Hope in the Dirt

A few months ago, our local airport bulldozed a section of ancient prairie on their property in order to build an access road. Illinois was home to 20 million acres of prairie for thousands of years, but since this Prairie State was founded in 1818 that number has been reduced to less than 2,300. It’s no wonder, then, that there was a drawn-out legal battle to save a small patch of ground from being paved over.

Bell Bowl Prairie overflows with history. Environmental scientists believe this gravel prairie has existed for over 8,000 years. It was host to many gatherings for the Army when the area was known as Camp Grant. As a Category I Natural Areas Inventory site, it is the home to endangered plant species, as well as the federally endangered Rusty Patched Bumble Bee. Even the soil itself is full of history. In April, conservation advocates began to sift through 20 dump trucks worth of sod removed during construction of the airport road. Their hope is to discover roots, seeds, and fungi which can be given a second life at Cedar Cliff, a newer forest preserve in Winnebago County. 

Folks who hoped to save the prairie once imagined this effort as a worst-case scenario. Digging through the dirt on a salvage mission is a whole lot different than maintaining an abundance of life. We do our best to avoid tragedies, but when they happen there’s no turning back. There is this moment when our hope shifts from perseverance into desperation. You might feel that shift when the doctor who has done everything she can mentions the word, hospice. You can feel any time you read an obituary. Here’s the thing, though: No matter what side of the threshold you are on, hope always remains. The outcome we hope for may change, and all other options may be out of reach, but like conservationists sifting through the dirt, hope is always within reach. 

As Christians, we put our ultimate, most desperate hope in resurrection. Because of Jesus, we are given new life, and even death cannot have the final say. We are in the business of new life. We remember we are dust, but we also listen to the story of Adam and remember how God brings dirt to life.  We can live, then, as advocates of life and second chances for all of creation. And, we can be confident that even when life doesn’t go where we had hoped, that desperate hope we have in Christ Jesus will always remain.

 Read more about the sod rescue operation at this link.

Peace,

Pastor Chad McKenna

How Words Affect Us!

At the Epiphany Worship Service on January 4^th, 2023 you received a Star Word.  After receiving the Star Word, we prayed for those words and, in that prayer, we heard, “Step by step, you have claimed us, loved us, and fed us. Today we have drawn star words. For some, these words are full of meaning, challenge, and invitation already.  For others, these words are a blank canvas—inviting you into our lives.  So as a new year dawns, we pray that just as you have spoken to the generations before us, you would speak to us again. Allow us to use these star words as a tool that might help us hear you more clearly.” 

I invite you to think about how the star word has affected you and how you have responded.  My star word is Discovery.  As I reflect on this word, I see the value in discovering new things and being curious.  I find value in the discovery of self and what that means.  I love to learn new things and experience new adventures.  I love meeting new people and learning their stories and histories. 

If you were unable to attend the Epiphany worship service and did not receive a star word or you don’t have your word anymore, you may use a word from the picture below or stop by my office and pick up a star word.

I invite you to look at your star word and reflect on it.  Ask yourself if the word has been meaningful to you over the last several weeks.  I invite you to think about how the word may guide you as you go through the summer.  Will your star word be a helpful tool moving forward?  Or will it be challenging?  I pray for each of you as you reflect on the Epiphany star word you received.  I pray that these words will inspire and challenge you.  I pray that when we gather to worship at Epiphany (in January 2024), we find ourselves with mouths full of praise for the ways in which God has been present for us throughout the year.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Katrina Steingraeber 

Welcome Elyse Yocum: St. Mark Summer Intern

Elyse will join the St. Mark staff on May 30, 2023 as the summer intern.  A few of her responsibilities this summer will be helping prepare for and lead part of Vacation Bible School, working with the youth, and learning the overall day to day workings of a church.  Elyse will have the opportunity to use her creativity to plan events for the youth and others.  She will work with the Sunday school age children during VBS and experience their energy and pure joy.  She will be able to build relationships with the youth and others in the church.  I am hopeful that Elyse will grow in many ways this summer.

We as St. Mark staff and members will have the opportunity to learn from her and witness her passion and creativity come to life.  We as a staff will get to know Elyse and grow alongside her.  Elyse and I have already talked about some fun outings for the youth group.  We have discussed possible outreach and service opportunities for the summer.  I am confident there will be more exciting things to come. 

Elyse will introduce herself as the summer intern on June 4^th at both worship services.  If you don’t already know Elyse, please introduce yourself to her.  I am excited for this summer! 

Peace, 

Pastor Katrina Steingraeber 

Hello, my name is Elyse Yocum, and I am excited to be this year's summer intern!  I love the outdoors and being active.  I hope to help grow the youth's faith in God, as well as mine.  My future plans are to get a job in the medical field this fall.

A New Vision for Our Youth Ministry

After months of conversation, prayerful discernment, and careful planning, I am excited to announce that we have begun the search for a full-time Shared Youth Ministry Director!

For many years, we have been able to meet the needs of our youth ministries at St. Mark through a part-time director. As we began to imagine the future, our discernment team agreed that these needs would remain at about the same level.  At the same time, we wondered how our congregation could benefit if we were able to offer a full-time position to a dedicated person with a heart for youth ministry. We began to think outside the box, and one idea has grown into a new vision of ministry, community, and collaboration.

To make a long story short, we are thrilled to be partnering with Grace Lutheran Church of Loves Park to share this ministry together — hence the title, Shared Youth Ministry Director. This new position will serve both of our congregations with new, combined opportunities for our youth. Our two congregations have much in common, and our differences can truly be beneficial in this new ministry. For instance, the majority of our members come from opposite corners of the metro area. Grace has a gym while we have a bounty of outdoor spaces. By combining our efforts, we will be able to do things we could not do alone. And so, when it comes to middle school, high school, and college-age youth, we will be two congregations with one combined ministry.

Many of the specifics of how the ministry will look will be up to the person we hire to take our vision and direct it into concrete, faithful programs. In the meantime, the leadership at both St. Mark and Grace will continue to work on the details that will allow us to collaborate for years to come.

We are launching a wide search for this position. If you know someone who may be interested, please direct them to the job listing on our website, this will be listed under the staff and leadership page. I look forward to announcing our new hire to you sometime this summer!

I would like to express my gratitude to our Youth Ministry Discernment Task Force, a group of parents, staff, and youth who met regularly over the winter months to imagine the future of this ministry at St. Mark. Their creativity and passion planted the seeds for this innovative new direction, and I am excited to see how our faith can flourish because of their work. 

Peace,

Pastor Chad McKenna

Helping our Neighbors

Martin Luther reminds us that God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does (Wingren, Luther on Vocation, 10). Our relationship with God is based completely on God’s work for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Justification by faith completely excludes any kind of dependence on our good works for our salvation.  Paul writes in Romans, “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law”: and also “that God alone is righteous and justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.” We come before God clothed not in our own works or merits, but solely in the works and merits of Christ, which are imputed to us. But having been justified by faith, we are sent by God back into the world, into our vocations, to love and serve our neighbors.

One way that St. Mark loves and serves our neighbors is through the St. Market.  We have an old kitchen cabinet that has been repurposed to be an outdoor pantry to help our neighbors in need. The St. Market is located outside by the North facing door near the kitchen, under the overhang to keep it out of the sun and inclement weather as best as possible.  Last year during VBS the kids brought in donations to stock our St. Market.  We are just about out of those supplies.  If you would like to help fill the St. Market, our neighbors would greatly appreciate it.  We have regular folks who come to the St. Market. 

The best items for the St. Market are crackers with peanut butter or cheese in them, can goods with a pull top (ravioli is popular), breakfast bars, bottled water, travel deodorant, bars of soap, travel toothbrush and toothpaste, meat sticks (without refrigeration required), and other easy to carry food items that don’t require cooking or refrigeration.  We have designated a spot in the kitchen to place donations, please look for the sign on the kitchen counter.  Thank you for helping to love and serve our neighbors.  See the photos below of the St. Market.

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor Katrina Steingraeber  

Connecting with God!

I don’t know about you, but this year Lent seems to have gone by rather quickly. Even though Lent seems to have gone by quicker than I expected it to, I have been able to enjoy a Lenten practice.  For me, Lent is a time for self-reflection and time to connect with God as we journey with Jesus to the cross and the grave.  It’s a time where we can engage in a Lenten practice, new or old.

This year my Lenten practice is carrying prayer beads in my pocket.  Despite the fact that I have had prayer beads for a few years now, I have not regularly carried them in my pocket.  I have only forgotten them one day and I felt lost without them.  I often find myself reaching in my pocket throughout the day just to touch the prayer beads. I am reminded each time I reach in my pocket about my connection to God.  They are a tangible reminder of God’s presence in my life.  

This Sunday is the 5^th Sunday of Lent, we will soon enter Holy Week with the excitement of Palm Sunday.  We will wave palms and we will proclaim “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the Highest.”  Shortly after we wave the palms, we will humble ourselves with a foot washing and then face Jesus as he is crucified.  And not long after Jesus is laid in the tomb, we will celebrate with great excitement the Easter proclamation.

I have enjoyed spiritual practices for several years now, more than I ever thought I would. Even though Lent is quickly coming to an end, I plan to continue to carry my prayer beads as a spiritual practice beyond Lent and Easter.  I have found an inner peace and a deeper connection with God with each spiritual practice.  Some of the spiritual practices I have enjoyed are prayer beads, reading devotionals, being outside in God’s beautiful creation, and just taking a moment to stop and take a deep breath in the midst of a busy day.  Have you enjoyed a spiritual practice?  If so, how has the spiritual practice connected you to God? 

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor Katrina Steingraeber

Three Years of Healing

For the better part of a year, an old bulletin sat on the table in my office. At first, it stayed because I wasn’t using that table, or my office for that matter. When I moved down the hall, though, I brought it with me to help me remember the past as we moved into an unknown future. The date on the front was March 8, 2020. It was the last bulletin we used in worship before the world changed three years ago.

Like many mainline churches, the scripture we read on Sunday mornings are on a three-year rotation called the Revised Common Lectionary. It sets the church calendar and keeps congregations across denominations in sync with one another. It also tends to shape the way some of us organize our memories of the past. For instance, this past Sunday’s readings and theme were identical to March 8th, 2020. The bulletin that sat on my desk for so long had the exact same image on it as the one we just used — a serpent wrapped around the cross. 

By the way, that image is a reference to Jesus’ words in John 3, when he tells Nicodemus, “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Thanks to this verse, and the story in Numbers 21, a serpent wrapped around a pole has become a universal symbol of healing for medical professionals— a group of people we have relied on heavily for the better part of three years now.

We have now made our way through the entire lectionary in the midst of a pandemic. This Sunday, we will witness the lessons we didn’t get to experience three years ago. For some of us, that doesn’t mean much. For others, though, it’s a stark reminder that we still have a lot of healing to do. We have trauma that needs to be both recognized and processed. Our outlook for the future is still very much filtered through a post-pandemic lens. If we want to make it another three years and be even stronger than we are now, it will take commitment to God and to one another, and it will take a whole lot more healing. May we look to Jesus and the cross for guidance, trusting in the salvation that comes when we rely fully on God’s steadfast love.

Peace,

Pastor Chad McKenna