A Message From Your Treasurer

Susan Schaefer, Elder Board Treasurer

Do you experience money shame? Most of us, no matter what our resources are, feel shame. The source is our unjust judgments of ourselves based on skewed societal and familial ideas about money and its trappings. This type of shame is extremely hard to heal from, especially because we are taught not to talk about our money with anyone.

With money shame, we believe we are flawed or unworthy based upon our account balances, savings, debts, residences, means of transportation, and/or jobs. Without healing intervention, our self-worth can be based upon our net-worth. Oddly, the amount of net-worth, whether in hundreds or millions, doesn’t make a difference.

We would hope, that as Christians, we wouldn’t be affected. We would consider the lillies and trust God’s provision. We would judge not (even ourselves). That’s the ideal, not the reality for most Christians. “We are not saints,” as they say in 12-step programs. “Progress, not perfection.”

November is designated as Stewardship Month by many churches in the United States. It’s a time when pastors ask their congregations to pledge their time and/or money for the upcoming year. RevLiz and I have asked for 10*10. We hope for 10 new pledgers and 10 increased pledges. If God is nudging you to be one of those 20 people, we encourage you to act. Of course, we would love for everyone to pledge and and/or to increase their pledges. Yet that might not be what God is asking of you.

I am aware that our “ask” can be triggering for some LaSallers. I have more than enough financial resources, yet I have still been triggered in the past. What about you? Perhaps you are short of funds. Don’t judge yourself for that, even if you think you haven’t been responsible with your finances. You are probably your own worst judge. Neither I, nor any Elder Board member knows what you give or don’t give. That is the sole purview of our accountant and our Senior and Executive Pastors. I don’t believe that they judge us based upon our giving. Nevertheless, if you are feeling money shame, or have any other thoughts about pledging, I encourage you to talk about it with either RevLiz or Pastor Randall or with me. I have spent decades working on and mostly succeeding in healing my own money shame.

Bottom line: My desire is for you to have peace about your decision of how much, when, and/or by what means to give of your financial and temporal resources. We are grateful for whatever you feel led to give. Grace and Peace, Susan

Reflecting on Installation Sunday

Hello Church -

What a beautiful and powerful service this past Sunday was! I am so grateful for everyone who joined us for the Installation Worship Service, whether in person or in prayer, and also want to share my deep thanks to all those church leaders, staff, and guests who made the day possible. What a gift to receive this Sunday, and what a responsibility to carry forward! I’ve been reflecting a lot on the importance of vows recently, and what we mean when we promise things to one another on the journey of faith and life. What do you think of when you consider the vows, the promises, that you’ve made in your life?

I’ve made vows only a handful of times throughout my forty-six years, and we have marked those times on a wall of family photographs in our dining room. Behind black, framed glass there are photos from our wedding, from both of our kids’ baptisms, and from my ordination. I will have to add a photo of this past Sunday to this wall, marking the promises and vows that I took - that our whole church took together. We’ve marked these occasions on this wall because vows are powerful places of identity - they affirm an agreement and establish a relationship. God’s own story with the people of Israel started with a promise - I will be your God, Yahweh promises, and you will be my people. I will give you a name, land, and a future full of descendants God said, if you follow me and circumcise every male. Vows affirm that we are in agreement with a role, a vocation, or a calling that has been placed over us. We say yes, wholly and intentionally, to what’s been asked of us - yes, I will be faithful to this marriage. Yes, I will raise my children to know about the love of Jesus and the story of God’s people. Yes, I will uphold the promises I’ve made to the calling of being a pastor. Yes, I will love and lead this specific congregation as they have called me. We affirm our part of what has been asked of us.

When Peter and I were first married I used to look at our written vows often, usually around each year’s anniversary. It wasn’t because I forgot them, or because I needed to be reminded of just what it was that I had said yes to :). Rather I found myself looking at them as an encouragement that reminded me of all the goodness that I was a part of. Reflecting on our common marriage vows, the promises that we had both already made to each other, was a grounding truth, a way to see afresh the goodness, the faithfulness, the choices, and the identity that Peter and I had chosen. Look at what God did in my life, I would think, remembering our beautiful wedding day and smiling at our little apartment and our crazy work schedules; no matter where we headed, these vows were in our story, and I felt so lucky, so tethered by them. Vows bring truth to mind, they remind us of the abundance we already have, and they help tell us what we’ve already established.

I also remember being a teary mess as I said the baptismal vows during both of our kids’ baptisms, as we made promises as parents, as the church made promises to our chubby cute babies, and as we trusted in the prevenient grace of God to cover and flow over our children’s foreheads and into their lives just beginning to unfold before them. Vows affirm something in the present to be sure, and they also establish a relationship that has ripples into the future. We promise this now; and in the future, on days when we might not remember, when we might not feel like it or when we might need to be tethered to this identity or this relationship, the vows remain. The communal promises of a congregation to a child, or to a pastor, or the ways we as parents or partners promise to one another at our best, never knowing what the future will bring, these are the promises that remind us we belong to one another. Remember who you belong to and who you are, they call out through the years. Remember who you said you wanted to be, the vows echo into our future stories.

Now there are times that vows need to be broken. There are times that violence, abuse, manipulation, and other hidden or seen actions rupture or weaken or make necessary the choice to break a vow. Domestic violence or spiritual abuse or other forms of unhealthy attachments are never the intended result of a sacred promise made with the intention of faithfulness and life. Even a sacred vow does not take the place of life-giving, life-empowering choices, and getting free from anything that threatens life. Full Stop.

Outside of cases where vows may be covering or used to further abuse or violence of any form, vows are a healthy tether to ground us, remind us, and encourage us. Promises and covenants in the Scriptures function the same way, to call people back to their common fidelity especially when they do not feel like it. To give direction when they forgot their way, or when they have found a new or easier potential path up ahead. Remember who you are, and whose you are, and be encouraged vows call to us.

LaSalle, in this season of focusing on our identity as a congregation, and looking at both our history and our future together, we’ve been given a gift as we made vows to one another. We made promises that contain identity, that covered a holy yes to one another and to God, and that established a relationship for the Holy Spirit to work throughout! Far from a guarantee or a rule, these promises tether us to God and to the potential of walking fully into the goodness God has for us. I look at these vows that we made Sunday, and I am reminded with tears in my eyes - look at how good God Is! Look at how God is at work, and is flowing over into our stories and our futures with abundance, with life and liberation, moving us toward more than enough, toward relationship, toward goodness. Thank you church, for your yes, your faith, and this journey that we are on together! Gratefully - RevDoc Liz

OUR VOWS

These are our commitments we make as members of the Body, as we stand in agreement with how God is leading this church through the ministry of our new pastor.

Will you receive Liz Mosbo VerHage as your pastor, recognizing her place in spiritual leadership, and receiving the Word of God and the sacraments, counsel and care, through her ministry? If this is your promise, answer "we will."  

Church: We will.

Will you do your full part to supply her needs in a way that will be pleasing to God, and will you encourage her and share with her in the work of Christ in this church? If this is your promise, answer “we will.”  

Church: We will.

CHARGE TO THE PASTOR

Will you commit to preaching the Word of God, administering the sacraments, comforting and counseling those in need, and instructing all to live into their calling in Christ Jesus, through the strength that God has given you?  

Rev. Liz: By the grace of God, I will.

Will you commit to leading this church with the authority that God has given you, speaking the truth in love, and relying on the wider Body to help supply your needs, pray for you, and join with you in this high calling?

Rev. Liz: By the grace of God, I will.

Installation. Celebration. Invitation.

This Sunday, November 5, marks a special occasion in the life of LaSalle Street Church. It is the Sunday we will gather together to formally install Reverend Liz Mosbo VerHage as Senior Pastor of our congregation.

Arriving at this particular Sunday in November has been a journey. Journeys can feel, at times. too slow and at others too fast. They can be exhilarating and also a bit daunting. This journey was no exception.

A team of explorers, led by Amber Johnsen and Faith Bonecutter, set off on a search. As they planned and prepared, they sought the wise counsel of Tom Dickelman; a man of faith with perspective and experience he’d bring to bear. They sought feedback from this congregation; listening carefully to discern the needs of all those who were eager to share. They cast a wide net; seeking candidates who had a commitment to God’s calling, a broad vision for the church, and the leadership skills to weave both dreams and people together. After months of contributing their time and talents, and walking together in faith, this search committee found what they were seeking.

If you’re reading this, then I’m fairly certain you already know what happened next in this story. Early this summer we gathered together and decided as a body that Re Rev Liz would be called to serve as the new Senior Pastor of LaSalle. Over these past months, we have been learning from her and invited by her into building a more than enough church. A church where there is always more room at the table for those who aren’t yet here. An invitation to travel on a new journey together.

But before we go, there are a few steps remaining to complete what the search committee began.

• This Sunday morning’s service will be the official rite of installation in which Reverend Liz Mosbo VerHage will be publicly placed into her role as Senior Pastor. The installation service creates an opportunity for Rev Liz to state her commitments to this church and for us to name our support of her. It is a liturgical and spiritual opportunity for us to recognize God’s hand in shaping all that has and will continue to transpire within our community of faith.

• Following the service, we will have a chance to formally welcome the VerHage family into our broader church family as we gather for our Banquet Sunday in Leslie Hall.

• During the post-service meal, we will also have an opportunity to recognize and thank our search committee for the work that made this day possible.

In my experience, rituals matter. The moments we take to celebrate rites of passage are etched into our memories. I can still remember the church steps where I stood with my confirmation class and also, the color pattern of the dress I wore that day. Whenever I hear the hymn that was sung at our wedding, I think of the sound of my dear friend’s voice leading us through it. Rituals matter.

This ritual of installation will matter to us. It will be a moment for us to recall. A moment signifying a new chapter in the ongoing story of this church. As our website says, “a church that is non-denominational, non-traditional, non-mega, not easily labeled and not done yet”.

Let’s celebrate together as we continue to build and dream together.

Grace and peace…(and an extra hour of sleep)

Kari

A Discipleship Invitation | Israel & Palestine

Camel of Hardship (جمل المحامل), Sliman Mansour, 1978

We have been burdened along with many of you as we see daily reports of continued violence in Gaza. Three weeks have passed since the orchestrated massacre where Hamas took over 1500 Israeli lives, harmed even more, and continues to hold Israeli citizens captive. Following this violence we saw Israel mount a campaign that has already claimed over 7000 Palestinian lives, with the number growing daily. We deeply grieve all of these lives lost; we lament how this violence inhibits efforts at long-term peace throughout the region; and we condemn the growing incidents of hate crimes this violence has encouraged (both anti-semitic and anti-Arab/Palestinian), claiming lives around the world and in our own state of Illinois.

As a church we feel called to give voice to the anger, confusion, horror, and despair felt by so many. We take a moment to pause and remind each other that witnessing, lamenting, praying, and advocating are part of discipleship; as we cry out, we can be certain that our voices are heard by a God who is all-seeing, all-hearing, and all-loving.

As Christians, we begin by affirming that all humans bear the imago dei, the image of God, and deserve the protection of life and the ability to thrive. We are also called to stand in solidarity with the oppressed, the suffering, and those without resources or the ability to have their own voices be heard. We lament alongside all those families and communities, both Palestinian and Israeli, who have lost loved ones; parents going to bed without their children, spouses who do not know if their wives or husbands are dead or captive, grandparents grieving the loss of their descendents. We pray for their healing, safety, comfort, and peace.

We also acknowledge that this region holds deep significance for Christians and many people of faith, and contains complex spiritual, historic, and political dynamics. We speak from a place of privilege as Western, American Christians whose own country has an occupying and colonizing history, and as ones not personally subject to this violence. We are far from experts on this conflict and its history and so resist acting as if we know more than we do on one hand, or turning away in despair or avoidance on the other. We commit to learning alongside local experts and trusted leaders and organizations from the region, credited historians, faith and community organizers, and those most impacted by the violence and suffering.

We join with many in condemning Hamas’s actions and all acts of terror and violence that have taken Israeli lives throughout the years. And we also condemn the ongoing attacks against the Palestinian people that continue, largely with global agreement. We are troubled by the unequivocal support many Western churches seem to offer Israel without consideration of the violence carried out by that state on the Palestinian people, with 75-year old roots. The current humanitarian and health crisis in Gaza is growing more catastrophic by the hour; thousands of innocent civilians have been killed through air strikes and chemical warfare (according to reporting from the Human Rights Watch), an estimated 1.4 million people are currently displaced in a space about half the size of the city of Chicago, and 42% of all housing has been destroyed in the last three weeks. As of today, Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout leaving Palestinians without energy or water, and hospitals without the means to provide care. The population in Gaza is estimated to be 52% children; it has been likened to an apartheid state, open-air prison, and refugee encampment.

Retributive violence only begets more retributive violence. We join with human rights groups around the world who are calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages, stopping the loss of human life, and for humanitarian aid to be provided swiftly and generously. We cry out and lament, we witness and we grieve, and we respond as ones who still have hope – that God will move, heal, restore, liberate, and bring peace to this region. We pray that God’s will would be done and God’s kin-dom purposes be fulfilled, on earth as it is in heaven, throughout this conflict and that we help each other battle the misinformation, high emotions, fear, and mistaken or misplaced theologies that can hamper moving forward toward peace. Remind us oh God, that You are a God who sees, who provides, who mourns with those who mourn, and who fights for the oppressed and the suffering. With the prophets may we be ones who proclaim, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, and may we embody our call to be a people who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. We remain steadfast as we follow the call of our faith to reimagine how to be peacemakers, hope bringers, truth tellers, justice seekers, restoration of the city makers, and followers of the Jesus way - even amidst conflict, disagreement, fear, and violence. We invite the wider church to recommit to our part of this work - to witness, lament, learn more, and then continue to pray and advocate - as we turn toward God and one another and embody Christian faith together. Amen.

Some resources and orgs that we’ve found to be helpful that we want to share:

• Christ at the Checkpoint – Learn from those at the center of the conflict by reading the open letter from Palestinian Christians.

• Churches for Middle East Peace – Act by writing your representatives to demand a cease fire.

• The Telos Group – Sign a collective petition.

• United Nations Relief and Works Agency – Giving financially in order to send aid.

• Human Rights Watch

Reflecting on Serving at LaSalle Sunday with Pastor Brent

Hey there, LaSalle—

I'm so grateful for everyone who participated in this week's Serve Sunday at the church, when we took a beat to focus (mostly) on our internal life together as a church. We highlighted visible and invisible roles that keep the life of our church going and urged people to get involved in whatever ways God is inviting you to get involved. We explored our spiritual gifts (and I was surprised when the assessment revealed "craftsmanship" as my own most evident spiritual gift!). We connected in conversation, and I was especially thrilled to see folks who are brand new to our community getting to know folks who have been here for years.

I'm conscious that our church looked inward at a time when the needs and grief of the world around us feel especially loud: there are still migrant families at Larabee and Division who need basic essentials as the temperatures drop. The devastation in Palestine and Israel is shocking and disturbing, on top of so many other international crises. Week after week we serve people in need at Breaking Bread and LaSalle Neighbors. (On that note: Thank you to the youth and their adult helpers who spent Sunday morning preparing toiletry bags for those who need them!)

And yet I am convicted that living out God's distinct calling for LaSalle Street Church is one of the best ways we can participate for God's purposes in the world, purposes that include profound needs down the street and across the globe. I mean it—at our best, LaSalle Street Church is the kind of community that spurs each other to pray fervently, to serve tirelessly, and to love self-sacrificially. And LaSalle Street Church is at our best when we care for each other well, including all those visible and invisible roles that keep the life of our church going. I am convinced that when you greet someone warmly at the door, it matters. When you pray for someone's need on the intercessory prayer email list, it matters. When you read the words of Scripture aloud in the presence of God's people, it matters.

This autumn has felt like an ongoing season of transition and newness, and I find my imagination returning again and again to Rev. Liz's image of a banquet table. It's an especially vivid picture for this season in our church's life, when so many of us are figuring out how we want to connect, where we fit, and what we have to offer. Take a moment to imagine a big group gathered around a table for a meal—maybe an extended family who has gathered together for Thanksgiving, the dishes coming out of the oven, someone laying out silverware, everyone chowing down, the clank of plates and glasses going into the dishwasher—and ask God to show you who you are in the picture:

Are you tired from a long season of effort and labor, and what you need is to relax and receive the hospitality of others?

Are you the one who's full of energy and ready to contribute, and you're looking around for someone who can point you to a specific need?

Are you faithfully serving in a consistent way, and you're ready to show someone else the ropes?

Are you feeling a little nudge that it might be time for you to take a scary step and serve in a way that feels new and unfamiliar?

Are you noticing a gap in our life together, a specific area of need, and looking around for others who can help you to fill it?

Wherever you find yourself—washing the dishes, volunteering to mash the potatoes, longing for a nap—pray that God continues to reveal to you the precious, irreplaceable gifts that God has given to YOU for God's purposes in your neighborhood, at LaSalle, and for the world. In the weeks ahead, we'll continue to invite you to find ways to get connected and serve, and we hope you'll think and pray deeply about how God is calling you. Above all, remember that it is God who calls, and gives, and invites, and who is at work in the world, and we are fortunate indeed to find our places at God's table.

Remembering, Our Identity, and Staff Refresh Phase 2

Hello Church -

It was such a joy to see many of you last Sunday for worship and to celebrate Pastor Pam’s retirement after service. I loved the spaces we shared of passionate worship, a Word from the prophets about justice, sharing affirmations and hugs in Leslie Hall, and kids and families gathering over tables and stories. Thank you to all who hosted, attended, shared memories of Pastor Pam, and took part in church together! One of the themes we explored Sunday was how central remembering is throughout Scripture; we’ll be doing some powerful remembering this fall together as part of my Installation Service, during All Saints’ Sunday, and as we keep walking into what God is calling LaSalle toward in this new season. So this week, I want to make some space to look back and revisit the first two priorities shaping this summer and fall focus (of the four priorities that Moderator Kari shared last month from the consultant and Elder Board: identity, staff, worship, and elder board structure).

1. Our Identity

Our church’s legacy and identity are so rich and broad; it’s been a joy to get to know many of you this fall, hear stories (and even a few foibles!) from our collective past, explore old photos and binders of ministry events, and get a sense of the unique intersectionality of this place called LaSalle. I am more convinced than ever that God is moving in this place and through this Body to be a congregation continuing to make room for more people to belong, to believe, to become, and to bring all of who they are to church. Our new worship rhythms are also one way to let the Holy Spirit make room in us, and for us, as we remember that church is a Banquet and a place to Belong, and that worship includes Serving and Sabbath. I am so encouraged to hear from those of you who have experienced God working in the worship shifts, sermons, spaces to sabbath and gather others in your homes, and the powerful day of serving together in our community on Sunday morning. We’ll keep talking about identity this whole year, but our first step has been to gather in these news ways and to name our identity again. LaSalle is a place of Expansive Faith. Generous Community. Invested in God’s Justice. And I want to remind us all again of two invitations for this fall: to be praying and asking how to receive the goodness and delight that God is speaking over you in this season; and to be praying around who God might be nudging you to invite to join us some Sunday.

2. Staff Updates

I want to start with reminders of our recent staff shifts starting in October 2023 for clarity, and to connect the dots between some ministry growth that is already accompanying each position. In October we hired Rev. Alicia Vela Anderson to be our Associate Pastor of Formation - to oversee and develop our kids/youth/family ministries, create formation and discipleship for all ages, and support our Sunday morning worship and adult formation. She and her husband Jed are in the midst of relocating from Minneapolis to Chicago to live in the Ravenswood neighborhood, and I want us to be sure to welcome and get to know them both as they settle in at LaSalle! It’s already been such fun to see the creativity and possibility growing from Rev. Alicia – there’s new rooms and programming for kids and youth being developed, new tools provided online and in worship, and a section of this weekly email newsletter devoted to this ministry area to keep us all informed. There will also be invitations for our kids and youth to hang out and meet Rev Alicia ongoing this fall, so keep a watch out for updates or feel free to reach out to her at alicia@lasallestreetchurch.org.

In October we also shifted Pastor Julie over to being our Director of Outreach and Advocacy, which reflects the work she’s already been doing to manage Breaking Bread, Senior Market, and other community outreach going on within Cornerstone every week. She’s also now bringing her passion and people skills to managing our hourly Cornerstone employees, being a liaison to both our catering and CCLC ministries, and making more connections in the community with other partners, non-profits, and civic leaders. While 75% of this role is community/Cornerstone based, 25% of her role remains doing “church side” work, including overseeing our prayer ministry, supporting our seniors, helping with Serve and Sabbath Sundays, and general pastoral duties. I am so grateful for her flexibility and many gifts benefitting this position – check out the updates on this ministry area each week in the weekly email newsletter as well or reach out to hear more from her at jwellborn@lasallestreetchurch.org.

I also want to share Phase 2 of our Staff Refresh this week which impacts a few more positions. The biggest news here is that after twenty-eight years of working with LaSalle and Cornerstone, Ms. Sharon Williams has shared that she is ready to retire. We will celebrate her **well** and help remember and affirm her decades of serving this Body in January 2024, and she will conclude her position at the end of 2023. Instead of rehiring this role (in addition to Ms. Sharon simply being irreplaceable!!), we will be absorbing this position primarily into Lucas’s role, with a few aspects being moved to other staff. So Lucas’s role is shifting slightly to be Director of Communication & Administration. He will continue to oversee our digital and print needs like the website/social media/email newsletter, AV/Tech, as well as cover room scheduling, the database and phone, and in-office admin and supply needs. I am so grateful for his flexibility in these shifts, and the ways that he supports our whole church with these systems and hospitality skills.

The other update to name in this phase is a shift in title and focus for Pastor Brent, who will now be our Associate Pastor of Connection. His areas of oversight include fostering community and connection for various groups and ages in the church, starting gatherings and small groups, forming connection for college/grad students and young adults, and creating community online and for newcomers. He’ll also still provide support to our Children’s Church ministry, preach and provide general pastoral care, and lend his contemplative gifts to our Sabbath Sundays as well. I’ve loved seeing Pastor Brent’s care and thoughtfulness impact all ages that he works with, and his willingness to explore and develop new places of connection for our Body.

Please be praying for and supporting our whole team in this season, and feel free to let me know of any questions on who to contact for what or additional ways we can keep communication high and clear throughout transitions. I’ve already been so inspired by and grateful for our whole staff – their passion, unity, purpose-driven ministry, and care for each other and our Body moves me. I remain excited to see how each member of our team grows even more into their areas of expertise, joy, and giftings in this season, while also meeting the needs of our congregation, community, and budget 😊.

Thank you again church for who you are – a place that when we remember together, and when we look out ahead together, is a More Than Enough congregation! With deep thanks, and all glory and honor to the One who does exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ask or imagine – Rev. Doc. Liz

Reflecting on Marathon Sunday

Hello church -

This past week was such a beautiful display of the ways our church exists in our community, within the sanctuary walls, and in Cornerstone Center! The Chicago Marathon brought thousands of runners and spectators from around the world up LaSalle Street and then down Wells, where LSC staff and volunteers cheered, supported, spoke life over the megaphone, directed to bathrooms, and handed out tissues to runners. Not to brag, but I personally gave away ten boxes of tissues, which I am pretty sure is a record :). What a joy to be part of it all!

Then we gathered for worship together in the sanctuary, where we welcomed Rev. Alicia for her first in-person Sunday, prayed and worshiped with Minister Brandi Sanders, heard the Word about being a Generous Community, took communion, and then concluded with greeting and enjoying one another. Many of us then migrated over to Cornerstone to enjoy a meal in Leslie Hall, say hello, introduce families and friends to one another, and simply enjoy food and fellowship for Banquet Sunday. Church - what a beautiful gift to have each of these spaces to gather, witness, celebrate, and be the Body of Christ together!

We have a few important things coming up that will continue this invitation of being an active part of the diverse Body of LaSalle that I want to be sure you know about. First - to echo a bit of the sermon from this week, our pledge season is coming up in November and is a time for each of us to discern and pray about how God is calling us to be generous in this season. How are you being called to give - whether with your time, expertise, presence, voice, or finances, to LaSalle? What kind of generous posture could we each take in this season - because when we’re rooted in a More Than Enough God, we are freed up to be generous and gracious with all that God gives us to steward! More details on pledging will come in November, but keep this in mind for this season as the generous community that we are.

Second - I want to make sure that the whole church is feeling connected and empowered in this season. Thank you to all of those who have spoken up, shared excitement or questions, ideas or your prayers, as part of this fall launch season. Another way to add your voice and presence in this season is to share your gifts, time, and service with the church. On October 22, our next Serve Sunday, we will be hosting several options to learn, train, and jump into serving the church in the coming year. Whether you’ve wondered about reading scripture, singing on Sundays, volunteering with Breaking Bread or youth, joining the prayer team, or more - we will be sharing several entry points for the whole church to get involved, serve, and be empowered this year. Plan to join us and know that all ages - kids, youth, adults - and friends or students you may want to invite to join you - will have places to connect, sign up, and feel part of the community of LaSalle.

Lastly, note that there are various gatherings (Zoom calls, after-church meals, meetings being shared, etc.) that are all meant to create places to join others, speak into the direction we’re going, and meet others in the same age/stage you’re in. Watch for ongoing places for our parents/caregivers, for musicians and creatives, for the Racial Righteousness Journey Leadership Team, for folks of color, and more - and if you have an idea for a meeting, let us know that too! We truly need one another, and we all belong to each other, at LaSalle. I am looking forward to walking into the season of learning from and with one another in even deeper ways as we empower the whole Body of Christ, together.

Thanks be - to the One who is able to do more than we could ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us - RevDoc

Fall - Rhythms - Atmospheres

Hello Church -

The fall weather sneaking its way back in reminds me of the way the seasons transition and invite us to follow along - the lower, slanted light in the evenings reminds me to rest earlier, the garden reminds me to trim back the too-long growth and prune branches exactly where I want to see new growth later, and our family rhythms are settling into anticipating school, work, friends, rest, and fun all in its own time. Rhythms are natural, and contain memory - they invite us toward change, growth, and accepting how in each season there is new purpose, new calling, new opportunity, and new work.

Last week, we completed one cycle through our Sunday morning worship rhythms - Banquet, Belong, Serve, and Sabbath. I feel so grateful looking back over this season of beginning new rhythms together. I have the privilege of seeing and hearing from many of you how God is moving - in each service, the Holy Spirit has been showing us new things, and calling together new people, and asking us to consider new questions:

• Banquet Sunday reminded me to ask who is not at the table, who is hosting and welcoming others to the table, and who is God asking me to invite to join us.

• Belong Sunday reminded me to ask who belongs in church, who do I want to take special care to help re-fit in our community, and how do we get to share authentic, real life with one another.

• Serve Sunday reminded me to ask who is our community, what is our neighborhood and our turf in this season, and who are our systems designed to serve well.

• Sabbath Sunday reminded me to ask what do I need rest from, how do I pace my rest and enjoy the everyday, and how do I live into the truth that I am free to trust God to be God.

What questions did you notice bubbling up this month? What stood out to you from these rhythms? Thank you to everyone who shared thoughts, affirmations, questions, worries, and places of seeing God move throughout this season. I have treasured those places that God has shown up tangibly and spoken, and healed, and moved. For all those places where you or I may be waiting on God, or not sure yet, or still filled with questions, I remind myself that in God we can "love the questions themselves," as the poet Rilke says. We can rest in the not knowing. We can remind ourselves God is still, always, and forever, more than enough. We can trust that as we continue to practice abundance, belonging, generosity, community, justice, faith, trust, and prayer that God will keep moving, growing, cultivating, pruning, and planting in us and for us. Each of these worship rhythms invites us into a different type of atmosphere, a different slant on the same light and life of worship. The form isn't the point, but the questions, the life, the growth, and change, perhaps, is.

This fall season, let's keep listening together for what God is growing and inviting us toward. I love hearing from you, LaSalle - whether it’s your ideas, places you want to get involved, concerns or excitement you are sharing, prayers you're praying, or maybe people you want to reach out to. Let's keep growing. Let's keep trusting God's generosity. Let's be on the lookout for what to prune, what to plant, what to water, what to wait on - knowing that all of us are needed for this growth to take root!

With deep thanks in the abundance of God, Who does more than we could ask or imagine, according to the power at work within us.

- RevLiz

Reflecting on Serve Sunday

Wow!!! What a Kingdom Vision manifested before our very own eyes. When Pastor Liz first presented the “Resetting the Banquet Table” vision, more than a few were skeptical. However, there was no room for skepticism on Sunday September 24th, as LaSallers from everywhere came locked and loaded to Love and Serve the Lord, as we Love and Served the Lord’s people.

Those who participated had no doubt that they were “ingredients” in a “scrumptious meal” seasoned and “served” straight from Heaven. The day started with the early arrival of LaSalle youth and young adult congregants Tatum Pridgeon, Sadie Huizenga, Magdalene Johnson, Sam VerHage, and Quique Martinez. This group led the congregation in prayer, song, scripture, and Spanish instruction & interpretation. With an abbreviated service filled with all the heart-moistening attributes for a Divine Day of Service, LaSallers scurried over to Leslie Hall to plate hot meals, stuff food bags, prepare toiletry bags, pack the delivery truck, select size appropriate shirts, and make their way to the 18th District Police Station to serve our newly arrived guests from Venezuela.

Once our feet hit the fertile ground, the Divine Day of Service continued with Quique Martinez welcoming our guests in Spanish, introducing LaSalle, and inviting our new friends to enjoy all the nurturing offerings that were to come. Intergenerationally, with honor and dignity, LaSallers served each guest a Hot Meal of Chef Keith’s & Chef Jill’s Baked Chicken, Rice & Gravy and Green Beans, while Spanish Worship music saturated the air. As their parents enjoyed a taste of Heaven, the Venezuelan kids put their plates aside to play sidewalk chalk games with our bilingual youth led by Magdalene Johnson, and blow lots of hopeful and fun bubbles, each one filled with dreams of a brighter tomorrow. We were blessed to have the Spanish Honors class from Walter Payton High School join us as well. Following the delicious meal, each guest received a loaded toiletry bag filled with all the essentials for hygiene excellence, coupled with specialty items for personal TLC. LaSallers didn’t stop there but continued to serve, giving each guest a personal invitation (in Spanish and English) to our Wednesday evening Breaking Bread gathering.

Prior to our departure, our guests received a Wooden Cross necklace and Quique Martinez offered a closing prayer in Spanish, thanked our guests for spending time with us, and reiterated our invitation to join us for Breaking Bread. One LaSaller fell in my arms with tears rushing down her face and overjoyed with gratitude, stating, “Pastor Randall, everyone received a meal.” A parent of a Walter Payton student couldn’t stop thanking us for creating the opportunity for her daughter to serve in this capacity, right down the street from their house.

This is what “Resetting the Banquet Table,” and Faith, looks like in action. First, asking the question, “Who’s not at the Table?” Followed by making room at the table for the answer.

Look forward to seeing you at the next Serve Sunday on October 22!

Pastor Randall

COVID Update from Dr. Dave Neely

Dr. Neely has shared occasional health & COVID wisdom over the last few years through our weekly emails — check out this update if you have questions about vaccines for flu, RSV, and COVID this Fall & Winter.

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Fall vaccines: It is a little confusing.

Flu is the same as ever - vaccines are available now in pharmacies and doctor’s offices. You should try to get before November 1. I will get mine early October, because it does wear out by the springtime and flu is rare in September. The major reason to get flu vaccine is if you are elderly or you want to protect an elderly person in your life or you would like your episode of the flu to be a little less severe.

In adults, RSV is like mini- flu. There are 5000 deaths attributed to RSV annually. There are about 50,000 deaths attributed to the flu every year. We think the RSV vaccine works better than flu vaccine-80% effective. It also lasts longer, maybe two years. It is suggested for those >60. Medicare part D pays for it. Medicare part B does not. (This is like Shingrix.) This means it is cheaper at the pharmacy than the doctor’s office. I don't think healthy 60-year-olds have much to fear from RSV. In general, the older you are, the more you should consider the RSV vaccine. The patients who get super sick from RSV are the heavily immunosuppressed-(organ transplants) and those with severe lung disease. You can get the RSV vaccine now at a pharmacy, timing is not an issue. Until this year, I did not worry about RSV in adults at all. It has primarily been a “pediatric” illness. For those of you with young children, talk to your pediatrician.

Covid

We have learned that the antibodies from covid vaccine are the highest in the first two months. So I encourage you to get a covid booster before a wedding or family reunion or before the end of year holidays. However, the best way to prevent covid is to wear a mask. I wore a mask the week before a recent family vacation. I would encourage you to wear a mask the week before a big event you really don't want to miss. One of the benefits of mask wearing over the past few years is that I did not get any colds in the winter. I plan to wear a mask on the subway this winter to decrease all viral upper respiratory illnesses. I am not wearing a mask in church or on the subway now.

The new covid booster is available. If you are >65 or “organ transplant” immunosuppressed, I would get the booster. We have good data that the first booster (third shot) saved lives. We have less impressive data for the next several boosters. Hard to get data on a vaccine that hasn’t been widely used.

In Chicago, there have been 17 admissions a day for covid and 1 death a week in the past month. It is very hard to improve those stats with interventions. Even among high-risk people, we are not seeing many ICU admissions for covid.

For healthy people, getting a covid shot is like getting a flu shot. Personally it decreases your risk of an annoying URI. Public health wise it decreases the risk of you spreading covid to a high-risk person.

Insurance and Medicare are supposed to pay for covid vaccines, but there have been some issues with private insurance. We think this will be resolved, but I would check to make sure.

Senior Pastor Update - 2023/09/21

Hello LaSalle -

I hope that you’ve had a good week and are avoiding the colds, germs, and viruses going around this season! Our fam is recovering from our bout with sickness and I’ve been reminded of the gifts of access to medication, space to rest, and health insurance, knowing not everyone has these privileges. As we move into the colder, wetter months this fall, I am also keenly aware of our neighbors who are unhoused, or for a variety of reasons don’t have as much access to shelter, health care, and support – and I am so proud of our Body who notices, sees, and responds to those in marginal spaces like this. (I am also making sure to bring my Benevolence Bags we made in church to the car this week!) Building on this commitment of ours, I hope to see you all this Sunday for our first Serve Sunday, where together as our act of worship we will be serving Migrant Families in our neighborhood. Read more specifics about this Sunday’s service project on our web site, and join with me in praying over this Sunday’s ministry as we prepare to both serve others and receive, knowing that the Holy Spirit moves and transforms us each when we are proximate to suffering, injustice, community, and hope in Jesus’ name.

I also have an exciting update for our church that follows up on Moderator Kari’s post last week that named the strategic goals directing this season of our ministry. As part of the staff shifts that we are assessing, I am delighted to share that phase one of our staff re-org/refresh is being enacted in October with two main shifts. The first is that we’ve been in a search and hiring process to bring an Associate Pastor of Formation onto our staff who will cover parts of Pastor Pam’s previous role, bring a refocus and increased capacity on students/youth and families, as well as bring gifts for formation and discipleship of all ages. We’re delighted that Rev. Alicia Vela Anderson has accepted this role and will bring her 15+ years of pastoral experience to LSC. She and her husband Jed are currently in Minneapolis, MN, and will be relocating to Chicago in early October to join our team. Read more about Rev. Alicia and this role on our web site — as well as when/how to meet and welcome her to our congregation!

The second shift of phase one is moving Pastor Julie’s role to being our Director of Outreach and Advocacy, which names and makes visible all that she’s been leading and supporting for some time. Her role will continue to lead and manage our community-based ministries already happening Monday – Saturday as well as create more capacity for fundraising, developing, and advocating around that area. More on this role is also in our FAQ – and I am so excited to see the ways that God will be at work through Julie’s many gifts to help our whole Body continue to be hands and feet living out our faith in action.

I also want to thank our gifted staff for all that they’ve been doing to launch this fall worship series – our first Banquet Sunday was filled with energy and so many people stayed for the meal; our first Belong Sunday launched classes on prayer and sermon discussion and kids of various ages connecting; our first Serve Sunday is this week, and our first Sabbath Sunday is being prepared with thoughtfulness and care to create a contemplative online space for worship.

Thanks to you, too, church, for all the ways you are continuing to follow God’s call to be a unique congregation that welcomes people as they are, focuses on making room for belonging, has an expansive faith, is generous and relational, and invests in God’s justice. I am so grateful for your ongoing welcome of me and my family, your extension of trust in me and our wider church leadership in this season of shifting and growing, and your faithfulness in God as we all listen for where the Holy Spirit is leading. Continue to share with me and our leaders how you’re hearing God speak in this season - and continue to share the invitation to others to join us at the table, the abundant banquet table, where our good God is more than enough for us, for one another, and for our world!

With thanks in the One who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ask or imagine, according to God’s power that is at work within us. – Rev Liz

A Message From Our Moderator

As we continue to journey together in this season of new rhythms, of setting the table, of looking around to see who needs us to make some space for them, I have been careful to look back, as well…to review the recommendations our consultant set before us, and to ensure that we are still walking the path we committed to.

In October 2022 I shared with you that we were clear on the five key areas of focus for LaSalle Street Church:

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1. Leadership

Seek and hire a new senior pastor who embodies the preaching and visionary skills needed for the future of LaSalle.

Thanks to the work of a dedicated and prayerful search committee, supported by members of the staff and elder board, we welcomed Reverend Liz to lead as our senior pastor. This work was an important first step in building towards our future.

2. Identity

Weave together the elements that have historically made LaSalle the unique place it is, with a clear vision for a church that can serve the needs of today's neighbors.

Expansive Faith. Generous Community. Invested in God's Justice. This is both who LaSalle has been and who it will evolve into. Yes, I believe both of those things can be true at the same time. We are a multi-ethnic, multi-generational community, where there is more than enough room at the table for those who are already here and those who are yet to be invited. You heard from Rev Liz this past Sunday that our current series will focus on identity. Each of us in the pews and online are part of the history, the fabric and the story of LaSalle, and there are new threads to be woven in as we lean into abundance and making room.

3. Worship

Reimagine a service that will consistently nourish the congregation, bringing the vitality of God's word through music and preaching.

We are experimenting with new ways to worship as we kick off our Banquet, Belong, Service and Sabbath Sundays this month. We can experience together how the Spirit might enter these spaces in new and unexpected ways. Perhaps, like me, you already felt some of that this past weekend. I’ve been playing, “Jireh” on repeat since I left the building on Sunday!

4. Staff

Evaluate staff roles and responsibilities and realign to meet current and future needs. Carefully consider the best use of time and talents.

Rev Liz and the staff have been focused on connecting the gifts of our staff with the needs of our church and more broadly, The LaSalle Foundation (TLF). Our identity and our ministries do not only happen in the church building on Sunday mornings and aligning staff to meet all the needs of our community, while keeping our budget in mind is something Liz, the board, and the P&F committee are reviewing with a sense of care and intention.

Pastor Pam’s retirement was the first shift in our structure, and staff alignment is a continued area of focus. In the week ahead we’ll be bringing you further information related to reorganizing around two key ministry areas - children/family/formation and outreach/neighborhood ministries. We are committed to having the right leaders in the right places to create impact at God’s table.

5. Elders

Assess the current ways of working and committee structures. Strengthen the focus on pastoral support.

The work of the board has been this and more. We have been focused on both stabilization and innovation. Bringing a sense of business as usual during all of the transition LSC has experienced, while inviting challenge and curiosity to how things might need to be different. A keen and kind observer recently pointed out that I can invite more of God’s hand into our work. I tend to lean on my business background and team management skills when there is a job to be done. I look forward to getting out of the way a bit more and asking God to show us where we are being led.

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I hope these reminders will bring you a sense of connection to all that you are seeing unfold. Sometimes in the middle of a journey I know I’ve got to pull out the map (or these days check my phone) to make sure I’m still on course. Good news…we are! Of course, there is work ahead and I am excited to see who God has invited to the banquet and how we might invent new, creative ways to greet them when they arrive.

Grace and peace for the journey-

Kari

The Midwifing Power of Hospitality

Hello LaSalle –

We’ve made the turn into September and the weather is slowly shifting, fall advertising at stores is in full swing, and our new worship rhythms at church are starting this coming week! As we shift and move together into this next chapter, I’ve been reflecting on LaSalle’s identity and how it orients us well to greet change and when God is doing a new thing. Our identity - Expansive Faith, Generous Community, Invested in God’s Justice – is one that beckons us to grow and change and rely on God in many ways, and in this season I’m struck by how much the posture of hospitality grounds us for healthy, healing, and faithful change.

A huge part of LSC’s history is our generosity and hospitality. Whether it was choosing to keep the doors open in the heart of the city when other congregations followed white flight, or sacrificially giving to pay for the building or the restoration of the windows, or making room for new beliefs and new cultures and new people who joined after those who historically started/ran the church, or welcoming new innovative ideas for how church and community ministry could birth nonprofits in Cabrini Green and beyond, or welcoming those at all stages of faith and trust into the hospitality of the church, or giving church members hundreds of dollars to share generous welcome wherever God called them to give, or welcoming refugees because - of course, we’re Christians – generous hospitality marks the story of LaSalle! It’s in our DNA, it is part of what God uses to call people into this Body, and to call us in this Body to continually become more and more like God’s generous, welcoming, gracious nature.

My husband and I were grateful to celebrate our 24-year anniversary this past week and along with remembering how much fun our wedding was, and feeling so grateful for the life we get to build together, I was reminded that one of Peter’s top spiritual gifts has always been hospitality. He’s someone who loves gathering others, serving and seeing what others need, and making an environment that is both welcoming and intentional so you can come just as you are. He sees and senses what others need and enjoys freely sharing – a listening ear or laughter, parenting wisdom, or recent politics or science news, food from the grill or mixed drinks he’s crafted (he’s a gifted mixologist y’all) Because there is no fear that there won’t be enough, or if others receive he won’t also receive, he welcomes, shares, gives, and also receives from others with deep grace.

Generous hospitality is a biblical posture for those of us who know that in God we have more than enough! Even when we don’t know all the answers, or see everything up ahead, or feel in total control, hospitality lets us midwife, work with, and welcome in the change of new life! So we need not compare with others like the older son, we can welcome home the prodigal with the best coat and calf; we need not grumble when we get manna, we can welcome daily provision in times that are lean and trust in abundance for times up ahead that are full. The truth of knowing there is more enough in God is what lets us generously welcome others, give knowing we will also receive, and welcome faithful change that births new life! I am excited for us to keep living into this part of our story as we welcome new things this fall – we get to be hospitable to the movement and presence of the Holy Spirit blowing fresh in our midst; we get to be hospitable to those who may be returning to LaSalle after a time away, or are new to the church altogether; we get to be hospitable to new worship leaders, new music styles, new students and teachers and musicians and readers of all ages leading us up front; we get to welcome new liturgies, practices, and rhythms of gathering on Sunday mornings together.

Thank you church for the ways that you’re already embodied hospitality – as you welcome me and my fam, welcome this next chapter of change and growth and faithfulness as a church, and welcome people each week (in the sanctuary and online and in outreach ministries and around potluck tables.) And thanks be to God for the more than enough truth of hospitality and how it changes us – may we let the movement and midwifing work of hospitality birth a new thing in us, for us, through us, and for the world!

Gratefully – RevDoc Liz

Identity - Who Are We - Who Is LaSalle Called To Be?

This past Sunday, I left church and drove up Lake Shore Drive with the fam in search of a brunch spot and space to rest and celebrate after a full and beautiful first in-person worship service. Over eggs and cinnamon rolls (thank you, Ann Sather!), we talked about how fun it was to meet you all, how we all enjoyed the creative and meaningful elements of worship, and our renewed appreciation for shaved ice on a sunny afternoon! I left worship feeling so thankful, and also feeling deeply aware that we are starting a new relationship between us, you and I church; me as the senior pastor who, yes, has definitely gotten to know our staff and our lay leaders over this summer, sharing my vision and a sense of where God is at work - but yet in a newer place of getting to know many of you in the wider congregation, some who are new and some who have poured into this church for decades. And while there is important practical information that we will keep sharing in this season (schedules and timing and details), I left on Sunday aware that what I most deeply want to share with you is more of my authentic self, more of my deep love for (and also frustration with) the church, and more of how I keep seeing the heartbeat of LaSalle in my own story and in the vision of how I sense God is at work reimagining, restoring, and rebuilding the church for us all.

I am a recovering overachiever, Midwesterner, youth group leader who grew up with the church as my second family. As a kid, church was a place I could count on that gave me structure, organized our family’s weeks, and gave me community, belief, belonging, as well as a space to lead and learn. I was rooted in a love for the Word, and memorized verses for Bible Quizzing, I led worship and figured out how to sing harmony to “I Love You Lord,” and I felt a deep pull to bring my friends to camp and to always stick up for those no one else stuck up for at school. And for all the beauty and gifts I received from my home church, camps, and other ministries of my youth, they also failed me in significant ways. I was taught women could not preach or lead men; I was taught a fairly rigid way to see faithfulness, understand the Bible, and trust my own needs and feelings; and when I sensed the Spirit moving and speaking, people wanted an argument about it, not an experience with it. I felt the impact of Western, white, and patriarchal leadership in who was asked to leave when a church couple divorced, who was shamed when someone got pregnant, who was always elected Church Chair, what language we always sang worship songs in, what verses we always preached on, and who was always the hero of the story in those verses. Much of this I saw more clearly when I moved from Minnesota to Chicago to attend North Park University and began deconstructing, rebuilding, assessing, and adapting the huge place that church, faith, and being faithful had always held in my life.

What emerged for me as I grew up and grew into my own faith and sense of calling within the church was a deeper, more authentic, more layered faith. I became more rooted in my relationship with Jesus, whose very life challenged the status quo in places of worship; in the Bible, that addressed culture and race and gender all over the place; in the power of the Holy Spirit, that was active all the time and was liberating and surprising in her possibility; and in the power of the Living God, who was holy, just, and also good, gracious, generous, and for us - not against us. I also re-found my faith within Black worship services, in immigrant communities, among courageous white leaders who taught me the whole history of the white church, from strong women pioneers in ministry and leadership, among leaders from the margins whose relationship with Christ was life-changing, in seminary and doctoral studies, in community development and church work, and even in my own Minnesota youth group history, with fresh eyes to see it.

I sense that many of us at LaSalle have had some kind of a similar journey; people of faith who felt called to a new, or more, or deeper faith. Maybe your roots are at Moody, or Wheaton, or in a COGIC church or an immigrant community; maybe you grew up hearing only men preach or only being around those in your same cultural background; maybe you heard of an angry God from the pulpit or a God who didn’t welcome all sexualities and all gender expressions; maybe you learned to fight and argue and analyze theology but are growing into how to live, worship, pray, and rest in God’s presence and delight in you. Or maybe you’ve just been hurt by the church, or disappointed, or are not sure why faith is even needed, or why church people sometimes seem to make things harder, not better. Or maybe you know others on this kind of journey that gave up on church, or may need an invitation to a new kind of church, to rebuilding or re-finding faith - who could you help invite into this story of God at work at LaSalle?

LaSalle has a rich history of being a generous place with people that welcome all on the journey of faith, and who also help rebuild, restore, and reframe a more expansive, Jesus-centered, faith in each of us. LaSalle has always been a place of innovation that’s willing to try new big things; it’s been a bridge for people literally in between two neighborhoods, and also for those moving from struggle or disbelief toward hope and having faith again. LaSalle has long been a place that invests in justice, acting on beliefs to provide education, childcare, legal aid, tutoring, food and shelter, housing and policy support, jobs and training, right alongside prayer, worship, and the Word being preached on Sundays. LaSalle has, in short, always been a place for those of us rebuilding and deepening our faith, and ready to act out that faith in community.

Our treasurer shared with me a report from LaSalle’s 2010 Congregational Business meeting; read here these older, but so familiar, words again today:

As a congregation we have already committed to throwing wide open our doors, so that all may come, wherever they are spiritually. Now that the doors are open, what do we do next? Everyone who walks through our doors must find a seat at the table. Everyone must be spiritually fed.

Our mission calls us to authenticity in our worship, our relationships, and our service. We cannot be authentic without a sense of belonging, without meeting people where they are. Throwing open the doors is only the first step. The next step requires that we create a place where people will stay, not for the sake of the church, but for their own sake (and I would add, “for the sake of our whole diverse community, and the growing kin-dom of God.”)

These words from over a decade ago still ring true today - we’re setting a banquet table where all can find a seat! We’re throwing open the doors of the church so that all are invited to belong, to bring all of who they are, and will be invited to stay! We’re highlighting our authentic belief that God is at work in the world, and within the racial reconciliation team and multicultural worship, within prayer and worship, as we serve and as we sabbath! It’s a new call but an old call, a reminder of identity and an invitation to discipleship. We might adjust the details, the schedules, and we might hear from you the need to even adjust our plans - and all of that is ok, and good, and part of the necessary details; but at the core, our call from God is what moves us, our identity in Jesus is what defines us, and our power in the Holy Spirit is what animates us.

So as we walk into this fall, know that I am listening to you, learning from you, and listening with the staff and our lay leaders to the Holy Spirit’s direction for this Body. Know that I feel deep in my bones this resonance with LaSalle’s identity and my own, and with the ways that this church can keep inviting others to rebuild faith, deepen our lives of justice, and throw open the doors wide to belonging in a generous community. Keep sharing your questions, your excitement, and your lives with me - and with each other in this Body - and I will do the same. I am so excited for this journey together into what God is doing at the corners of LaSalle and Elm and within each of our stories.

Who are we?

Expansive Faith. Generous Community. Invested in God’s Justice. LaSalle Street Church.

So grateful - RevDoc Liz

A Week of Preparation

Hello LaSalle Fam!

It has been delightful to be in the office in person this week and to anticipate seeing many of you in person this Sunday at church! As the summer winds down, this season is obviously one of preparation - for back to school rhythms, for back to work schedules after (hopefully) some time off, for the weather to shift (please God, help it shift!), many of us are in preparation mode.

Preparation - leaving what was known and getting supplies together for what is to come. Preparation - leaving what is comfortable and starting an adventure toward what’s unknown.

Preparation - knowing in your bones you are ready for more, for different, for deeper, but not always being sure what it is, how to get there, or if it’s even safe to hope or want for more.

Preparation is an oft-repeated theme in Scripture, usually when God’s people are asked to go somewhere new, try something different, leave their land, or people, or name, or family, and strike out in faith to go toward the More of God. More - life. More - liberation. More - territory. More - trust. More - need for God. More - dependency on prayer. More - walking by the Spirit, not by sight. More - delight and joy and peace. More - than enough. Preparation precedes More, and preparation gets us ready - not to know, control, or conquer - but to become, to walk, to journey, to grow.

What Scriptures come to mind for you when you consider these movements - preparation, leaving, growing, gathering up what is needed, listening for where God is moving and calling? What is stirred in you - where do you sense God shifting, encouraging, speaking?

Our family is preparing - our new home, for new schools, for new grocery runs and dog groomers and finding new Boba tea shops! In this preparation phase we know that we’ve left something familiar, and we even still feel the grief that leaving contains; co-mingled with the feelings of what we’re letting go, we also have anticipation and excitement in the preparation for what’s next, what is more, and what could be even better.

As you and yours prepare for this season of your own lives, as LaSalle prepares for the fall and gathering together in some new worship rhythms, as we prepare for kids and youth and college students to go back to school and making transitions, as we all walk toward God’s leading in this season - let’s cover this whole preparation time in prayer. We can never grow further than the ground that we’ve prepared in prayer. We can never go deeper than the depths that we’ve already made room for in prayer and listening with the Holy Spirit. We can’t move until we’ve been filled and given direction by our good and loving God on where to go! This fall we will be focusing on prayer together LaSalle, through Sabbath Sundays, through an adult formation class, and in worship together as well - if you feel called to learn more about prayer, or are gifted in praying and interceding, let the office know.

Preparation, church - together, we get to listen to where God is calling us, gather up our tools, and encourage one another toward what is more, what is next. It can be scary and exhilarating all at once - the both/and of being church together, the both/and of growth! I am already praying for you, for us, and asking you to pray for me and our call toward the future that God’s preparing us for.

With deep thanks, relying on the One who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us - Rev. Liz

A Message From Our Moderator

By now, I’m hoping that you have taken some time to read about the upcoming changes to our fall calendar and worship cadence. We are preparing ourselves this month to experience something new. To experiment with new ways to build connection, to make room and to see how church might evolve and flourish in this era.

For some of you, the news of these changes is welcome and exciting. You have perhaps been hoping and anticipating that with new leadership, new ideas would quickly surface. Some of you have already spoken with Rev Liz and shared your enthusiasm with her. This energy is uplifting, and the feedback helps us to know that we’re on to something.

I also recognize others may be having a different experience or reaction. “Some of these new ideas will make people cringe.”, was a bit of feedback I received about the proposed cadence for our fall services. My response, “Exactly! Change equals cringe. That’s how I would expect it to feel.” You see in my professional work, I coach people every day on how to be with the cringe. To understand that when there’s discomfort, it’s a sign that you are about to go over a change edge. That something new is wanting to evolve, surface or expand, and that the cringey feeling means there’s space to learn and grow.

What I invite my clients into in those moments is curiosity. What can they learn about themselves in the space of the discomfort? What do they notice about their reactions? Where is the resistance? The opportunity?

Although we knew change was coming and we spent much of the spring and early summer talking about how to prepare for it, change may still be taking you by surprise. We wanted to know what God had in store for us with new leadership, and yet you might be having one of those, Oh, we’re really changing things! moments. You might be thinking, Hold on! Rev Liz just got here and she’s changing things quickly!

If those sound like thoughts you’ve been having, here are a few things to reflect on:

• These changes are directly tied to feedback that you have provided: in church-wide surveys, in conversations with the search committee and our consultant, Tom Dickelman, and in feedback you’ve given to the staff or the elder board. We have been listening. We have heard you ask for more spaces for youth and children to engage; for more connection to diverse small groups; for new ideas and energy in worship; and for our staff to have some respite after a long, hard church season. All the information that has been gathered was shared with Rev Liz during her vetting and onboarding process. The ideas you’re seeing now are the outcome of listening, prayer, and discernment. They are your thoughts in action.

• The staff and elder board are working closely with Rev Liz to ensure that we both capture the energy and ideas that a fresh perspective can bring, while considering the history and heart of the congregation that is currently in the pews and online each Sunday. In weekly staff meetings, monthly board meetings and in many conversations in between, we are working collaboratively to build our identity as a more than enough church. Last Sunday, you were invited into the conversation, too. The Q&A session on August 27 is an opportunity for your questions, concerns and builds on these ideas to be brought forward and integrated.

• We want to grow. We want to be a flourishing, vibrant church that meets the needs of a diverse 2023 world. We will have to evolve in order to do that. We will have to experiment with new ways of connection and building God’s kingdom. As Rev Liz recently said to me, “We can’t grow past what we’ve prayed around.” We need the prayers of this congregation to support this work.

Back to those coaching clients of mine. When they are at that “cringey edge”, I invite them into a space of experimentation and exploration. “Look”, I’ll tell them, “You can just try it on. See what you notice and what you learn. You can keep what works and try something else next.” We can do this same thing at LaSalle Street Church.

We’re inviting you to try something new. To give yourself time to reflect and notice what might be working., and where things take you by surprise. We’ll check in along the way as we finish out this year and learn together as we go.

Grace and peace…with a dash of curiosity,

- Kari

Senior Pastor Update - 2023/08/09

Hello LaSalle!

This week our family is spread out - Peter and the dog (Theo) are driving cross-country right now making their way to Chicago, and the kids and I (Sam and Graham) are flying, all to get to town in time for our house closing and move in prep week. If you would, pray for protection, and health, and also joy and rest for our whole fam in this season - and that everyone will agree to my paint swatch choices for our new kitchen! (I am leaning toward ecru yellow and a deep plum gray… we shall see!)

As our family makes our way East, I am also very excited to share with you some significant plans and preparations that the staff, Elders, and leadership of LSC have been hard at work laying the groundwork for over the last several months. Notably, for this coming season we are focusing on the church rooting deeply in its identity, and in some reimagined ways to inhabit our Sunday morning purpose of worship and whole-life discipleship. Let me tell you more….

First - we’re focused on making sure that we name who LSC is, and who should see themselves as part of this community, invited to this table, belonging to this Body. No church can be all things to all people - and no community can grow beyond what prayer prepares us for and what their God-sized calling is. So who is LSC, and who are we called to become? I want to suggest this tagline of sorts to help us name/focus who we are, and who we are for — LaSalle Street Church: Expansive Faith. Generous Community. Invested in God’s Justice. You will hear much more about this tagline in the weeks and months to come, but for now, reflect on this phrase as one identity marker that helps shape our focus. And I want to invite you to join me in praying through this reflection question - who could God be calling to belong at LSC, through you? Who might be hungry for this unique story and way of being church together that LSC holds? Who do you know that may need an invitation to try church again, or who could use a ride on Sunday, or an email forwarded their way, or a chair pulled out at the table with their name on it? In other words, who do you think God could be trying to reach through you and your regular, authentic, everyday life? The expansiveness, generosity, and deep commitment to justice of LSC are among the top aspects of this Body that I love, and that drew me to this place, and that I think may draw others in as well - who do you know that might be encouraged to hear that this is who our church is, and we want to invite them to join us at the table?!

Second - we’ve been working on implementation plans of a vision for a new way to structure our Sundays together as a church. Starting in September, we will be rotating what Sundays look like in an intentional effort to line up our calling, values, gifts, and our capacity in a creative and new way. There is more detailed information on these plans available on our web site, and you’ll hear more about it throughout this month in worship, but I want to start by sharing the overview of things with you here. We will be gathering for four different kinds of Sundays - Banquet Sunday, Belong Sunday, Serve Sunday, and Sabbath Sunday, rotating through each roughly once per month.

• Banquet Sundays will be in the Sanctuary, with full musical worship, sermon, prayer, etc., - and will be followed by a banquet together, a time of gathering around the table for fellowship, food, laughter, and getting to know one another and those we invite to join us.

• Belong Sundays will also gather us all in the Sanctuary to begin with a full worship service similar to Banquet Sundays, and then afterwards we will break up into classes, gatherings, trainings and spaces to belong and engage in discipleship for all ages. In other words, we’ll create places that we each can belong more fully and get to know and be known in community.

• Serve Sundays will start by meeting in Leslie Hall, where we will follow the leadership of our Youth as they share a bit of their own faith reflections, and then teach us how to put our hands to the work of a ministry partner who we will then spend our time serving and volunteering with as our act of worship on that Sunday. Middle and HIgh School youth - start dreaming about what you might want to do to help shape these Sundays!

• Sabbath Sundays will be exclusively online worship services meant to invite us all to a shorter, contemplative, but interactive online space, where we take a break from commuting and rushing to be somewhere to “do church,” and instead rest in an accessible environment of prayer, worship, and reflection together and “be church.” We’ll reflect on scripture, engage in worship, and make space to practice spiritual disciplines together in this online worship service.

A Banquet of abundance like the kin-dom of God… Belonging and bringing all of you to church to grow in discipleship…. Serving and learning from our community as part of living out what we believe together…. Sabbath and resting in God’s delight and presence together in a new format that might increase accessibility for others…. Each of these weeks invites us to experience God and be church in slightly different ways, while rooting us in the ancient truth of the power of worship, the centrality of proclaiming the Word, the practice of being with one another, and the habit of both resting and serving in equal measure.

I know that this new rhythm will likely take some time to get used to and will ask all of us to use some flexibility, openness, and a readiness to see what God might do through some newer forms of being church. I am encouraging us all in this season to remember a few realities - that we want to honor what has been, and then build on that foundation to move to where God is calling us in the future; and where we’re heading wont’ look like where we’ve been before, and that is okay. It’s also a season to try new things without fear or scarcity, knowing that as we trust in God’s presence and abundance, even if we get some stuff “wrong” that’s okay, we will try again and learn either way. Instead of focusing on a building, or just numbers, or the ways we always have done things, we’re praying that this season might invite all of us to look out ahead at what God is doing out ahead of our expectations - what new wine requires new wine skins, and what new rhythms might invite us to regularly show up for one another in church, in new ways - and to fold in new folk who might be curious enough to even try church again, to try trusting again, to see that they too could belong to this kind of church?

We’ll share more throughout this month about all that is coming up - but for now check the link online, and be sure to save the date for a Q&A time after church with me on Sunday August 27th. We’ll make space to talk more about these plans, I can answer any questions you might have, and we’ll spend some time praying and listening to what God is sharing with you all about this fall too. I’d love to hear from you and what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you about LaSalle’s call in this season!

With deep thanks, relying on the One who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us

- RevLiz

Senior Pastor Update - 2023/08/02

Hello LaSalle Street Church!

I am writing to you from our mostly packed, in transition, messy and beautiful home here in Washington as our family finishes up the final steps of preparing to relocate to Chicago next week. We’ve been making time to enjoy our local friends and family, and going through lots of packing tape and cardboard these last few weeks, full of both anticipation and some sadness as we wrap up ten years of goodness here on the West Coast. We’re also looking forward to getting settled in our place in Chi-Town on the northside before school starts - we will have a 5th grader at Jamieson Elem, and a 10th grader at Disney II Magnet… so send all the cool kids who want to connect our way this fall! Lol.

As we’re physically in the middle of our family relocation and transition, I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of the visioning, planning, praying, and preparation that has been happening throughout June and July within LaSalle. I was grateful to transition into working with the staff and Elder Board shortly after being voted in as your new Senior Pastor this June doing remote work and getting to know our staff and prep for the fall season. What a gifted, diverse, and deeply resourced community we have! As we’ve gotten to know each other some, prayed together, and gotten excited about this next season, I am indebted to their leadership and wisdom that’s helping me transition into my role with such joy. A huge THANK YOU is due for our whole staff team, and notably Pastor Randall, who have all been holding down so much care and ministry throughout the past years of both senior pastor leadership transition and changing COVID demands. I’m looking forward to building on so much goodness and faithfulness at LaSalle, especially with this team, as well as moving into what God has called our church toward in this coming season.

More Than Enough - was the title of my first and candidating sermon for LaSalle. This theme of More Than Enough echoes throughout the story of LSC, from its innovative response to changing neighborhood demands, to its courage to address poverty and racism before many counterparts were willing to take that risk, to its advocacy in having women lead the congregation and fully embody an affirming posture alongside the queer community, to its generosity and abundance-directed mindset as it stewards not just Sunday mornings - not just multiple non-profits and a whole building humming with activity during the week, but a whole network of commuters, local residents, and a wide network of folks committed to and impacted by this Body and its witness as the hands and feet of Christ. More Than Enough also roots us all in the lavish grace, and delight, and presence of a good God, and in an interdependent community that is for, and with, one another. More Than Enough reminds us to look forward toward what’s possible, toward God-sized visions and dreams, and toward the trust it takes to walk into places we sense the Holy Spirit calling us. More Than Enough also reminds us who we are and who we belong to - we can rest, we can wait on God, we can put down the heavy load and know that all of this is not really up to us. We get to participate in what God is already doing, be faithful, grow and learn and try things, and even make mistakes, and then watch God do the real work. More Than Enough means we don’t compete with one another but we fight for and with each other, we learn from those different than us in language, ethnicity, citizenship status, education or income level, gender or sexuality or marital status or age - there is room for all at God’s banquet table, there is MORE THAN ENOUGH.

As we move into August and this coming new season together, I invite you to reflect and pray this Word over our church, over our community, over our staff, and over me as your new Senior Pastor. What does More Than Enough invite us into - in this time and place? What Good News is going to liberate, heal, bring hope, belonging, community, and faith to those we’re called to lead and serve? How can we trust and be transformed by God’s More Than Enough for us - for our lives - our families - our friends - our neighborhoods - our jobs - our diagnosis - our desperate prayers and worries - our kids - our questions - our weary and thin places?  

Trust this church - More Than Enough - is our Good News, and it roots this community, this call that we have, and this posture that I am so grateful to join you in. 

With deep thanks, relying on the One who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us.

-Rev. Liz