of March I am sick of winter. There are some dogs that might tell you otherwise. I’ve been to the forest preserves on days after snows this year and seen the amaz-ing and inspiring packs of huskies that are pulling humans on large sleds. A huskie though I am not. My fur is a little too thin for super long outings in the snow. And here are other things that happen when I go outside for walks and bathroom trips.

The ice makes the pads on my paws freeze. Pastor Dan short-ens our walks significantly. And most importantly, all the best smells are trapped underneath the snow and ice. This last problem is a real issue at home when things aren’t completely shoveled, although I will refrain from naming names for not shoveling. When I arrive at St. Timothy for my important work days of greeting people at the door and taking naps on chairs and underneath desks my sniffing problem is no longer a prob-lem.

Thanks to a group of dedicated people of St. Timothy the smells in the St. Timothy parking lot remain free even after the heaviest of snow storms.

Youth Ministries

Sunday School 3/3/19 – Jesus is Transfigured

3/10/19 – Jesus is Tempted

3/17/19 – God’s Covenant with Abraham

3/24/19 – NO SUNDAY SCHOOL (Spring Break)

3/31/19 – NO SUNDAY SCHOOL (Spring Break)

LOGOS 3/6/19 – Unit 3: NO LOGOS (Ash Wednesday)

3/13/19 – Unit 3: Commandments

3/20/19 – Confirmation/LOGOS Dinner

3/27/19 – NO LOGOS (Spring Break)

VBS VBS 2019 at St. Timothy is June 24 – June 28, 9 am to 12 pm each day. Our theme this year is “Roar: Life is Wild, God is Good.” This epic African adventure engages the whole herd! At Roar, kids will explore God’s goodness and celebrate a ferocious faith that powers them through this wild life. Registration & volunteer sign-ups will begin the weekend of March 6—7 (with our “early bird” pricing), so keep an eye out at the Kids with CHRIST table.

Confirmation:

We will meet the following Wednesdays in March: 13 and 20. The 20

th will be our Confirmation/Logos Din-

ner night.

The lesson begins at 6:30pm on each Wednesday, but Confirmands are invited to come at 6:15 for sermon notes.

High School :

Sun 3: Youth Sunday

Sun 10: Whirlyball

Sun 17: Small Group

Sun 24: Off for Spring Break

Sun 31: Off for Spring Break

HEALTH CORNER

St. Timothy Hosts Life Line Screening

On Saturday, March 16 we will host a Life Line Screening event to foster physical wellness for our

congregation and the surrounding community.

The American Heart Association has a mission to improve the heart health of all Americans by 20 percent and reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent by 2020. In a 2014 study

1 nine

out of 10 specialists on the front lines of fighting vascular disease identified preventive screening for cardi-ovascular disease as a valuable health tool for patients with two-plus risk factors.

Life Line Screening shares this mission with the AHA by providing affordable, convenient, proactive testing to identify risk factors that can lead to heart disease, stroke and other serious illnesses. These risk factors are evaluated by three non-invasive methods to get you lab-accurate results and recom-mendations you can review with your doctor. Among testing included are vascular ultrasounds of the carot-id and peripheral arteries, heart rhythm analysis and more. This is what to expect, depending on your screening tests:

You may be required to fast for four to 12 hours before your appointment, depending on your screen-ing type.

At your appointment time, a professional Life Line Screening tech will call you to the private screening area to conduct your tests.

Each test takes just a few minutes and allows you to stay clothed and comfortable.

Once you're finished you may receive some of your test results, and the rest will come by mail within 2-3 weeks.

Thomas Burton, reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Pulitzer Prize winner, discussed his personal experience with carotid artery disease, its discovery, and its treatment in an August 25, 2018 article. To read the article click http://webreprints.djreprints.com/4417730329019.html Don't let heart disease and stroke get in the way of the life you love. Schedule an affordable, accurate health screening today. You can register and select your package choice on the signup sheet in the church narthex or you can call 888-814-0416 to register and receive a $10 discount or visit www.LiveLineScreening .com/community-partners.

Council Meeting—Highlights February 19, 2019

Church Council met for a Council Retreat led by Greg Kerfoot on 2/19. The purpose of the retreat was to focus on creating ideas for an overarching goal for St. Timothy for 2019. Several ideas came out of the meeting; Council will review those ideas and decide which to focus on.

Around St. Timothy

Library NEW in the biography section (found after fiction books): 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Heroines of the Faith by Michelle DeRusha. These engaging narratives are a potent reminder that God is always with us.

Hearts of Fire: Eight Women in the Underground Church and Their Stories of Costly Faith. Forward by Grazia Burnham. Stories conclude with self-reflection questions for the reader.

Also NEW: Put the Disciple Into Discipline by Erin MacPherson & Ellen Schuknecht (Section MF-3) gives parents the tools they need to truly disci-ple their kids through their most trying discipline situations. Their philosophy is compassionate and in-depth; their ideas are practical, peaceful and unify-ing for parent and child. With these tools, parents can guide their kids' hearts towards the God who loves them deeply, and survive those pull-out-your-hair parenting moments.

Adult Volleyball Nights! Looking for an opportunity to share some fel-lowship with other St Timothy members in the spirit of athletic competition? Come join us for Adult Volleyball Nights! We play (most) every Thursday night from 7pm until 9:30pm - or until we run out of energy, whichever comes first. Players 16 and over of all experience levels are welcome. Please contact John Waller (630-806-5253 or johnwaller2017@gmail.com) for more details.

Green Team Collections Thanks to everyone who recycled Christmas lights for SCARCE! We had a great response! Additional lights can be taken to SCARCE any time during the year.

Our Book Collection starts in March! Bring books in any condition to our bin. SCARCE will sort them, keep useable ones for teachers and non-profit groups, and recycle any damaged books responsibly. They are also collecting gently-used children’s books to send to children in need, such as for Taylorville, which was hit by a tornado last December. Thank you for Caring for God’s Earth!

Prayers We invite you to lift up members of our congregation in prayer. Each week, a number of families will be listed in Tid-bits and prayed for during worship. The following are on the prayer list for

MARCH

Robert & Indre Sedath

David and Marty

Brad & Julie Schulz

Caroline, Jackson and Hamson

Gary & Barb Schneider

John & Stacy Schllerstrom

Stacey, Nicole, Noa and Tessa

Geoff Schmit

Dylan and Andrea

Corey & Tonya Schmidt

Tyler and Trevor

Carolyn Schmit

Dylan and Andrea

Kristina Sakaityte-Osowski

Adomas and Lukas

Scott & Anna Russell

Lena and Nik

Rick & Sue Roellig

John & Paulett Rizek

Suzanne & Rachael Rizek

Ryan, Carter and Marcus Hwang

Dick & Shirley Riederer

Tom & Sally Rich

Taron and Lexi

Sharon Reed

Jeanette Ray

Allison and Jennifer

Walt & Chris Ravelo

Owen and Ella

Sue Rasmussen

Deborah & Sam Provenzano

Jack, Anna and Cate

Matt & Gina Pierce

Charlie and Holly

Lary & Kay Pfeiffer

Ken & Erin Perry

Ryan and Connor

Neil & Diane Pedersen