We're Moving to Church Center!

Hey hey LaSalle,

Lucas Sweitzer, Associate Director of Communications & Administration

Big news! This summer, we’re changing our church management system from Breeze to the new and improved Church Center. This is not just a tech upgrade; it’s a leap towards enhancing our ministry and making our community ties stronger and more efficient.

Why Church Center?

Church Center offers a huge array of management tools we’re excited to start using as a staff. It rolls all the cool stuff we loved with Breeze—online giving, a digital directory, and communication tools—into a new package. Plus, it brings a bunch of new features that’ll help our staff streamline operations, boost our communication with volunteers, and cut down costs. It’s a real win-win!

Your Part in This Exciting Change

If you're a member at LSC, regularly attend our worship services, and get our weekly newsletter, we've already moved your details from Breeze to Church Center. But, we need just a little bit of your time (about 5-10 minutes) to make sure everything’s on point. Here’s how you can help:

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CONNECT TO CHURCH CENTER:

1. Log in to Church Center. Head to lasallestreetchurch.churchcenter.com, or download the free Church Center app from the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android. Begin to log in using your phone number or the email address where you receive LSC communication, like this newsletter. After entering that information, Church Center will send your phone or email a two-factor authentication code, to make sure your account is claimed and secure.

2. Check that your contact & personal information is up to date. Once you’re logged in, head to your Profile & Settings to confirm your contact information is correct. You may see multiple email addresses or phone numbers listed you’ve previously used in connection to LaSalle – please remove old contact information you no longer use and add new contact information if you’d like.

3. Confirm you are linked to your entire household. Church Center groups families together in ‘households’ – if you attend LaSalle with a spouse, partner, or kids, check to see that they’re listed in your household. If something seems incorrect or missing, reach out to Lucas at lsweitzer@lasallestreetchurch.org -- only staff can edit / create households.

4. Set up a recurring or one-time donation and cancel any recurring gifts on Breeze. Church Center will be replacing our previous online giving platform on Breeze. From your Church Center account, tap or click on ‘Give'. Enter the amount of your current Breeze recurring gift, then tap 'Next'. Select a fund to give to, your desired recurring gift frequency, and under "Payment Method" select 'Add a new payment method'. Church Center accepts banking information, credit cards, and Apple Pay. We recommend you use your banking information (bank account & routing number) when setting up a new gift, as this saves the church money on credit card processing fees. Regardless of your payment method, you will also be given the option to cover the fee in addition to your gift.

When you have completed the set up for your recurring gift in Church Center, cancel the gift by logging in to Breeze at https://lasallestreetchurch.breezechms.com then clicking "Give Now" in the top bar. Click "Recurring Gifts" in the sidebar, or from the dashboard, select "Manage Recurring Giving." Click "change" next to the recurring gift you wish to update, then click "Stop Recurring Gift" in the bottom left corner. Click "OK" to confirm cancellation of the recurring gift. You can contact Katie, Finances & Operations Assistant, at kkeilman@lasallestreetchurch.org or 312.573.8823 if you need help with transferring over your giving! 

After you've canceled your donation in Breeze and set it up in Church Center, you're good to go! The church staff will take care of closing down Breeze entirely once everyone's information has been confirmed.

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If you’d like to confirm your information in person rather than online, you’re in luck. Throughout the summer, we’ll be hosting ‘office open hours’ sessions where Jonathan and I will be in the church office after worship on Sundays to walk you through the steps, and answer any questions you might have. Our first open hours session is coming up this Sunday — plan to join us there!

Family Ministry Updates

Associate Pastor of Formation, Rev. Alicia

We wanted to give you a little update on what our kids and youth have been up to this winter! But before we get to that, I want to give a little shout out to our incredible volunteers and childcare staff that faithfully serve our families with their time and talents. We will be celebrating them formally in the coming weeks, but for now, if you see them with our kids, make sure to thank them!

Nursery and Kids’ Church

Every Sunday we have Nursery and Kids’ Church for our kids 6 and under during the service. The winter our Kids’ Church has been walking through the stories of Jesus with fun coloring sheets and interactive activities. We hired another childcare worker this winter, Pamela, who has been a great addition to our already strong team: Seana, Aleks, and Linda.

Elementary Sunday School

Our elementary students have Sunday School during service on Banquet Sundays and after service on Belong Sundays. This winter they have also been exploring the stories of Jesus, starting with the couple of stories we have of Jesus as a child and then exploring the teachings of Jesus. Another staple of our Sunday School classes is Bible Trivia where our kids are flexing their bible muscles and getting extra treats. I am extremely thankful for Verily, Kate, and Scott for their faithful leadership with our kids!

 WeBelong Classes

In January we started a new class for our elementary kiddos called “WeBelong” that meets during the sermon on Belong Sundays. During this class, we meet in the Lower Level of the sanctuary and learn about some of the things we do in our services and why they are important to our faith journeys. So far, we’ve talked about the why behind sermons and communion. In April, we’ll be talking about Baptism!

Youth Group Started in New Youth Room

We kicked off our youth group on Sunday, February 18th. Our first few meetings surrounded creating a space of our own in the Cornerstone Center. Our youth have done a great job organizing and setting up a space in Cornerstone Center that is just for them! They picked a paint color, hung lights, set up the seating area, and are looking forward to further decorating this space. You can check out our new space in Cornerstone room 308. Our Youth Group meets every Banquet and Belong Sunday and is a space for our youth to get to know one another and deepen their relationship with God through games, teaching, and discussion.

Need for Teachers

We are still in need of a few more adults willing to volunteer once a month in our Elementary Sunday School Class. Specifically, we need people who are willing to teach the lesson from our curriculum. I can train you and set you up for success! Please reach out to me if you are willing to help!

Elder Board Nominations

Elder Board Moderator Kari McGrath

It has been a busy couple of weeks with spring breaks and Easter holiday activities. If you're like me, that means that important, but seemingly not urgent items can fall off of my to do list. Good news!  I'm here to remind you to put elder board nominations back at the top of your list this week!

As I shared a couple of weeks ago, it is the time of year that we, as a body, have the opportunity to participate in nominating new elders. The nominations for the incoming board members come from you, our congregation.

Below you will find:

1. Details on the nominating process, including the type of experience and background we are hoping to add to the board in this season

2. Information on a proposed bylaw amendment that will allow us to create a more stable structure for the board going forward

3. A nomination form (that includes a drop down of all current members eligible to be nominated). Just complete the form and hit submit. It's that easy!

Hopefully you've had time to give some prayerful consideration to which LSC members have gifts that will fit the board in this season. As a reminder, some of the key experience we are seeking is in the areas of marketing, organizational change, finance/non-profit management, and building design or remodeling.  Our desire is to cast a wide net in order to build a board that represents a multiethnic, multigenerational, multi denominational body.

In order for us to support this year's nominating committee and give them time to do their work effectively, we need you to submit your nominations by Sunday, April 7. Yes, that is this Sunday! If the electronic option doesn't work for you, we'll have paper copies of the nomination form available in the sanctuary on Sunday. 

Thank you in advance for supporting this important process in the life of LaSalle Street Church.

Kari

Elder Board Moderator

Celebrate Easter with Us!

It was such a joy to kick off Holy Week with all of you on Palm Sunday. And thanks to those who joined Pastor Brent and other local congregations walking in solidairty for a Gaza ceasefire last Saturday. We still have some great Holy Week programs coming up this Friday and Sunday — we hope you can join us for any of the events below!

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Good Friday Prayer Walk

This Friday, March 29, 3 - 5:00 PM beginning in Seward Park

This Friday afternoon, pastors from LSC will be joining with other local congregations to walk and pray around the Near North side neighborhood, in a practice modeled after the Stations of the Cross. Walk with us and reflect on the grace and promise of the Easter season in our local context! We’ll gather in Seward Park (375 W. Elm Street) and begin the walk at 3:15 PM.

Good Friday Evening Service

This Friday, March 29, 7:00 PM in our Sanctuary

Before the celebration of Easter, we reflect on the sacrifice of Good Friday, the day we mark and remember Jesus’ death on the cross that presages the resurrection. We’ll be hosting a contemplative service in our Sanctuary at 7:00 PM to reflect on the power of the cross and the life it has brought to the church and the world. Our service is geared for kids and youth about 10 years old and up — though all ages are welcome to join!

Easter Sunday & the ‘Big Day’ Celebration!

This Sunday, March 31, 10 AM in our Sanctuary & Leslie Hall

Our Easter Sunday service begins in our Sanctuary at 10 AM with worship from our all-ages Easter choir, a sermon from Rev. Liz, as well as communion and community testimony celebrating the Good News of Jesus Christ! Don’t miss it — and after service, head to Leslie Hall for our ‘Big Day’ celebration, where we’ll have activities for kids & families, a raffle (with a grand prize Easter basket put together by Pastor Julie!), and more.

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We’re so excited to reflect on Good Friday, and celebrate Easter Sunday in the days ahead! Whether you plan to mark these days with us at LaSalle or elsewhere, we hope this Holy Week is a time to grow deeper in relationship with God, reflect on the sacrifice of Easter, and celebrate the Good News of the Gospel togeher with our church body and your family.

Serve Sunday Recap!

Director of Outreach & Advocacy Julie Welborn

Expansive Faith, Generous Community, Invested in God’s Justice!

This is who we say we are and what we strive to reflect.  From what took place this past Sunday, I’d say we hit a home run.  

Our Serve Sunday began service rooting us in our faith that reminded us that we need one another to survive; that we are called to pray for one another; and that our words don’t bring harm, but love. Our scripture text shared the story of Jesus and his disciples feeding the 5 thousand and how there was an abundance available.

I had the wonderful honor to share a bit about 2 of our outreach ministries - Senior Market and Breaking Bread.  I anchored our conversation in the scripture from 2 Corinthians 8:13a-14 that states: “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality.”

I believe authentic ministry is serving others.  Service is not just about one party’s needs being met - it’s an exchange.  Both party’s needs are met.  What you have, I may not.  And what I have, you may not. But when we connect in community, our generosity allows everyone to have what they need.  And that’s true equality, a tangible manifestation of God’s justice.

We were privileged to hear from Keith Richardson, Supervisor of the kitchen, current Cornerstone Children’s Learning Center and Childtime Cook, former chef for Breaking Bread, and backup cook for Breaking Bread, custodian and front desk clerk  He shared a few nuggets of his history at LaSalle and how his life was transformed by serving others.  We also heard from Francis Little, the current Service Coordinator of both Senior Market and Breaking Bread, with an invitation to all to come out and join us on a Tuesday or Wednesday as we serve and connect with the community.

The congregation was then broken into groups to begin our work of service.  Some prepared hygiene kits to be passed out, some served as food preparers and servers, and others served as table hosts.  Our children and youth set the tables, passed out orange juice and coffee and were on hand to meet the needs of our guests.

We almost doubled the number of guests served in comparison to our last Serve Sunday.  The word got out that we were providing breakfast and fellowship, and the people showed up. 

It was such an amazing sight and day - one could hardly distinguish between the servers and guests. And that’s the point!  We were truly a Community on Sunday.

Thank you to everyone who showed up and served in whatever capacity that was needed.

Discovering Who God Is—Together

I can't tell you how often in my life I have wished that God communicated more clearly.

There have been times when I faced a decision that felt so big and important that I begged for a message from God written directly in the clouds. ("Won't you please just make the way clearer?") At times I've disagreed passionately with others about a point of belief, and even when I tried to make my point with Scripture, the other person found verses in the Bible to support their perspective, too. ("Why didn't God make this more obvious for all of us?") I have often wished that God would appear in the dreams of a certain senator or representative, like the ghosts confronting Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, to scare them into voting in the interests of justice and mercy. ("Don't you know how much power these people have?")

These longings found great company in Mallory Wickoff's fourth chapter in God Is, "God is Communicator." It's the chapter we're reading this week for the adult formation series—check out the schedule here. Mallory acknowledges all the ways we humans struggle to communicate with each other, like how we misunderstand the meaning of song lyrics or absorb precisely the opposite conclusion from what a professor meant to convey, and she asks why God would be willing to "inhabit human language." Why, she wonders, "would God take on the risks" of being misunderstood?

And her answer is simple: Love. "For love, God enters into the mess and dares to speak, dares to be heard, dares to communicate to humanity."

A few weeks ago I shared A. W. Tozer's remark that "what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." What comes in our minds when we think about God is also informed by a huge variety of influences: Scripture, art, sermons, podcasts, films, spiritual experiences, mentors, friends, nature, you name it.

Many of us who find our way to LaSalle have had to take on the hard work of deconstructing false and harmful images of God that we picked up along the way: images of a God who was exclusively male, or White, or harsh, or indifferent, or hateful. Often we picked up those images in all the same places (art, sermons, mentors), and the work of identifying what is false and letting go of it isn't easy.

I am convinced that our best chance at discovering more of the goodness of who our God is—a God of love, and power, and presence, and justice, and mercy, and, and, and—is to explore together with others. None of us has the whole picture. I need you to tell me what you've discovered about God. You need me to tell you what I've discovered about God.

Furthermore, I'm convinced that this is how God intends for it to happen! God wants us to share this joyful journey of discovery together. Together, we can create brave space for each other to name and let go of (and lament, often with tears) those false and harmful images we picked up along the way. Together, we can share our wonder and delight about who God is, like you'd share big news on Instagram. And together, we come to understand that God is bigger than any one of us, bigger than any one person's imagination or definition.

Here comes the invitation: We have an incredible chance to do this work together this spring, in our God Is discussion classes and small groups. Consider joining a small group, if you haven't already—they start on Sunday, 3/10, and you have a couple more days to sign up.

I often wish, still, that God communicated more clearly, but I'm learning that it's easier to discern God's voice when I do so with others. Come and see!

Deeply Rooted

by Sharon WIlliams

As I “bid farewell” to my Lasalle Street Church and Cornerstone Center family and enter into the next chapter in my life’s story, it is a true time of reflection.   Looking back on my journey at LSC, I am amazed at just how deeply my roots have grown into the foundation here and become a “cornerstone” in the fabric of this community.  It is so deep that it is hard to imagine not coming to work and entering the doors of Cornerstone Center or no longer being the Gatekeeper to the LaSalle Street Church office and the Hub through which so many things, activities, and people flow.  

Making things happen when, at times, I didn’t know how they would happen myself...  During those times, I would have to say “BUT GOD” …  In those moments, I see His hand and footprints, a reminder that I could always turn to God and trust that He would provide." 

He was (and is) always faithful and never failed to put people or things in place when I needed them most.  If I didn’t have an answer or the knowledge to get something done, I could always count on the fact that one or more of my LSC/CC staff family members did! That is the beauty of our team, we are always there for one another, providing support and encouragement.  What a blessing it has been to serve alongside each and every one of them, past and present. 

I never imagined it would be so hard “just to let go!”  But I must admit, it is bittersweet and so hard to fathom, no longer being on staff and no longer being the liaison between the staff, congregants, Cornerstone Center tenants, and visitors. It is a role I treasure and that I will truly miss.  

Looking back on my time working at LaSalle, it all began before coming on staff.  I grew up and raised my children in the Cabrini Green Community.  Many would say the Cabrini Housing Projects, but for my family and me, it was a community. One filled with families and friends who always looked out for and cared about one another.   

There were many social service programs and churches in and around our community that provided alternatives to just hanging around or not being exposed to things and opportunities outside of the neighborhood.  LaSalle Street Church happened to be one of the churches that was a safe and bridging place between the housing developments and the Gold Coast.  

LaSalle’s ministries and other church affiliates helped shape the lives of many people who lived in our community, mine included.  The LaSalle Street C.Y.C.L.E (Community Youth Creative Learning Experience) Ministry was one of the outreach ministries that was beyond amazing. My children were participants for many years in the summer and after-school programs which provided them tutoring and mentoring and Jr. Staffing job opportunities. It was there, that the seeds of possibilities were planted within my children “to do more, to be more” and to go beyond the parameters of Cabrini Green.  

I too am a product of C.Y.C.L.E!  A stay-at-home mom who was provided an opportunity to put my certification in administrative training to use, first as a parent volunteer in the office, then becoming a staff member, the first Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director (Greg Darnider). C.Y.C.L.E’s beloved Office Manager and Community Activist, Mrs. Jaunita White took me under her wings and became my mentor and friend. She instilled in me my work ethic and skillset and many other qualities I am so fondly known for at LaSalle.  Seven years later, my journey to LaSalle Street Church came full circle, thanks to Kim Zimmerman, a dear friend and former LSC congregant and staff member, who recommended me for my position at LaSalle Street Church and The LaSalle Foundation.   

Yes, my family and I are deeply rooted at LaSalle Street Church. My parents even have a memorial brick paver laid in the park outside of the sanctuary building!  Therefore, I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my story.   

Last but not least, I have to say to the LSC Community, leadership, staff, and lifelong friends made along the way, that it has been a joy and a blessing to serve you and to worship with you.  But most of all, I want you to know that my time here has been more than a job!  You blessed me in so many ways and allowed me to grow in ministry at such a special place and be of service to others. 

Thank you for giving me a seat at the table and encouraging me to know that “I Am Enough.”   

LSC, you will always be held “in the Center of my heart!” 

Sharon Purifoy Willams, AKA The Office Queen Bee 

LSC's Partner Organizations

LaSalle has had many fruitful partnerships over the years with organizations both in the community and globally who align with our call to ministry. We've also helped incubate and start multiple organizations that are now their own separate entities, continuing to do beautiful work and offering hope and justice. Throughout 2024, we will be showcasing many of our current Outreach and Advocacy ministries (like NNUP, Breaking Bread, and Senior Market), and our partner organizations, so that as a church we can be better familiar with the organizations that are part of our budget, share the good work that they are engaged in, and inform us all how we can be part of their ministries in this season.

Read more about our three LSC outreach ministries, our four partner organizations, and our five missionaries.

Invited to Lent: A Season of Renewal

It's a hard time to be a human being in the world. But there's good news.

Tonight's Ash Wednesday service kicks off the season of Lent. These forty days (not including Sundays, if you're doing the math) have traditionally offered Christians the chance to prepare for Easter and connect with God by means of intentional, purposeful practices. For some of us, consciously choosing to add spiritual routines like prayer or generosity help us recenter in God's presence. For others, mindfully removing certain pleasures or habits makes us more conscious of our heart's deepest desire for God.

Lent is a particularly good time to try and examine things as they really are—in the world, in our relationships, in our own hearts—and to lift all that up to God, trusting that God longs to provide for us, to sustain us, and to forgive us. It's also a good time to consider what prevents us from experiencing abundant life in God, whatever it is that keeps us feeling stuck and small and alone, and to invite God's new life in those places.

To that end, I feel especially hopeful and curious about two layers of our church life together throughout Lent. The first is the new worship series that Rev. Alicia introduced on February 4, "You Are Invited." We'll explore questions about identity through the lens of relationship with Jesus. Who does Jesus say we are? Who does Jesus invite us to be in the world? What does it mean to live in relationship with Jesus?

The second is our Spring Adult Formation Series based on Mallory Wyckoff's book God Is. I'm becoming more and more convinced that A. W. Tozer was right when he wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." Reading and discussing God Is together offers us the chance to explore "what comes into our minds when we think about God," and to enrich that picture with overlooked and uncommon images of God throughout Scripture and Christian history.

Together we'll interact with the book's ideas and images in a few different ways throughout Lent and into the spring. Take some time to check out this overview of the opportunities ahead. On Banquet and Belong Sundays, you can drop in on our discussion class in Leslie Hall, right after service. And if you're looking for deeper relationship with others and a chance to discuss further, sign up to join or facilitate a small group, starting March 10. And each Monday, check out the LaSalle feeds on Instagram and Facebook for a weekly reflection exercise.

It's a hard time to be a human being in the world—hard to know how to be a good neighbor to people experiencing intense suffering and violence around the world, hard to face the crises that surround us, hard to be whole and healthy and well. So you are invited: Invited into deeper relationship with the one who made you, and loves you, and calls you by name. Invited to connect with others here at LaSalle and to help make space for others to connect. Invited to enter this season of Lent together, examining things as they really are, and trusting that the end of this story is resurrection life. We are, all of us, invited with the same gentle welcome that Jesus has always offered: "Come and see."

WOW! What-a-Sunday!

Pastor Randall K. Blakey

A packed house, vibrant worship, ten (10) new members, impressive & prepared affirmation mentees and mentors, a fervent & teachable sermon, adapted communion provision, an informative winter congregational meeting, plus a passed 2024 budget, and all done ON Time!

Wow!!! What-a-Sunday at LaSalle Street Church!

From the start we (the Pastoral Staff) knew we had a lot to cover on Sunday Feb. 4th with lots of moving parts. As such, we prayed, planned, prepared and prayed some more, right up to the start of our 10 AM service. And as soon as the soothing melody of that 1926 poem turned hymn began to echo from the ceiling of our historical edifice, I knew that “God’s Great Faithfulness” was ready and present to meet the challenge.

I literally can’t remember the last time we received ten (10) new members at once, but it was a site to behold and a joy to embrace. Kudos to Pastor Brent for walking the newbies through the process, and “thank you” to each new member for your willingness to journey with us as we seek to please God and Gods Kingdom. Next, if you were like me, you were completely blown away by affirmation mentees Magdelene Johnson & Nathan Parrot-Sheffer, as well as their mentors, Liana Zuniga & Ryan Altemare. Their richly articulated experiences of the process and each other, proved that Gods Holy Spirit was in their midst and a Divine Glow upon their heart. Grandparents, parents, and congregants were full of joy with smiles from here to the top of Willis (Sears) Tower. Thank you, Pastor Julie & Pastor Alicia, for facilitating this year’s affirmations process and for your faithfulness towards the next generation of LaSalle.

We were all blessed as Pastor Alicia ministered the importance and significance of living in the image of God as preservative and flavorful salt, and physical bright lights amid social darkness. For the first time prior to Covid, we returned to our original provision of Communion at the alter and side wings. And finally, LSC Elder Board Moderator Kari McGrath, Treasurer Susan Schaefer, and Pastor Liz facilitated our winter congregational meeting with humility, professionalism and grace, that prompted a UNANIMOUS 2024 budget passing. All the work our staff put in to get us to this point must also be noted. Big Kudos to Deb Maloney, Katie Keilman, Lucas Sweitzer, Jonathan Ulanday, and Pastors, Brent, Julie, and Alicia.

I remain extremely excited for Pastor Liz as she not only navigated her first LSC budget but did so in a manner that justified her selection as Senior Pastor, verified the Finger of God upon her life, and personified skillful and servanthood leadership. Kudos Pastor Liz, we’re happy to join you in the practice of expansive faith, generous community, and investing in God’s Justice.

All I can say is:

Wow!!! What-a-Sunday!!!

Pastor Randall

An Invitation

Elder Board Moderator Kari McGrath

This upcoming Sunday, February 4, is an important day on our church calendar. It is our annual congregational budget meeting. Following our Sunday service, we will have the opportunity to hear from members of our board, staff and finance committees about the vision, programming, and budget for the year ahead. There has been a lot of energy, commitment and enthusiasm for this work over the past couple of months and we are excited to share more with each of you.

This is an invitation to join us for our service and our meeting on Sunday. We get this chance to spend time together as a congregation…looking back on all that God did in our community in 2023, and looking forward to our plans and budget for 2024.

Like your checkbooks or credit card statements reflect the priorities and values of your household, the church budget represents what is important to LaSalle Street Church. By sharing the budget with you, we’re not simply giving you a spreadsheet to try and decipher, we’re showing you where we are committed to going and growing! How we support our staff, our partners, our outreach and the care of our building is reflected in the way the budget has been constructed. We’re grateful to those of you who attended the budget Q&A earlier this month, and look forward to the opportunity for LaSalle members to vote on this budget on Sunday.

See you this weekend! (And be sure to check out the instructions for absentee and online voting in tonight’s e-news if you can’t be with us in person.)

Grace and peace,

Kari

2024 Stewardship Campaign

Dear LaSalle community - 

I want to give you a report on our 2024 Pledge season and send my sincere thanks to all who prayerfully considered and responded to our invitation to give. 

Many of you responded with ways that you intend to give of your presence, time, and talents in this coming year - we thank you! 

Many of you responded with financial commitments - and you completely blew our goal of 10 increased and 10 new pledges out of the water!  To date, we have received 34 increased pledges and 11 new pledges for 2024, resulting in over 100k of new income pledged!  We also heard from many who are continuing to pledge at their same rates, or giving in other ways - to you we also give our deep thanks! 

I want to thank everyone for your faithful response to this invitation! I also want to thank our Finance Director Deb, Exec. Pastor Randall, and the Property and Finance Committee for all their work during this intense and valuable budgeting season we are in  - we thank God for you!  Praise God for the ways that we each together have the privilege of being part of the Holy Spirit's movement in this church together as we begin a new year, during a new season, following the same good and generous God. 

You'll be hearing more about our vision, budget and finances, and all that God is doing in our midst in these next few weeks during our preparations for the Congregational Meeting Feb 4th - you're invited to join us as we look ahead and prepare for this coming season of life together. 

With deep thanks for the One who can do more then we could ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us

- Rev Liz

Identity & Growth

Happy 2024 LaSalle!

It was such a joy to gather with many of you last week on the first Sunday of the year and celebrate Epiphany together, and hear about holiday trips and time of rest, and both celebrate with you and hold grief and prayer requests together as well. I pray as this new year is launching that you sense the truth that God is with you, and for you, and that this church community is better with you, and your voice, and your presence being part of our growth and our foundation building in this season.

As we look out to 2024, I have been overwhelmed with thanks - in the six months since I began my role at LaSalle, we’ve grown in significant ways toward the vision and purposes God has for us in this chapter of ministry. We’ve actually doubled our attendance since this time last year, we’ve seen an increase in kids and youth participation that is visible and persistent, we’ve seen the value of our outreach ministries through Cornerstone flourish and meet the needs of hundreds of community members every week, and we’ve lived into a brand new rhythm of worship together that has gathered folks online, in service, and in worship in the Sanctuary. Thanks be to God for the places we’re seeing new growth, new life, and also for the things we’re learning along the way.

This coming season we will be continuing to focus on our Identity as a church, with our sermon series each looking at who we are in the church, who God is, and what we’re called to be and do together in 2024. We’ll also be focused on Growth this year, with a More Than Enough mindset - and not just growing our numbers, or giving, or metrics. But more so, recognizing that if God has called us to be hosts at an abundant banquet table, if we trust the kingdom of God is at work and is empowering us, then what is our part? How do we make room and expand for more to join us? How do we make room for more healing, hope, and community to grow? How do we continue to build on the legacy and beauty of our history, and stay rooted in God’s call to us, while expecting and welcoming the new thing the Holy Spirit is doing in our midst? We’ll be inviting the church to do this in various ways - with much more information shared at our Congregational Meeting after our service on February 4.

If you haven’t already, take a look at our winter and spring calendar here to see our plans for Sunday morning worship, Serve days, Sabbath Sundays, kids and youth programming for January through May 2024. Notice that our rhythms each month have shifted slightly - in response to your feedback, we moved the order of our Serve Sundays so that each month the usual flow is more like: Banquet, Serve, Belong, Sabbath. This means that we can have regular classes, community spaces, and kids programming on the 1st and 3rd Sundays each month.

And lastly, as the winter temperatures turn toward very cold numbers, I also want us to remember those who live outdoors or who have to brave the harshness of these conditions in regular ways. Pray for vulnerable populations this winter, help us clothe and care for our own LSC Breaking Bread and Senior Market neighborhood community by visiting our wishlist online, and keep in mind ways that we pass by, notice, and offer dignity to folk in our own neighborhoods and communities this winter season. Thank you LaSalle for being such a generous and committed Body -

With thanks for More Than Enough - RevDoc

A Prayer For the New Year

Creator God,

As the calendar turns to 2024, we, your children at LaSalle Street Church and around the world, come before You with hearts full of thanksgiving and eyes set towards the future. We give thanks for Your unwavering presence in the past year, for the joys we've experienced, and for comfort in our trials.

In this new year, we ask for Your continued guidance over our lives and this congregation. May Your Word be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). In moments of uncertainty, remind us that Your plans are to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

We pray for unity within our congregation. Let us be completely humble and gentle; may we be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2). May our church be a beacon of Your love, where every member feels valued, understood, and connected.

God, we ask for Your wisdom as we make decisions, both as individuals and as a church body. In all our plans, let us acknowledge You, and direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6). Guide our leaders with discernment and courage, that they may shepherd Your flock according to Your will.

We lift up our community and our world to You. May we be Your hands and feet, serving those in need with compassion and generosity. Inspire us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You (Micah 6:8).

God, we also pray for personal growth in faith. Help us to delve deeper into Your Word, to spend quiet moments in prayer, and to recognize Your voice amidst the noise of the world. May we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

In 2024, let us be a church that rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep (Romans 12:15). Strengthen our fellowship, that in times of joy and sorrow, we may support one another in genuine love and empathy.

We ask for Your blessing over every family and individual in our congregation. Protect them, provide for their needs, and fill their homes with Your peace and joy.

Finally, Lord, as we embrace the new year, let us do so with hope and courage. Remind us that Your mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), and that with You, each day is an opportunity to live out Your purpose for our lives.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.

As we step into 2024, may this prayer be a reminder of God's steadfast love and faithfulness. Let us carry these words in our hearts and live them out in our actions. May this year be one of growth, service, and deepened faith for the entire LaSalle Street Church family. God bless you all in the year ahead.

Merry Christmas!

Hi Church Family - 

What a delight it is to spend our first Advent and Christmas Season with LaSalle! This is my favorite time of year and such a sacred time to remember Emmanuel - God with us - in the midst of real life, alongside the twinkling lights and the bills to pay, the family time and the loneliness times - in all of it God is with us. Right in the middle of things, in a smelly stable, and in busy December schedules today Jesus came with skin on to BE WITH us, to live out the story of redemption and healing and Good News! 

And as we walk through Advent focusing on Hope, Peace, Joy, and soon Love together, I am reminded of all the ways that we need one another to access these Advent truths. We need each other to keep the faith, to press into the work of hope, and to be active peacemakers when the world is at war! We need each other to choose joy even when we also hold grief, and to feel the extravagent love of God that infuses the incarnation. We need one another - and we get to be community for one another too.  

Our family has been looking back lately and noticing that time has been flying by - we moved to the northside just five months ago, the kids are finishing their first semester in Chicago schools, and we are still waiting on our first big midwest snowstorm! And already in this time, we've been welcomed in and made part of this story at LaSalle Street Church in so many ways. I want to thank you for your generosity, your voices, your meals delivered and lovely gifts and notes sent; I want to thank you for getting to know how amazing Peter is, and welcoming Sam and Graham into this Body; I want to thank our amazing staff for their many skills, and friendship, humor and readiness to build a team together. 

Thank you - for being Jesus with skin on this season, for me and my family! Thank you for helping me see hope, peace, joy, and love as we figure out faith and life together. Thank you for being the Body of Christ on LaSalle and Wells and in your neighborhoods and beyond! Thank you LaSalle Street Church!  

Blessed Christmas to you all - with much love

- Rev Liz and the VerHage Family 

Peace on the Run

If you’re anything like me, finding peace (as the Advent candle for last Sunday, and Pastor Randall, encourage us to do) feels impossible in these days. Gaza. Ukraine. At least 22 shot, 5 killed this past weekend in Chicago. The way I grew up, peace was understood as tranquility or serenity. Freedom from disturbance. Calm, untroubled, everything in order. But truthfully that’s been hard for me to find this Christmas season-- a fleeting, flickering candle that’s just a breath away from blowing out.

One of the challenges of working for a church is that Sunday is never more than a week away. There’s always more to do: details that need to be ironed out, materials to prepare, music to practice, volunteers to schedule, emails to answer, plans to make. And being the Enneagram 1 perfectionist, organizationally- and systems-minded person that I am, I struggle with the reality that things will never be fully in order. Nothing will ever be perfectly free from disturbance or trouble. And so I’m constantly on the run, from one plan to the next to-do list to the next meeting.

It’s hard to feel peaceful when I’m constantly aware that there are more deadlines coming up, always sensitive to the hopes and hurts and expectations of the community that I’m trying to serve. And that’s all before I wrestle with the feeling of helplessness, powerlessness, that comes up when I think about the violence and oppression inescapable in our city, and the larger world. How can I be at peace, be still and calm, when there’s so much disorder, disturbance, not to mention outright destruction in the world?

The answer, if I’m being honest is that I can’t. 

Or at least—not in the way I grew up understanding peace. Because I’ve been finding peace in other ways. I’ve found it in the running lines of melody and harmony, the ebb and flow of music as I rehearse and perform with my band (and last Sunday’s guest artists) The Many. In the interplay of harmony and dissonance and resolution of chords. In the back-and-forth of ideas in rehearsal and, yes, the occasional disagreement about how the music should go. In knowing that even as we come together with differences of opinion, we still choose to be in community and collaboration with each other.

I find peace in realizing that music isn’t about avoiding the dissonance all the time – in fact, the beauty of harmony is that it runs in rhythms of tension and release. And this year especially, I’m finding it in another kind of music: feet drumming on the pavement around me, the sound of hard breathing and a chorus of voices encouraging and urging each other across the finish line.

Earlier this year I joined a running club where I live on the west side of Chicago – a running club called PeaceRunners. It’s a movement that launched with the goal of closing the greater than 15-year gap in life expectancy between residents of West Garfield Park (69 years) vs. the Near North side (85 years), where LaSalle is located. The PeaceRunners community gathers around physical well-being, mental health, and the reduction of violence by creating safe spaces and access to health resources. To me, it’s the music and rhythm of a community healing itself and refusing to accept the limits to its flourishing that have been imposed via long-term disinvestment and systemic inequity in education and healthcare access.

I’ve experienced the effects of that resilience firsthand. If you told me a year ago that I would be running upwards of 13 miles, or running outside in below-freezing weather, I’d have laughed out loud! Yet some of the places where I’ve felt the most at peace over the past year have been out on a run with friends around me, drawing on their strength when mine falters, offering my own encouragement when they get tired. It’s not always tranquil or painless. It’s often uncomfortable and disorganized. Some days the last thing I want to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other. And yet I have no other word to describe it with than “peace”, because I know that one sore step, one aching mile at a time, we’re healing each other, our neighborhoods, and our little part of the world.

So maybe this Christmas season we can look for the flickering candle of that other kind of peace. The kind that doesn’t require stillness but is found in movement and community. The kind of peace that grounds itself in rhythms of belonging, making space for sometimes-dissonant voices and remembering it’s that diversity that creates the most beautiful music. Maybe, instead of seeking a community that’s free of disturbance or trouble, LaSalle could move in the kind of peace that puts one foot in front of the other, knowing it’s headed in the direction of flourishing for everyone and community where everyone belongs – even if that means sometimes sitting with some tension or discomfort.

Maybe together we can find peace on the run. 

Credit: J. Oliver Photography

Advent. Hope. Do You See the Light?

We started off Advent this past Sunday with the candle of HOPE - the light of hope that makes all other advent themes possible. And I am struck by the work, the promise, and the depth of hope again this season.

Last weekend Peter and I were invited to join a reflective space to kick off Advent through poetry, art, music, reflections, laments, grief, and laughter. After a potluck meal, catching up with friends old and new, and cramming chairs into the same room, I sat and drank in the tender, thoughtful, heavy, humorous, beautiful words of these friends gathered. People spoke of parents who had died, living with a hard diagnosis, and seeing dementia change a father. Others spoke of grief at our world today, the frustration of when the church lets us down, the violence in Gaza and beyond being too much to bear. Some shared songs with harmony, guitar chords that gathered up the room in smiles, even a child’s tv program made its way onto the collective stage. And the eldest of us there, the father of one of our hosts, shared a few words that move me still: “Hope is the most important word of Advent,” he said, “because without it, we can’t get to the other words. You just can’t lose hope!”

Without hope, we can’t get to Advent. I thought about that concept that night, and this past Sunday, and now this week… He was saying that without hope, we can’t get to peace, joy, and love. Without hope, we can’t get to the baby Jesus we worship on December 25th. Without hope, in short - we get lost. And the work of hope - the work of digging deep to root ourselves in the truth of loving God even when circumstances around us feel different; deciding to trust in a good and generous God who sees us, even when we don’t see Her at work; believing in a God who is with us, Emmanuel, even when He seems silent - that is such a significant part of the truth we worship this Christmas Season.

Wherever you find yourself this Advent - hurried, worried, grateful or celebrating; or maybe unsure where you belong or where God is in all of this; if you’re excited for Advent and new things growing at LaSalle, or if you’re consumed with making ends meet and homework or finding housing or juggling a tricky relationship or daily - know this truth today, that we can put our hope in God. God is with us. God is with you. Emmanuel. The hope we spoke of last Sunday together means that we can “hope in the mystery,” as Rev Alicia preached, we can choose to trust in “the character and intent of a good God.” Hope means that we can acknowledge and feel all that’s in the present, and also know that this isn’t all there is. Hope is watching the Hodapp family light the first candle and reflect with us about sleepless nights with young children and the hope for peace and ceasing from war around the globe in the same breath. It’s watching our youth lead us in worship and gifted musicians guide us through communion; it’s hearing about the good work that Churches for Middle East Peace is doing in Washington DC after our potluck and also lamenting that its hard to choose to hope in what could be, and not react out of fear, vengeance, and pain. Hope is our work church family - its choosing to look for spaces of light, to look for that promise in the middle of the scripture passage, to look for that promise in the middle of the messiness of life, and focus on where God is at work, even when we can’t see Her working.

I am praying you feel invited to explore that work with us this season - Do You See The Light? Do you see - hope? God at work? Light in the dimly lit, heavy spaces of real life? Join us this Advent and bring your family, friends, community, and neighbors toward the light as we gather on Sunday mornings for worship, on Wednesday nights for Advent Examen, and at various events to find the light together this December.

“You just can’t lose hope!” Amen. - RevDoc

Outreach & Advocacy

Director of Outreach & Advocacy Julie Welborn

As I ease into my new role as Director of Outreach and Advocacy, I am embracing the various opportunities that lie ahead. My role is chiefly to assist in helping the church embody its commitment to local and global service and advocacy, activity that happens seven days a week and through various partnerships and ministries that have always shaped LaSalle’s mission, call, and identity.

The service that occurs every Wednesday at Breaking Bread is an example of such outreach and advocacy. Each week we provide a robust table of fresh produce and non-perishable groceries for those in our community. When we open our doors at 2pm, there is a line of lovely seniors waiting to shop. For many, what we provide allows them to not have to shop at Aldi or Jewel for certain items. Our tables are depleted within the hour of its start. In the meantime, volunteers are in the kitchen preparing the evening meal, while another group is in Leslie Hall setting the tables and creating an atmosphere to receive our guests for dinner, fellowship and toiletry distribution. Each week we serve roughly 180 people meals, either on site or through our delivery, and we train and gather 30 volunteers, many of whom are young working professionals who live nearby. This community of volunteers and guests is a fruitful, rewarding, and bustling space every week.

Last week we were able to provide a full Thanksgiving Dinner to our guests and you church were a big part of making that happen. On Serve Sunday, you picked the greens, peeled the sweet potatoes, scooped the cranberry sauce and peach cobbler. Thank you! Once our guests were seated for the meal, we asked them to share something of which they were thankful. An overwhelming amount of responses were that they were thankful for having a place to come on Wednesdays to enjoy a good meal, feel safe, and be seen. That’s Outreach and Advocacy. We reached out to each individual to make sure that their felt needs were seen and loved. We advocated for their humanity and agency. And that’s just one example of the work LaSalle does each week.

There are so many other things we are working on to reach others. During the month of Advent, you again get an opportunity to participate in our efforts as we promote our Breaking Bread Coat Giving Tree. The Christmas Tree in Leslie Hall has ornaments with the names and sizes of our Breaking Bread guests who have requested a new coat. We are inviting you to take an ornament and purchase a coat for one guest. You can wrap it, include their name, and bring it back by December 17, where it will be placed under the tree for distribution on Wednesday, December 20. Our kids helped create this tree, make the ornaments, and will be helping solicit coats as well! You can also visit the Amazon Wish list in our weekly E-News and purchase items that our guests so desperately anticipate receiving – items we might take for granted such as socks, soap, body wash, toothpaste, deodorant, hats, scarves, and gloves, just to name a few.

I also invite you to join me in prayer seeking God’s wisdom as I create a new Outreach and Advocacy Advisory Team. I will be meeting with lay leaders and planning how to best reflect our mission of having an expansive faith, being a generous community, and investing in God’s justice moving forward in our community. We want to respond to the many requests for support, including our senior, unhoused guests, and the newly arrived migrant families. We are also developing partnerships with other organizations that are assisting our migrant population, and you can look forward to hearing more about ways you can assist.

There is much to be done, and we cannot do it alone. Thank you for all of your support thus far. I encourage you to buckle up and prepare, because God is at work in our local neighborhood and when we engage in compassion, and in justice, we welcome in the very feet of Jesus to our midst.

Formation is All Around Us

Last Spring, I attended a conference for an organization called Christian Deeper Learning, which is an international organization for Christian schools who strive to create lasting learning experiences for students that will impact their whole selves. I sat in a breakout session and the leader said a phrase that has been stuck in my head ever since:

Everything is Formation.

He was trying to get this room full of educators to understand that when it comes to students, every practice that we do is forming the students in our care in some way. He gave an example about tardy slips that honestly changed my life.

Even though this break out was targeted towards teachers and school staff, my little pastor heart was pulled. There’s evidence of this statement being true all over our lives. We are being formed by the things around us all the time, sometimes intentionally or formally, like through school, books, church, or continuing educational experiences. But sometimes we are formed informally, through social interactions, family dynamics, the media we take in, the experiences we have in our lives.

When I was 15 and learning to drive, my driving habits were formally formed by my parents, my driving instructors, and those terrifying videos about drinking and driving. But informally, I was the last of my friends to get my license and so I was also being formed by friends’ driving habits. Which may have caused me to fail my driving test because I thought a rolling stop was an acceptable method.

We are being formed by the combination of all our experiences and the people in our lives – both the ones we choose and the happenstance. Everything is formation.

I’m not saying it to fear monger, or to scare us into the false dichotomy of good and bad. Rather, I want us to look at it as an opportunity to take a closer look at how we are being formed and remind ourselves that we are not passive in our own formation. We have the unique opportunity to examine both our past formation – from former traditions or families of origin – as well as our current means of formation. It’s a daily practice of centering our minds, hearts, and spirits to the tune of God. This is one of my main goals as Associate Pastor of Formation at LSC, to help us grow in discernment and critical thinking around our own formation – spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and socially.

My other main goal in this role is walk alongside our kids and youth as they grow in their formation. In my time as a pastor to kids and youth, I have seen how every part of church life provides formation for the youngest members of our body. Every part of our life together at LSC is forming our kids and youth.

Formation doesn’t just happen inside the walls of room 300 over at Cornerstone, although that’s a big part of the equation. Formation happens on a Serve Sunday when our kids are working alongside of the adults towards a project or goal. Formation happens as we pass the peace and greet a child by name. Formation happens when we encourage our students to use their gifts in our midst. Formation happens when families engage in Sabbath practices together, no matter how imperfectly.

There’s a theory that comes out of Fuller Youth Institute that talks about the benefit of intergenerational relationships for our young people. The 5:1 ratio talks about how kids and youth benefit from having 5 adults in their lives invested in them and their formation. This can include teachers, mentors, family friends, Sunday School teachers, or youth leaders. The hope is that beyond their parents, who are obviously invested in their well-being, kids and youth need other adults to be in healthy relationship with them.

I am working on building a team of adults to be the cloud of witnesses for our kids and youth. To teach or support Sunday School, co-lead youth group, be mentors for Affirmation, pray for our kids and students regularly. I’m dreaming of a kids and youth ministry that helps our kids and youth experience warm, welcoming community in a church body that helps them develop a deeply rooted faith, discernment, and habits for a lifelong faith journey. The reality of this dream is that I cannot do it alone.

To end this leadership blog post, here comes my shameless plug in the form of an invitation, consider how you can invest in our kids and youth who are the literal future of the church. I know that working with kids and youth isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay, but investing in our young members can come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. So, be creative – how can you encourage the faith formation of our kids and youth?

Some of you reading this are interested in jumping in and serving, I know it. God’s been tugging at your heart and you’re looking for an entry point. You may be afraid of it a little, you may not know where to start, you may feel unqualified, but you are intrigued by this idea of being a consistent adult in the lives of our awesome kids and youth. Don’t worry, I got you.

I’m planning some training opportunities in early January to get some new people involved with our kids and youth. Or maybe reignite some of us that have previously worked with kids and youth. I will help you find a place to engage, train you, and support you through the process. All you need to do is send me an email saying, “Hey Rev Alicia, I think I’m interested,” And we’ll start the process together.

A Season of Giving

Hello Church –

This season is a rich one of walking into fall beauty, preparing for Thanksgiving and spaces of gratitude, and also marking holy rhythms together such as All Saints Day. Autumn always gives us space to look back, watch our gardens and trees go into hibernation, and celebrate together. I was moved as we participated together on Sunday in remembering many who we’ve lost this past year during our All Saints Day candle lighting and litany; pausing to remember, grieve, and give thanks for the legacy of those who have gone before us, and sitting with our questions and frustrations, is holy work.

This past Sunday, we also launched our annual Stewardship Season at LaSalle (aka our pledge season), a time of sharing our vision of what God is inviting us to and asking the whole church to prayerfully consider making a Giving Commitment for 2024. We are all called to give in some way throughout this month and December, and we will be sharing some voices from our Body throughout these next weeks as well, naming what of our common identity they are excited about and what they feel called to give in this season. Today, we are linking two videos from members Tom Krajecki and Treasurer Susan Shaefer for you to be encouraged by.

This fall we’ve been focusing on our identity – a people who practice Expansive Faith, Generous Community, and are Invested in God’s Justice – and this is based on our history and the legacy of all those who came before us. We know that part of those seeds that were sown by the faithful in our past were for each new generation to be able to continue walking into the new thing that God is doing among us. To run the “particular race that has been set before us,” as we reimagine how to be the church for this time - with a new Senior Pastor, a changing neighborhood, a new Body regathering post-COVID, with new ways people are attending church, and a new season that the Holy Spirit is moving in. It’s a new day – a new, old way, to be the church perhaps, right? Because we’re not trying to reinvent ourselves, but more go deep into who God has already called us to be. To see how God is already at work among us, giving us more than enough for this season. I wonder - what will our kids and our grandkids say about us, about what the Body came together and did in 2023, in 2030 – what will they remember in 20 years time? How will those who come after us, those we don’t even know yet, feel the ripples of meaning from our faithfulness, from small everyday ways that we show up, give of our finances, time, prayer, and encouragement?

To live into our mission and to run our particular race at LaSalle – there are a few specific areas that we will be investing in for 2024. When we ask you to consider giving in this season, we’re asking that you give toward this:

• Kids, youth and families

• Outreach and Advocacy

• Spirit-led Worship

• Multiethnic Identity and Justice

• Belonging & Healing

• Connection & Spiritual Formation

These six areas help us root our vision and identity into lived realities; these are the areas that we’ve already been realigning our staff around, planning programming for, and that we’ve asked the whole church to pray over in 2024. (These focus areas came out of a combination of our consultant’s findings this past year, our Elder Board, and prayer and discernment; click here for more on these focus areas.)

So practically, here are our giving goals for 2024. I want to ask each of us to think about giving to LaSalle in 2 ways this year – both financially, and also more broadly through your presence, expertise, prayer and encouragement. We need all of us to become who God is leading us to be – and we need all of us giving as we are able toward a common vision that is larger than ourselves.

Financially: 10 by 10

After conversation with our Treasurer, we want to invite everyone to consider a specific ask for 2024 – 10 by 10. First - we are praying and asking for 10 new pledges – that 10 people/households make a giving commitment that have not pledged before. The amount that you pledge to give is not what is important – we trust that everyone gives based on their means and sense of prayerful discipleship. We are also praying and asking for 10 people/households to increase their pledges. If you already pledge to give, THANK YOU; and if you’re familiar with the pledge process, we’re praying that 10 folks increase the amount of giving by whatever among you fell called this year. Again, we are not suggesting an amount or percent to increase, but rather ask that you pray and listen to what God may share with you about discipleship in this coming year? 10 new pledges, and 10 increased pledges. (I also want to invite you to consider this message from our Treasurer about giving shame.)

More Broadly: Give Us a Year

We’re also asking you to consider giving of yourself in this season. I want to ask you to prayerfully consider, would you give LaSalle a year of your life in some way – some of your time to volunteer, or your commitment to pray for our leaders every week, or maybe it’s to show up every Serve Sunday with your teenager and to bring their friend, or to drive your neighbors to church, or to risk hosting church people in your place for brunch – whatever it is, take a moment to pray and consider, what could you commit to giving this body this coming year? Your trust and enthusiasm, your gifts and your discernment, your faith and your authentic openness to the Holy Spirit at work – these gifts, your presence – it’s so VALUABLE. Giving matters, both financially and more broadly - not just for an amount, but because it shapes our posture of discipleship as stewards, and knits us together even more as a community.

Practically – HOW TO GIVE

There are Giving Commitment Forms here online, and also printed out in the Sanctuary. Please take this invitation to fill one out; more info is online about all of this, including guidelines for how to give, how to set up a recurring financial gift, and a space for you to indicate how you will give of your time and broader gifts as well. We ask that you turn in your commitment forms/pledges by the end of the year, Dec 31, 2023. And keep watching for more information, more ideas, and more chances to see God at work, reminding us of who we are and where we are headed!

We need all of you, to become all of US. It’s a new day, a new season to let God invite us afresh into the old, sacred story of faith that we always do with one another. Wherever you find yourself today, I hope you feel encouraged to be part of this identity, to know that we have saved a seat for you at the table. I pray that you will share what you can give in this season, not out of guilt but out of freedom and possibility, as we stay rooted in Jesus. And knowing that we’ll be stronger, better, more diverse and more whole, with each of us in this together.

With thanks for the One who is able to do immeasurably, exceedingly more than we could ever ask or imagine

- RevDocLiz