The Back Page
News, art, ideas from the back page of Grace's bimonthly newsletter, Grace Notes.
August 24, 2010
Thin Places
by the Rev. Michael D. Costello, Cantor
Martin Luther once wrote:
“When I look at all the saints . . . the story is the same. I can hear voices of rejoicing in their tabernacles, joyous songs and hymns of salvation and victory . . . and we sing along and join in the praise and thanks, just as we are one in our faith and trust in God.”
At the Great Thanksgiving, the presiding minister sings: “With the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn.” At that moment our voices are joined with all the company of heaven—Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of the resurrection, angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, and all the saints in glory. We join in their unending hymn: “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.”
There are times in the Christian life when the veil between heaven and earth is almost nonexistent. Celtic spirituality talks about these times as “thin places.” The veil is so thin that we can almost see and taste heaven itself. Perhaps the thinnest of all the thin places for us as Christians is at the Eucharistic table. At the Holy Communion, we enjoy the full substance of Jesus in bread and wine. His body and blood are given as gifts of grace.
In this Eucharistic foretaste of the feast to come, our faith is strengthened, our sins are forgiven, and we are given the voice to sing with all the saints in glory until that perfect day when we stand before God’s throne and see him face to face.
July 28, 2010
Sacramental Excitement
Pastor Kelly K. Faulstich
"She's like Father Frank." I think that's how the mother introduced me to Emma, her three-year-old daughter. I'm not sure if the second part of her introduction was Frank, but I know the Father part is right. In light of the recent statements from the Vatican, this introduction surprised me. I stood still for a moment in the restaurant amidst the other wedding rehearsal dinner guests, reflecting on how I might be like this Father Frank.
Turns out Father Frank is an Episcopal priest in California and he had presided at Emma's baptism. Father Frank was the guy up front, "in the fancy robes," Emma's mother explained to her. Emma and her family were at Grace a few weekends ago for a cousin's wedding. Emma was one of the flower girls.
I thought the Father Frank correlation would stick with me as further reflection material (clearly, it has), but it is a question and the excitement of little Emma that keeps dancing in my mind. Not all three-year-olds are cut out for wedding party material. They can freak out when it comes to the long aisle and people looking at them. Emma did just fine. You see, Emma had her own context from which to draw when it came to walking up the center aisle of a church.
When it came time for her to process, she looked at her dad and asked excitedly, "Are we going up for communion now?" Are we going up for communion now? I love how this little Episcopalian, halfway across the country, was excited at the possibility of receiving the sacrament. Are we going up for communion now? As Jesus hosts this meal, I hope we all might come with the same anticipation and joy that the children bring.
This article is the second in a series of six monthly articles to be written by Pastors Modahl, Costello and myself about Holy Communion.
June 30, 2010
Whetting Our Appetite for the Lord’s Supper
Pastor Bruce K. Modahl
A question posed in Luther’s Small Catechism is, “When is a person
rightly prepared to receive the Lord’s Supper?” I remember pastors and
teachers quoting Matthew 5:23-24, “So when you are offering your gift at
the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something
against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be
reconciled to your brother or sister and then come and offer your gift.”
Proper preparation for communion involved making peace with everyone.
We had to be careful or we might eat and drink judgment against
ourselves, as Paul warned in 1 Corinthians 11:29.
However Jesus was not talking about the Lord’s Supper in Matthew 5. And
in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul’s warning has to do with discerning the people
of God as the body of Christ.
What Luther said was “that person is well prepared and worthy who
believes these words, 'given and shed for you for the remission of
sins'. . . . [F]or the words 'for you' require simply a believing
heart.” All the preparation necessary is knowing that we are sinners in
need of God’s grace. I know that about myself and I want to taste God’s
forgiveness in this meal every Lord’s Day, every Sunday.
My desire as your pastor is to nurture in you a hunger for the Lord’s
Supper and an expectation that when you come to church on Sunday, you
will receive God in Word and Sacrament. As we were taught, your pastors
preach the sacraments as the means of God’s grace. Word and Sacrament
are pure gifts from God.
This article is the first in a series of six monthly articles to be
written by Pastors Faulstich, Costello and myself about Holy Communion.
June 9, 2010
These Eagles Can Soar
by Pastor Dean Lueking
“Mom, I love you. . . . Dad, you’re the greatest!”
How often do sixteen-year-old boys stand up, unabashed by the presence
of their peers and parents, and say words like these?
It happened in Fellowship Hall on a recent Sunday afternoon as five
newly minted Eagle Scouts of Troop 66 received Scouting’s top rank: Mark
Carioscio, Ryan Conrardy, Tim McAdam, Patrick McQuade, and Charlie
Thompson—five new Eagles in one swoop! Pretty rare. Plenty wonderful.
The Scouts themselves take front and center roles in these Eagle
Investiture ceremonies, as throughout the entire Scouting program. At
the start, the Tenderfoot lads are nervous and unsure. Then they see the
older boys, growing poised and more confident as they move up the
ranks. Something of lasting importance happens. Older boys influence the
younger cropIt happened in Fellowship Hall on a recent Sunday afternoon
as five newly minted Eagle Scouts of Troop 66 received Scouting’s top
rank—for good. Values for a lifetime are shaped. It’s moving and it’s
memorable.
All this takes stellar adult leadership. This summer Troop 66
Scoutmaster Mike Carioscio is stepping down after twenty years of
leadership in the Scout and Cub program, assisted mightily by the entire
Carioscio clan, especially Diane, who mentors the aspiring Eagles for
their projects and is all-around Scoutmother. Steve Beck will now follow
as Scoutmaster. John Knupp, crossing over from Cubmaster, will add his
help. Former Troop 66 Scoutmaster Marc White is an Area Commissioner.
Other Grace adults volunteer generously to get things done.
Troop 66, now in its 76th year, is alive and well with 61 boys
registered for the wholesome Friday night Scout activities at Grace
Church. Since l934, eighty have become Eagles. Congratulations to all
who keep that moving.
Interested in this for your eleven-year-old? A call to the Carioscios at
771-7287 can start something valuable, fun, and of lasting good for
boys becoming men.
May 19, 2010
Celebrating a Special Teacher
by Gwen Gotsch
Susie Calhoun, Grace’s second grade teacher since 1981, is retiring at the end of this school year. She leaves behind a legacy of special days and special projects that have inspired students not just to love learning, but to become actively involved in science, history, and conservation. Her second graders have traced the history of River Forest in headstones at Forest Home Cemetery, have collected scientific data on nature hikes at the Indiana Dunes, and have learned to appreciate all kinds of spiders while coming to love the self-sacrificing spider at the heart of "Charlotte’s Web."
Mrs. Calhoun has also taught science units in grades three through six, lessons which included participating in the annual clean-up of Silver Creek in Melrose Park, and gathering at Concordia for an evening moon watch.
Susie Calhoun graduated from Concordia in 1967 and started her teaching career at Immanuel Lutheran School in Des Plaines. She also taught in Columbus, Indiana, while her husband, Dick, was in graduate school at Indiana University. When he joined the Concordia science faculty, they became members of Grace.
Confirmation students at Grace know Mrs. Calhoun as a catechist in the confirmation program. She has led the monthly Sunday morning mentor sessions, in which eighth grade confirmands are paired with adults from the congregation for discussions, activities and support.
We will give thanks to God for Susie’s ministry during the 11:00 a.m. worship service on Sunday, May 30. A family-friendly luncheon follows in Fellowship Hall. If you wish to contribute to the cost of the event and a gift, please write “Calhoun retirement” on the memo line of your check or in the "other" when you donate online. Letters of congratulations and good wishes can be mailed to Grace or dropped off at the reception desk. Or use the online form.
May 5, 2010
Portraits of the Prophets: Deborah
Benjamin Chandler
April 21, 2010
Dear Confirmands of All Times and Places
Pastor Kelly K. Faulstich
As your pastors, mentors, and families come forward on Confirmation
Sunday, we will lay our hands on your heads and pray these words:
Father in heaven, for Jesus’ sake, stir up in these young people the gift of your Holy Spirit; confirm their faith, guide their lives, empower them in their serving, give them patience in suffering, and bring them to everlasting life. Amen.
As is always the case in prayer, we make petition to God that God do
the acting, that God take action. God stirs. God confirms. God guides
and empowers and gives patience and brings life. In faith, you are
never alone. Some of you were baptized years ago as little babies. One
of you was baptized a month ago at the Easter Vigil. In your baptism,
you were welcomed into a community of faith, a family claimed and led
by God, our loving parent.
At Confirmation, you will promise to continue in the covenant God made
with you in Holy Baptism. You’ve studied the Small Catechism. You’ve
studied the Bible. You’ve joined in fellowship with your classmates.
Confirmation isn’t a celebration of completion. This doesn’t mean that
you are done with church. There is more to learn, there is more
fellowship to be shared. God never stops acting. God is still going to
stir the Spirit within you and to move you and guide you to serve.
Some people will say that you are “the future of the Church,” but I
think that you are the Church now. You are called to love and to share
the good news of Jesus Christ. You are called to worship and to study
God’s word and to pray for all of God’s creation. This is a big
responsibility and I hope that you will take it seriously. When you get
older (and older, and older), I hope you will remember how God was with
you as a young adult. I hope you will remember all of the hands on your
head and the people in the sanctuary praying for you. I hope you will
always know, in faith, in Christ, in community, you are never alone.
See you on Sunday!
(and the Sunday after that, and the next one, and the next one….)
April 7, 2010
Joyful Voices
Gwen Gotsch
Every Wednesday evening during the school year, at 6:00 p.m., Joyful
Voices are heard in Grace’s second-floor music rehearsal room. Joyful
Voices is the name of the youngest, smallest and liveliest of Grace’s
choirs. It’s open to children in first through fourth grade, and it
gives them an all-important opportunity to take a leadership role in
worship services. The singers in this group include children who do and
do not attend Grace School.
I have directed this choir for the past two and a half years. During
that time, we’ve had anywhere from six to fourteen children in the
choir, mostly girls, with the occasional brave young man. I will tell
you a few secrets about this choir. First, we often rehearse barefoot or
in our stocking feet. It just seems to happen. Sometimes we dance
around the room, to the music that we will be singing in church! That’s
because singing requires more than your voice. Music lives in your body,
and getting your body moving gets your spirit involved also. Second, we
play games in choir rehearsals. There’s the Pattern Game, which
requires careful listening. This year we’ve been playing rhythm games
with balls made by crumpling up paper we find in the recyling
wastebasket.
All this activity helps the children learn the music they sing in
worship services every month. We talk about the words we sing and about
the God we praise, so that we can communicate our love and awe in
response to all that Jesus has done for us. New singers are welcome at
any time during the year. There’s a lot of repetition, so even beginning
readers can learn songs quickly, just by listening and using their
brains.
And when Joyful Voices is over at 7:00 p.m., we sing our way down the
stairs, through the atrium and out the front doors and play tag until
parents arrive for pick-up!
March 24, 2010
This Youngster Is Looking for One Like You
Pastor Dean Lueking
He/she is one of several hundred right here in our communities who have little going for them at home and therefore fall short academically in our local elementary schools or high school. Not only are such kids and youth educationally at risk; their emotional baggage can make them hard to deal with at times. Signing on as a mentor means showing up anyway and sticking with the youth since it’s about them, not us.
John Williams, Oak Park Township Youth Services Director (and a real gift to our local communities), recently sent out a call for potential mentors. I attended an orientation session with several dozen other townspeople of varied age and background to check it out. All of us who are actively interested are currently undergoing a thorough background check before being approved for mentoring a youngster for a nine-month commitment, beginning next fall.
What’s involved? A) Meeting with an assigned youth for two hours, twice a month, usually after school, B) at a schedule that works for mentor and mentee, C) in a safe, neutral place like a school room, library, etc. , D) With the agreement and cooperation of the youth’s parent(s), E) being a trusted listener, coach, friend for the youth’s personal growth. Doesn’t mean you need to be a whiz at calculus. A wise, caring, dependable spirit is what’s needed.
Twenty five of us (including several GLC folks) are in the startup group. A hundred more are needed. Two hours. Twice a month. For nine months, September – June. Call John at the township office, 708-445-2727, tell him Dean suggested it, on behalf of that youngster looking for one like you.
March 10, 2010
A Giant Has Fallen From Our Midst
Pastor Dean Lueking
Since the late l970’s, how often have we sung “This is the feast of
victory for our God” as part of our full Sunday liturgy at Grace!
Relatively few of us are aware that this soaring music was composed by
the modest man who sat with his wife, Gloria, on the center aisle, a
half dozen rows back, week after week, year after year. Nor did we
associate this quietly dignified man with snow white hair with the
composer of 24 hymns in our green Lutheran Book of Worship, as well as
other liturgical music within its pages.
Richard Hillert was hardly one to stand up on the church pew and
declare, “You know, folks, I’m the composer of the music you just
sang!” His manner was the polar opposite of self-promotion. Yet this
rarely gifted church musician, a faculty member at Concordia from 1959
till 1993 and Grace member for 50 years, is known worldwide – literally
– as simply peerless for the quality of his sacred music. His
compositions appear in hymnals of every denomination, in a variety of
languages.
His death on February 18 moves a uniquely gifted musical genius from
the church militant to the church triumphant. When giving thanks for
his faithful stewardship of his gifts, let’s be more mindful that Grace
congregation is blessed like no other congregation, anywhere, not only
with Richard Hillert, but with Carl Schalk, Paul Bouman, Carlos
Messerli, the late Paul Bunjes, and other church musicians whose work
is widely known and respected.
As our cantor, Michael Costello, and our choirs stir us with inspiring
music Sunday after Sunday, we have so much to be grateful for! Please
don’t miss the wealth in worship our dear Lord gives us in our
congregation so well named – Grace.
February 24, 2010
Take Me to the Water
Pastor Michael Costello
Our theme for mid-week services this year during Lent is “Take Me to
the Water: Singing the Spirituals through Lent.” For some it may seem
odd to sing spirituals during this very somber season of the church’s
year, but to those who suffered and were persecuted during times of
slavery, the journey toward freedom was often intimately associated
with Israel’s journey out of slavery and deliverance into the Promised
Land. Interestingly, many of the spirituals make reference to and
proclaim hope in God’s saving power through water for bringing new life.
As God’s people, freed from the slavery of sin and baptized into the
promise of Christ’s death and resurrection, we journey with those who
first sang these spirituals to the font at the great Vigil of Easter.
It is there, at the celebration of Christ’s pascha (passage) from death
to life, that we will sing a spiritual of faith once more. Candidates
for baptism will become partakers of Christ’s pascha as their old lives
are drowned and their new lives in the risen Christ begin.
May we be there to celebrate with them as they become members of
Christ’s body. And may we sing with them along the way, “Take me to the
water… to be baptized.”
February 10, 2010
Lent 2010
by Pastor Faulstich
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness;
in your great compassion blot out my offenses. Psalm 51:1
On Wednesday, February 17, we will begin our observance of Lent, the
season preceding Easter during which we reflect on our lives as
followers of Christ. In the early church, Lent was a season of
preparation when people new to the faith prepared for their baptism
during the vigil of Easter. It was a time of instruction in the faith.
New members would fast and pray as they prepared for their entry into
the community.
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. As the most solemn of days
during the church year, Ash Wednesday begins with Psalm 51 and the
imposition of ashes. Our foreheads are marked with the ashes made from
last year’s palms to remind of us our mortality and our baptismal
identity when we were marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with
the Holy Spirit.
During Lent, we will gather on Wednesday evenings for a time of
fellowship and worship. Lenten dinners will be served at 6:30 p.m. and
worship is at 7:30 p.m. We will also gather for worship on Wednesday
mornings at 10 a.m. Our midweek theme this year is “Take Me to the
Water: Singing Spirituals Through Lent.”
I hope you will consider making this midweek worship a part of your Lenten disciplines.
January 27, 2010
What Does Stewardship Mean to You?
From the Stewardship Committee
What does stewardship mean to you?
Members of the Stewardship Committee are interested in knowing. For us,
as we regularly contemplate the meaning of stewardship, we have come to
see that it can mean different things, depending on where Christians
are in their faith journey. We see stewardship as an act of worship, an
expression of our faith and a discipline for spiritual growth. For
many, stewardship has become a way of life.
In practicing stewardship, many people tell us, their faith has been
strengthened. Here’s what one Grace member says about stewardship:
“Put your faith in God”
It was in 2007 that my life took a downward spiral. My father died; I became divorced. I lost my job and on that same day I had to put down one of my two dogs. My former job required me to work most Sundays, so often I was unable to come to church. This presented a problem for me, as I am a lifelong member and my family has had a long, rich heritage at Grace. However, once I was no longer working Sundays, I was able to return to Sunday worship and reconnect with God and Jesus Christ.
By January 2008 I had secured a part-time job that became full-time in June. During the time I was out of work, I continued my offerings to Grace. When the job became full-time, I readjusted my donations to the tithing level and even a little beyond that. Although life looked dismal and bleak for a while, I kept faith in God and even increased my giving. In turn, God blessed me. I have a roof over my head, I can attend church services more frequently, and I have a job that, although it pays only a fraction of my former salary, provides me with benefits and allows me to tithe. Life looks a whole lot better now.
Put your faith in God; He will bless you in return.
The Stewardship Committee is interested in publishing your giving story. Do you have one to share? Please contact Kathryn Jandeska of the Stewardship Committee (kjandeska@sbcglobal.net).
January 13, 2010
Checking In
by Pastor Dean Lueking
The Lueking Ministry Fund was established - can it be?- nearly twelve years ago to support our continuing ministry in retirement abroad and at home. Whoosh! is the word for how time flies as I tell you highlights of the dozen years past.
- Twice yearly air travel to eastern Europe, l998-2005, fall and spring semesters, to teach seminarians in Bratislava, Slovakia, plus leadership seminars in Russia, Romania, Albania.
- Scholarships for 18 deserving students I've met and mentored along the way. The six women and twelve men are now in Lutheran teaching and pastoral ministries in Africa, Asia, and eastern Europe.
- Global travel, 2005-9, to Africa, South America, Asia, Oceania and Europe to teach master's degree candidates of World Vision and Habitat for Humanity organizations. During these past four years, we've met with lay and clergy Lutherans in 32 countries for the book on global Lutherans due out later this year. With Beverly's essential partnership, we've helped deepen the Christian vocations of over 250 people serving people in five continents. Your LMF dollars paid for our travel and lodging - some of which were real doozies.
- Now in 2010 our overseas teaching is less. I continue to direct your LMF offerings to worthy causes abroad and at home. Example: this week, $5000 went out to AIDS orphans in Malawi, Lutheran schools in Palestine, Lutheran Deaconess Association, and micro-enterprise projects in Russia and Colombia.
LMF works this way: every contributed dollar of yours that I requisition is first approved by the Board of Elders, with whom I document every expense item and to whom I report. Your primary stewardship, please remember, goes to our total Grace ministry. Thanks greatly for supporting this additional outreach for Christ. God willing, we'll keep it up.
December 30, 2009
Good News People for a Bad News World
by Pastor Dean Lueking
The daily bad news about the state of the world is depressingly old hat. How we need the authentic Good News about what God is up to in his church in our world in these very times!
It's been a great privilege for Beverly and me to meet and learn from many overseas Christians these past years and bring you occasional mini-reports via Grace Notes. We're glad every time we hear people say they read them with interest.
Come Sunday, January 3, the Adult Ed Committee has asked us for an hour's overview of global Christianity today. We'll try to do that in the 9:45 hour as we bring you our Show and Tell account of fellow Lutherans we've met in Ethiopia and Finland, China and Nicaragua, Palestine and Papua New Guinea. These must be selectively brief, to be sure, but the goal is to illustrate global church trends through real people whose life stories inform and inspire.
As a factual backdrop for January 3, think about this: in the past 60 years the explosive growth of Christianity south of the equator has marked the most dramatic change in the demographics of Christianity in the past 1700 years. I want to document that challenging claim through people we've met in our global journeys.
It's an exciting time to be alive! Not only can we hear about wonderful people of faith in far corners of the earth, but belong with them more genuinely in the worldwide family of God's people as all of us keep living the Good News in all kinds of bad situations. Please come, listen, learn, and be the better for it as we enter 2010, anno Domini.
December 9, 2009
On the Other Side of Christmas
Pastor Kelly K. Faulstich
We prepared for weeks now.
Four candles lit one by one upon the wreath.
Presents purchased and packaged with care.
Trees hauled home, lighted, trimmed.
WIth great self-control we opened the doors
of our Advent calendars,
to eat one little chocolate each day.
As soon as Christmas day concludes,
paper and ribbons thrown in the trash,
trees hauled to the curb,
after sales at stores commence.
But the twelve days of Christmastide begin.
A celebration longer than a few minutes
Of dismantled stockings and gifts unwrapped.
Carols and prayers continued,
Christ still our center,
Reverence and revelry coexist
As manger moves toward magi.
November 25, 2009
"Portraits of the Prophets: Daniel" by Benjamin Chandler, art teacher at Grace School
November 11, 2009
Serve One Another in Love by Kendall Grigg, Principal, Grace Lutheran School
On October 29, Grace students in grades three through eight worked alongside Concordia University students as they packaged meals with the organization Feed My Starving Children. The meals, packed in small pouches, are designed especially for severely malnourished children. Working in teams, Grace students measured ingredients, weighed and sealed the bags, and packed the meals into boxes to be shipped to starving children around the world. As the children participated in the event, they were reminded that their lives are enriched as they graciously give their own time and resources to help others in need. (“Give and it will be given to you,” Luke 6:28.)
As a team we helped the Concordia students pack an event total of 100,872 meals, surpassing their goal of 100,000! God, through his light reflecting off each of the children, led them to join hands and hearts in this task! Our hope is that this experience will encourage the children to put their faith into action as they begin to look for other opportunities to serve in our community, as we build relationships with one another, and seek to serve our neighbor.
October 28, 2009
German Spoken Here by Dean Lueking, Pastor Emeritus
Bucking the trend of elementary schools dropping foreign language study, Carol Ewald, aka "Frau," delivered quality German language instruction to Grace School children, K thru 8, from 1981 until 2008, while also teaching at Walther and Oak Park River Forest High School. Hundreds of GLS alums can still manage a respectable "Guten morgen" or one of the charming children's songs they learned at Grace's Oktoberfest, thanks to Frau Ewald's cheerful, exacting teaching style.
In more recent years, Carol and husband, Bill, have also escorted seven biennial high school student exchanges with German students and families in Hamburg. Each trip, high school youth from OPRF set out for several weeks of language immersion as guests of a German family. Carol and Bill then arrange for a similar number of German students to be received in homes here. Under the watchful eyes of the Ewalds, 288 high school youth have participated in the program. In the summer of 2009, ten of the twenty American students in the program were Grace members and/or Grace School alumni. That's notable, especially in an era when we Americans miss so much because we don't bother to learn how others speak and think.
Memorable events: always this - experiencing life in another culture and finding it exciting. Free lodging once in a gorgeous Bavarian Alps hostel when the scheduled hosts didn't come through. Losing an engine on a 747 over the Atlantic, resulting not only in a safe landing in Iceland but posh hotel accommodations plus a $400 voucher from the airline. The kids' summary comment: "really cool - better than learning more German, in fact!"
May Frau Ewald and Bill (a retired teacher of German and business at Concordia University) keep on steering us clear of language laziness, and may their bridges of international understanding between youth be well traveled into the future.
October 14, 2009
"Portraits of the Prophets: Hosea" by Benjamin Chandler, art teacher at Grace School
September 30., 20009
"Portraits of the Prophets: Isaiah" by Benjamin Chandler, art teacher at Grace School
