News From New Life Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lake Zurich, Illinois

News & Announcements

Mother's Day Breakfast

On Sunday, May 11, the Church Council will be serving a hot, delicious breakfast at 8:30 AM in honor of Mother's Day. Plan to come to church early that day to enjoy some fellowship with other members of New Life. PLEASE TAKE TIME FOR THIS FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY!

Preschool News

It is now May and we are in our very last month of school.The year has been so much fun and has gone by so quickly.To finish off the year we are going to be talking about ''Farms'' in the three year old room and ''Farming and Planting'' in the four year old room.Both classes will enjoy a field trip this month.The 3's will be going to the Farm at Ryerson Woods and the 4's will be going to the Arlington Race Track to see the horses (thanks to Mr. Nicklaus).During Jesus time we will talk about people who helped to spread God's word and how Jesus is our Good Shepherd.Sunday, May 18th at 1pm the children from both classes will participate in the ''Spring Show''.They will be showing their parents what they have learned throughout the year using songs, fingerplays, and poems.Finally, to finish off the year we will have a special game day with medals for everyone and will enjoy some ice cream sundaes.I want to say thanks to all my great helpers as well, I could not have done it with out you!

--Mrs. Lori Dundore, Preschool Teacher

Examination, Confirmation

This year New Life has two Confirmands, Eric Anderson and Toby James. Eric and Toby will be examined in front of the congregation on Sunday, May 18th at 9:30 AM. Then, on Sunday, May 25th, these two young men will be Confirmed and partake of Holy Communion for the first time. Congratulations and God's blessings to both Eric and Toby!

Thanks to Teachers

Thank you to the New Life Sunday School Teachers and Teen Bible Class Instructor for their service in Christian Education this past school year: Wendy Landenberger, Debbie Felsing, Susan Sarvady, Kelly Daugherty and John Landenberger. Thanks also to those who served as substitute teachers during the year. The last day of Sunday School is May 18th.

Preschool Spring Program

The Tree of Life Lutheran Preschool will be having their ''Spring Show'' on Sunday, May 18th, at 1:00 PM. After Sunday School and Bible Class that morning, grab a bite to eat and then return to church to enjoy a short program by the children of the preschool.

The Green Team Pine Car Derby April 20, 2008-Noon

On Sunday, April 20th, the GREEN TEAM hosted the annual pine car derby at New Life. After a pizza lunch, 20 cars were put to the test to see which was the fastest. After an hour and a half of racing, a winner was determined and ribbons were presented to all participants. A good time was had by all.

Green Team

At our last meeting, the Green Team learned about transplanting. The last meeting of the Green Team will be on May 19 at 6:45 PM. At that meeting we will have a cook out and wrap up our year with a nature walk.

Church Directories

After months of taking and sorting photos, the New Life pictorial directory is done. You can pick up a copy-if you haven't received yours yet-from the table in the entryway of church. Fred Altstadt took the pictures for the directory and Kim Harger and Rachel Bauer put the booklet together. Thanks to the Branch Connection for paying for the production of the booklet, which has been made available to the congregation free of charge.

Building Pledge Drive Program

In the fall of 2007, the congregation decided to go ahead with our building addition. We initiated a pledge drive program asking members to make a six month commitment to the building program. Members looked at what they thought they could give and joyfully responded with a pledge amount totaling $54,748. This amount was much larger than the $40,000 the council was hoping for. As a reminder of our commitment, the commitment cards were bundled and placed on the Lord's altar at church.

At the end of the commitment program-the end of April-our treasurer has announced that a total of $58,534 has been given. This exceeds our committed amount by $3786 dollars. Soon, the Financial secretary will fill out giving reports, attach them to the commitment cards that were submitted, and return the cards and the statements to the members who submitted them. We will give thanks to God for his goodness to our congregation at our Ascension service this coming Sunday. It's also important to note, as we do this, that several of our members contributed to the Building Fund even though they did not make a formal commitment.

Now that the formal phase of the program has come to an end, members are still encouraged to give generous gifts to Jesus by making an offering for the Building Fund. At this point, since construction has not yet begun, every dollar given will be one less dollar we will need to borrow.

Adopt-A-Highway

New Life's semi-annual Adopt-a-Highway cleanup will be held on Sunday, May 18th at Noon. Lunch will be served immediately after Sunday School and Bible Class and then the crew will head out to pick up some trash. Sign-up on the sheet at church if you are able to help out.

Graduation

Kevin Ulwelling will graduate from Shoreland Lutheran High School on Sunday, May 25th at 1:00 PM. Kevin will further his education by attending UW-Whitewater in the fall. Congratulations Kevin!

Church Council for 2007-08 Fiscal Year

The following members of the congregation will serve on church council in the listed capacity for the coming fiscal year:

Brent Anderson-chairman
David Kolakowski-secretary
Fred Altstadt-treasurer
Mike Spangel-financial secretary
Walter Vonau-property
Bill Plautz-elder
Brian Felsing and A.J. Santiago-outreach
Rick Daugherty-fellowship
Ken Sarvady-stewardship

College Scholarship Fund

A college scholarship fund has been set up for Cody and Jesse Willer. Gifts to this fund can be sent to the Willer Family Fund, c/o Cambridge Bank, P.O. Box 987, Lake Zurich, IL 60047-0987.

Church Maintenance - Part of Christian Stewardship

Since we moved into our building in early 2000, members have done most of what is needed in the way of regular maintenance. This means that a tremendous amount of money is saved in hiring lawn maintenance and cleaning services. Maintaining what God has given reflects our love for God and our faithfulness as Christian stewards.

The grass cutting season is coming to an end. Thanks to Roger Nicklaus for doing the riding most of the season, and to the many members who came and did the trimming.

Cleaning the church happens once a week, usually on Friday after preschool or Saturday sometime. At the present time, there are seven families / teams that do the cleaning on a rotating basis. However, those families / teams need some relief. If we could increase our teams to fifteen or more, each team would clean only around three times a year. Cleaning the church takes about one hour, and the cleaning duties are clearly posted.

Please consider becoming a part of the rotation. You could team up with another family to form a cleaning team. You can sign up on the sign up sheet in the basement.

WELS Lutherans for Life Pregnancy Counseling Center

Lutheran Christians support the cause of life. We seek to protect unborn human life. Part of our effort is the operation of a Pregnancy Counseling Center in Mundelein, Illinois. The center offers pregnancy testing and counseling. It also has a clothes bank for mothers who are in need of clothing for their children.

The Center operates through the generous contribution of area WELS members. If you would like to support this worthwhile cause, you can send a gift to WELS Lutherans for Life at P.O. Box 37, Libertyville, IL 60048. Donations made to the Center can also be matched through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The center is also always looking for volunteers and donations of baby clothes and formula.

Service Men & Women

Posted on the New Life Network bulletin board are names and addresses of service men who are acquaintances of the members of our congregation. If you'd like to write a letter of encouragement, simply take a slip with a name and address on it home, and mail out a letter. If you know of service men or women and would like to include them, bring the name and address along to church.