A Wider Welcome at the Table

In my sermon on Sunday, I announced a change we are making to the way we share Communion. For once, the decision has nothing to do with COVID. Instead, the change came from asking the question, Who is allowed to receive communion at St. Mark? 

In the ELCA, we say that all baptized Christians are welcome at the table, but such a wide statement is not reflected in most congregations’ practices. I have worked at or been a member of five different Lutheran churches in my adult life. Each one had different rules about how old a baptized person needed to be in order to receive the bread and the wine. Requirements range from attending three classes in fourth grade, to going through the entire middle-school Confirmation program, to the simple one class in first grade we have had here.

There is a reason for this inconsistency— our scriptures and historical documents simply do not discuss the age of first communion. Jesus never said anything about who can participate in the Lord’s Supper and when, but he did say that to welcome a child is the same as welcoming God’s own self. In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he says that we should consider the the body of Christ— meaning the community— and never exclude any member. Martin Luther makes the case that one doesn’t need to come with knowledge or intellect about what is happening and why, but rather with the trust that Christ is present and that this mercy is for us.

All this is to say that your pastors at St. Mark will no longer put an age requirement on the Lord’s Supper. As soon as a child reaches out their hand in faith, they can receive that bread of life and cup of salvation. Parents and guardians will want to discuss this option with their young children who have yet to receive their first communion. Pastor Katrina and I are both available to talk about this with any families who are ready to take this step.

Of course, we will still have special classes about Communion for our children. Learning about the Eucharist is a life-long endeavor. We do well to find every occasion to teach our children, our youth, and our adults about what this meal is all about, so that we might trust even more that Christ prepares this meal for each of us, for the forgiveness of sin.

All of us rely on God. We are all equal and worthy of this sustaining and holy meal. May we all come to the table trusting that the gift of forgiveness is present and available for every one of us.

Peace, 

Pastor Chad McKenna

Ordination Reflections

The day of my ordination was a bit of a whirlwind day.  I was excited and nervous.  When I walked into Zion Lutheran Church, my home congregation, I was hit with memories from Sunday School, VBS, Confirmation, Scott’s and my wedding, the Baptisms and First Communion of my boys, and my older two boy’s Confirmation. It felt a bit like my life (at least my Zion life) was flashing before me.  And now I have the memory of my ordination.  The worship service was wonderful and I was overjoyed to see so many people in person and I was overjoyed knowing many were watching from home.  What a gift it is to be able to go back and watch my ordination service.  Which I did a few days later. 

After all the celebrating that day and after I was home and I was able to sit still for a moment in the quiet of my house it hit me that I am a pastor.  A pastor friend of mine told me it would happen, she had the same feeling the day after her ordination.  So, I sent her a text says, “I am a Pastor! It sunk in this afternoon after coming home.”  Her response was, “Yes, Ma’am!  You are! No turning back!!”  The same pastor friend asked me about a week later how it feels to be an official pastor.  My response was, it feels a bit surreal, a bit overwhelming, and a bit normal.  She said, “that sounds about right.” 

Fast forward a few Sundays to the first time I lead the Confession and Forgiveness during worship since my ordination and it hit me again, I am a pastor.  I imagine this may happen from time to time, perhaps even for the rest of my life.  It is a humbling experience.  I recently read through the ordination rite and one part of the rite stuck out to me.  It was the words Bishop Clements said as the stole was placed on my shoulders, “Receive this stole as a sign of your work, and live in obedience to the Lord Jesus, serving his people and remembering his promise: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matthew 11:28-10)” Each time I place a stole on my shoulders, I will remember these words. 

I am blessed to be your pastor and I look forward to doing God’s work with you all. 

Yours in Christ, Pastor Katrina Steingraeber      

Spending Sundays Together

This summer, it has been a tremendous joy to come here every Sunday and witness the return of our present and embodied community. After a year of worshipping by myself or with a handful of folks under a tight capacity limit, being with so many of you every week has been a balm for my soul. You may not know this, but we are one of the few ELCA congregations to have had multiple in-person services on Sundays, and I am grateful to everyone who has made it possible for so many of us to be together both in the sanctuary and on the lawn.

When we added a second service, the timing we chose gave all our leaders and volunteers ample time to set up our outdoor worship space. Every Sunday, the band had the hard work of carting all their equipment and instruments across the parking lot, leading worship, and then carting it all back. That full hour between services was a necessity, and it went by fast. That need was one reason we began our first service at 9:00am

Having one traditional service at 9:00am was also an attempt to find some middle ground between our original 8:00am and 9:30am folks, so that no one felt as if their favored service was cancelled. If you were used to worship in the sanctuary before and you have returned to it this summer, I imagine you have encountered other St. Mark folks you rarely or never saw before the pandemic. It has been so wonderful to see the unity that has come from this combined traditional service. In the past, except for a few folks who bounced between our three service times, we were a congregation divided into three. 

During the school year, in a sense we were divided into four. Since Sunday School was at the same time as worship, our youngest members worshipped downstairs, hearing a children’s sermon from one of the pastors and celebrating a brief communion service with their teachers. For most of the year, our children did not have the opportunity to experience the wonder and welcome of worship.

You may have figured out where I am going with all of this. The two-service Sunday is here to stay. Beginning on September 19th we will have Traditional Worship at 9:00am, a Learning Hour at 10:10am, and a Praise Service at 11:00am. During that learning hour we will have Sunday School downstairs, Fellowship over coffee and donuts in both the café and Fellowship Hall, and a brand new Adult Forum in the Adult Ministry Room. This fall, the content of the Adult Forum will change from week to week, and you can expect to see opportunities for Bible studies, book studies, presentations from local agencies, and group discussions.

This new schedule will give everyone, children and adults alike, the opportunity to both worship and learn every Sunday of the school year. It is my dearest hope that this new schedule will bring us together after so many months apart. We have the opportunity to spend our Sunday mornings praising God together as individuals, families, and community. We have more time to reconnect and grow in faith. And we will be able to welcome people of all ages to come and find comfort in a community of worship. 

Peace,

Pastor Chad McKenna

Ordinary Mystic

One of my favorite mystics is a woman named Caryll Houselander, she was born in 1901 and died in 1954.  Her parents separated when she was nine years old, and Caryll was sent to a convent for her education.  She left the church when she was a teen and did not return to church until she was twenty.  She loved Sydney Reilly, who was the model for Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel.  She had a biting sense of humor.     

Caryll was gifted with an insight for beauty and suffering.  She wrote a book titled, This War is the Passion, that spoke about the horrors of war and great suffering.  “She had great empathy for the wounded humans and such a talent for helping to rebuild their broken worlds that during the war some doctors sent patients to her for healing.  One eminent psychiatrist said; ‘She loved them back to life…she was a divine eccentric.’” (Mystics The Beauty of Prayer by Craig Larkin SM) 

What I like about her is she is an ordinary person, who lived a rather ordinary but eccentric life.  She is being re-discovered for her spiritual experiences that gave her insight to Christ’s suffering and how human suffering plays a part in redemption.  One of her writings that I really like is called The Reed…

            Emptiness is the beginning of contemplation.

It is not a fruitless emptiness, a void without a meaning; on the contrary, it has a shape, a form given to it by the purpose for which it is intended.

It is the emptiness like the hollow in the reed, the narrow riftless emptiness which can have only one destiny: to receive the piper’s breath and utter the song that is in his heart.

It is the emptiness like the hollow in the cup, shaped to receive water or wine.

It is the emptiness like that of the bird’s nest built in a round warm ring to receive the little bird.

Caryll Houselander, Emptiness

Thinking about emptiness as a purposeful void is a wonderful concept, one I often don’t think about.  When I read Caryll Houselander’s The Reed, I am reminded of the purpose of hollow spaces.  I tend to grab my Mystics books and read her writing several times a month.  I find it grounds me and centers me, exactly when I need it.     

Peace, Pastor Katrina Steingraeber

Sacred Moments

What a journey!  As I am settling into my call as the Associate Pastor here at St. Mark Lutheran Church, I have found myself reflecting on how I got here.  It has been an adventure that included several hours of driving in and out of Hyde Park in Chicago, several hours reading, writing, and reflecting for classes, a year and a half of zoom classes, and a whole lot of prayers.  I would not change or trade this journey.  Each step of this journey provided the opportunity to learn and grow. 

I recently read a prayer from the book, Guerrillas of Grace Prayers for the Battle, by Ted Loder, titled “Thank You for Each Moment.” (pgs. 43-45) Here are two paragraphs that stood out to me as I read the prayer…

Lord, thank you for each moment, for the high-noon moment, the job, the necessary routine, for the sweaty struggle, the high-risk challenge, the impulse to change, for my fierce heart and the courage gathering in me. Ground me to wrestle with whatever comes as a gift and to praise you in it.

Lord, thank you for each moment, for the shared moments, the listening, the unguarded word, for the fragile openness, the ready smile, the accepted difference, for my passionate heart and the trust rooting in me. Stretch me to grow with whatever comes as a gift and to praise you in it.

I give God thanks and praise for the times that I wrestled with a challenge, it is in these times I learned the most, and I thank God for the courage and fierce heart that is within me. I thank God for the necessary routines and for the quieter times of listening and for fragile openness.  These are sacred moments.  I treasure these sacred moments. I hope you can find some sacred moments to treasure.   

Would you like a chance to meet with me?  If so, I will block out times on Wednesdays and Thursdays in August for folks to meet with me at St. Mark.  Please call the church office (815)398-3557 between the hours of 9am and 3pm to schedule a time to meet with me.  After Rally Weekend (Sept. 10-12), I will set up additional times to meet with me, look for that information later in August. 

God’s Peace,

Pastor Katrina Steingraeber

A Note on Wearing Masks Indoors

Now that we are in Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois plan, a lot of our members have been wondering about how our COVID rules might be changing here at St. Mark. On Tuesday night, our council adopted the following statement, which is in line with current guidance from the state:

"Per the latest CDC guidelines, face masks are no longer required for those who are fully vaccinated. If not fully vaccinated, please consider wearing a face mask when safe social distancing is not possible."

Put simply, folks who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear a mask during worship! Of course, you may continue to do so for your own sense of comfort. In addition to this guidance on masks, we are also no longer requiring reservations, taking temperatures, or filling out any paperwork for folks to participate in events. With these changes, our indoor worship service will look almost like it used to. The pandemic is still ongoing, and these protocols may be needed again in the future. For now though, we can relax, even as we remain diligent.

When you arrive on Sunday, you will notice that our ushers and communion assistants will still be wearing masks, as will your pastors during communion. Many of our members may also continue to wear one for a long time to come. So many strong emotions arise from a few square inches of fabric. For us as a worshipping community, the thing that drives our decisions has been and will continue to be, hospitality to our members and guests. When a worship leader or host wears a mask, it can be a way to signal to your guests that you care about their health. When guests are given the option to choose what is comfortable for them, it can make room for trust. As we enter into this new phase of the pandemic, I pray that we continue to care for one another with grace, empathy, and respect.

 Peace,                                                                                                                                   Pastor Chad McKenna

Our Worship Continues to Grow!

Last month, I wrote about a major change in our worship schedule, with the addition of a second service and a return to worship indoors that we hope will be permanent. With recent announcements from the CDC and Governor Pritzker’s office, we expand a little bit more, to allow more worshippers and more opportunity to spend time together.

On Sunday, May 23rd, our capacity for 9:00am worship in the sanctuary will jump all the way to 155, thanks to the Bridge Phase which allows for a simple 60% capacity. Registration will still be required. Those who are fully vaccinated may sit close together, but that decision is up to you and those around you, as St. Mark will not be keeping track of our members’ vaccination status. If you are unsure, consider it an act of compassion to leave space for others, especially families with young children.

All of our guidelines will stay in place until we enter Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois plan. As soon as that happens, things like registration, waivers, temperature checks, and social distancing will be a thing of the past. However, The governor has indicated that masks will still be necessary for some time after we begin Phase 5, and we will continue to follow the mask mandate until it is lifted.

On June 6th, our 11:00am outdoor worship service will be moving from the parking lot to the lawn! Bring your chairs and blankets, find a spot in the shade, and join us for a more intimate style of worship. There will still be an FM transmission for those who wish to remain in their vehicles. Also on this day, we will welcome the return of coffee and donuts between services. When the weather is nice, Fellowship Hour will be hosted outside, under the canopy by the cafe. When it rains, we will be in the Fellowship Hall. Occasionally at this hour, we will also have learning opportunities for adults and children alike. Stay tuned for more news about adult forums, bible studies, and VBS registration events!

Even after we enter Phase 5, many folks may still be hesitant to jump back in to group activities, especially indoors. For the sake of everyone’s comfort, the 11:00am service will remain outside at least through the month of July. When there is rain, we will move under the canopy to worship in the parking lot, just as we have been. In extreme weather, the 11:00am service will be moved to the Fellowship Hall. 

I am so thrilled to be able to expand our worship even more, and I cannot wait to see you all in person this summer!

Peace,

Pastor Chad