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Vital Signs
Of a congregation being transformed into the image of Christ
Celebrating 60 Years of Lombard Mennonite Church
By Carol Bohnert & Jim
Householter
“Building Tomorrow on the Foundations of Yesterday”
is the theme shaping
the 60th anniversary
celebration of LMC
on Sunday, October
26, 2014. The celebration will be an
exciting, event-packed day of remembering the past and imagining the
future.
To jump start our memories of the
foundation, try making a few word or
phrase associations: community building, Emma’s ordination, “women in
ministry” conference, octagonal building design, Abe the donkey, Lombard
Mennonite Peace Center, Cross Cultural Crafts, Mennonite General Board
and “This we believe...” sermon series.
If you have been around for a number
of years, these words may take your
memory back to the early decades of
Lombard Mennonite Church.
For those who haven’t been at LMC
for 30 or more years, phrases for short-
term memory association
could include: Pastor
John’s bike ministry, Car
Park, church retreat at
Menno Haven, MYF international summer trips,
and World Café roundtable discernment
process.
Building from past
memory, what do you
AM. During the education hour at
11:30 AM, we’ll reflect on the past by
decades. What do you remember from
the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and
2010s? Come prepared to reflect on the
six decades of LMC’s experience and
life and share your memories with us!
We’ll then break for a catered meal
together; the cost is $10 per adult and
$5 per child. The afternoon session,
from 1:30-3:30 PM, will be an opportunity to imagine the future together
utilizing the World Café format. We
envision a time where your thoughts
and vision for the next few years, as
well as a longer-term vision of LMC,
are guided by specific, directed questions. There will also be children’s
activities during the afternoon session
to keep them active and engaged in
helping shape the future of LMC. They
ARE our future and we want them
involved!
envision for the future of
LMC? We have been known
as an innovative congregation; our past has a history of
“firsts”. What might be
some “firsts” in the next 10
years of LMC’s life?
As we work together in
anticipation of this anniversary event on
October 26, may we all
discover a meaningful
way to be part of the
celebration. Come help
us reflect on our foundations and imagine the
future of LMC.
Our anniversary celebration
day on October 26 will
begin with worship at 10
An Afternoon of Discernment on Calling the Rheinheimers
By Paul Joireman, Congregational Co-Chair
Church meetings
usually involve the
congregation listening to reports from
lay ministers, asking
questions and occasionally voting to
approve minutes or
budgets. On Sunday,
September 21, we decided to turn the
tables and have the lay
ministers ask the questions and the congregational members do
most of the talking.
Don gives a blessing to Catherine during communion on Easter Sunday
Lombard Mennonite Church
After a wonderful
lunch served by the
MYF as a fundraiser,
we gathered as a congregation to discuss
the option of calling Don and Jan
Rheinheimer to the open lead pastor
position at LMC. The Pastoral Search
Committee had done its work over the
past year and now it was time for the
congregation to meet “family style” to
share their views using a technique
called the World Café. The attendees
(about 60 in all), gathered around 10
tables and shared our responses to
three questions:
(Continued on page 2)
October 2014
Lombard Mennonite Church
Vital Signs
Renewing Our Commitment to LMC
By Carlen Sellers, Congregational Co-Chair
On November
2, 2014, we
will celebrate
our third Covenant Sunday at
LMC. As you
may remember, back in
2012 we
moved away
from traditional church
membership
(which might
be characterized as “one and done”), to
a model where we renew our commitment to our congregation and to each
other every year.
We transitioned to covenant membership for several reasons. First, having
just adopted our five core values in
2012 pursuant to a period of conflict
where we lost a significant number of
members and attenders, covenant
membership gave those still attending
LMC the opportunity to affirm our
commitment to the five core values and
to each other. Second, covenant membership gives us the opportunity to
annually remind ourselves why we
choose to be a community of believers
who worship, work, and play together.
It gives us the chance to study our five
core values and reaffirm our commitment to them and to the God we
worship. We are also reminded what
we believe
and why, and
what makes us
unique as
Mennonite
Christian believers.
Third, covenant membership allows us
to more easily
integrate new
members. We
have a regular time each year when
we renew our membership. New attenders are invited to join the process
if they have been baptized as adults,
baptized as infants and confirmed
later, or are willing to consider adult
baptism. It also gives us a regular opportunity to offer baptism to those
who are interested, a moving experience for the entire congregation.
Finally, Covenant Sunday is fun—it is
a celebration of our church family!
The Ministry Team hopes to distribute
a Q&A to address some of the questions you may have about covenant
membership soon. In the meanwhile,
if you have questions, please feel free
to contact any member of the Ministry
Team.
Reasons to Submit a 2015 Pledge
By Jeremy Steelberg
During October, the Ministry Team
and the Administration Commission
will be starting to plan for LMC’s 2015
budget. All of us in the LMC community have a role to play in this process.
We should begin to think and pray
about how we can support LMC by
pledging our monetary gift for 2015.
Why does LMC request pledges from
the congregation, you might ask? Let
me give you a little history. In 1993,
October 2014
the Finance Committee that existed at that
time proposed that
LMC begin a pledging system in which
those who attend
would give the
church an estimate of
what they could give
the following year.
The congregation
Scene from VBS
discussed the proposal and approved it in October of
that year. In time, the church leaders
Afternoon of Discernment
(Continued from page 1)
1. What gifts and skills have you observed in Don and Jan during their
year here?
2. How do you see their gifts complementing Hillary’s as they relate to
the pastoral needs identified by the
congregation?
3. Are there any concerns that you
have as the church considers calling
Don and Jan to the lead pastor position?
At every table, each question was considered individually, with time for all
at the table to respond and share their
views. A recorder took notes at each
table and shared the views expressed at
the table with the wider group before
we moved on to the next question. This
format gave us all an opportunity to
hear from one another about the pastoral opening and our hopes, joys, fears,
and concerns as we move forward in
the decision making process.
Toward the end of the meeting we approved minutes from the two previous
congregational meetings to make the
meeting feel more “normal”.
We’ll hold a short congregational
meeting on September 28 to vote on
calling Don and Jan as lead pastors for
LMC. This will be a written ballot, as
stipulated by LMC’s bylaws; absentee
ballots have been made available.
came to depend on the pledges as an
important aid in helping them craft the
budget. The church
has continued to collect pledges during
October every year
since.
Why should I make a
pledge to LMC, you
might ask? I can suggest several reasons.
The pledge total helps
our leaders plan a
reasonable budget for the next year. It
(Continued on page 3)
Page 2
Lombard Mennonite Church
Sharing our Stories
By Shawn Kronk
Vital Signs
the many ways LMC has acted as the
body of Christ and learning how such
action can continue.
Our stories are
During this
also important
year’s Lenten
as a part of the
season, we had
greater narrathe opportunity
tive of God’s
to hear from sevwork in the
eral of our fellow
world. God has
LMCers about
chosen to rethe various ways
veal himself to
they experienced
us through
God’s work in
Scripture—a
their lives. For
Stacey releases a monarch butterfly that she and Hillary raised
largely narramany the God
tive
medium.
That
narrative
does not
Encounters were enriching, uplifting,
end
with
the
final
page
of
Revelation,
and formative to our communal life.
but continues through the history of
As the Worship Commission has conthe church, including us, until Christ’s
sidered how best to continue including
second coming. Jesus also chose to
these opportunities in our worship touse stories in his earthly ministry by
gether, we’ve discussed many of the
teaching through parables. Our perbenefits of sharing our stories with one
sonal stories serve as
another.
parables of God’s
By sharing our stories
faithfulness, care,
with one another in
and provision in the
worship, we come to
present day.
better know each othIn light of this, the
er and our various
Worship Commisexperiences of God.
sion hopes to give
This is especially
these times of sharimportant in our coning a more prominent
gregation, with new
Rob at Menno Haven, a place where many LMCers
place in our worship,
have encountered God
and familiar faces
possibly even in place of a sermon. If
constantly coming and going. We may
you have a God Encounter story that
connect with someone we don’t know
you’d be interested in sharing, please
as well by hearing about a similar life
contact a member of the Worship
experience. We also learn about our
Commission to let us know.
community as a whole, hearing about
Mission Summit on October 12
By Chris Ewert, Lay Minister of
Mission
Every year, LMC holds a brownbag
lunch summit to discuss current and
new mission ideas for the church. I
encourage anyone who is interested in
missions or who is interested in learning more about LMC’s outreach ministries to attend. This year’s summit will
be held on Sunday, October 12, after
the education hour.
The discussion at the summit will
October 2014
Submitting a Pledge
(Continued from page 2)
requires all of us to think about the
stewardship of our financial resources.
It helps us think about first fruits giving
as we plan for how much we can contribute to LMC each month. Finally, it
helps us feel invested in the mission
and programs of our church and brings
us closer to our LMC community.
So, let’s spend the first two weeks of
October deciding how we can support
LMC financially next year. Then on
October 12, we get the opportunity to
turn in our pledges during the worship
service. Or you may submit a pledge
before October 12 online or via email.
Congregation to Congregation Connections
Illinois Mennonite Conference provides
opportunities for congregations to become better acquainted through an
annual Congregation to Congregation
(C2C) connection. At our retreat on
October 5, we will share the Sunday
noon meal with Metamora Mennonite
Church, who will also be at Menno Haven that morning. On October 19, the
Mennonite Church of Normal has invited LMC to send a delegation to join
them for worship, Sunday School and a
fellowship meal. We hope to have a
group of 12-15 LMCers make the trip
to Normal that morning. If you are interested in joining this group on the
19th, please let pastor Don know.
currently involved in LMC’s outreach
ministries or not.
focus on new
Giving Beyond
areas of ministry
Ourselves
that LMC can
In September, we
become involved
gave $500 each to
in. We will also
the Interfaith and
brainstorm about
Lombard/Villa
how to strengthPark food panen connections
tries, Outreach
with our existing
Community
ministries. Please
Center, PADS,
Smiling faces of service: Joanne and Jim serve punch at PADS in
come to the dis2013
People’s Resource
cussion with your
Center and Lombard Walk In Ministry.
ideas and passions, whether you are
We also gave $1000 to Menno Haven.
Page 3
Lombard Mennonite Church
Vital Signs
Exciting Year Ahead for the Venture Club
By Lily Quiroa-Crowell
monthly events during which Venture
Clubbers have
School bells are
the opportunity
ringing, leaves
to bond as a
are changing
group, all while
color, and temenjoying the fun
peratures are
activities
cooling—sure
coordinated by
signs that fall is
sponsors Lane
finally here and
Stopher, Banisha
with that, the
Arsenov, and
kickoff of another
Lily Quiroa. The
exciting year for
first event of the
the middle school 2013 Venture Club corn maze outing
year was a visit
Venture Club!
to extreme tramOur mighty group of nine youth this
poline, where youth and sponsors/
year includes returning members
Sunday School teachers alike exhibitSimon, Emma, Koby, Meghan, Naed newfound jumping talents and
thaniel, and Jonathan. We would also
skills.
like to warmly welcome new members
Simone, Evelyn, and Luke. We are so
Stay tuned for future events including
excited to get to know them better this
the annual corn maze outing, Decemyear and look forward to the energy
ber lock-in, Winter Retreat, and many
they each will bring to the group.
more. We are excited for what this
year holds in store as well as seeing
We are enthused about the many
the youth grow together!
Mentor/Mentee Breakfast on October 19
By Leanna
Kaser, Lay
Minister of
Community Life
cide together what
they wish to do.
Young people, if you
did not choose to have
a mentor in the past
but would like one
now, please contact
We currently have
12 pairs of LMC
mentors and
mentees. We give
young people the
Some of our newest mentor/mentee
opportunity to
pairs
choose a mentor
from the church after their twelve
birthday. A mentor is an adult who can
be a trusted advisor and friend to walk
with during the junior high and high
school years. Some mentors and
mentees remain in touch long beyond
high school graduation.
Leanna Kaser, MentorWe encourage mentors and mentees to
spend at least two or three hours together each month. This may mean
connecting with each other on a Sunday morning or joining together at an
LMC event. Mentors and mentees de-
October 2014
ing Program Director. If
you already have a mentor but were left out of
the list below, please
contact the church office.
Church Workday,
October 11
By Norm Ewert
Mark your calendars for the fall workday on Saturday, October 11. Join us to
help spruce up the church facility in
preparation for winter. An added incentive this year is to get our buildings and
grounds in good condition for the 60th
anniversary celebration.
There will be a wide variety of tasks of
all skill levels, so there should be something for everyone. Some of the inside
tasks include cleaning windows and
appliances, minor repairs, putting up
shelves, and checking lights. Outside
jobs include cleaning gutters and downspouts, raking leaves, trimming bushes,
and some repairs such as the downspout
on P2 garage, addressing the ceiling
leak by the sanctuary A/C, etc.
We hope to see a good number of
people helping out. Lunch will be
provided.
All mentors and mentees are invited to
the annual Mentor/Mentee Breakfast
on Sunday, October 19, at 9:00 AM in
the Fellowship Hall. (We held our first
M/M breakfast last fall and had such
great feedback that we decided to make
it a yearly event.) Please join us; come
ready to talk, listen, and laugh with
other mentees and mentors and to fellowship over a wonderful breakfast.
Let’s celebrate the great year!
Our current LMC mentor/mentee pairs:
Joe K—Kirk Hayward
Daniel Y G—Nestor Quiroa
Joe H—Joe Hayward
Corinne J—Kristen Burk
Alice K—Laura
Richards
Elizabeth R—Leslie
Hawthorne Klingler
Emma Q-C—Emily
Ekdahl
Meghan A—Stacy
Gerberich
Koby H—Jeremy
Burk
Page 4
Lombard Mennonite Church
Vital Signs
Church Safeguards: One Change and More on the Way
By Melissa Miller, Lay Minister of
Education
Back in 2007, LMC adopted
“Safeguards for Children, Youth, and
Volunteers at Lombard Mennonite
Church.” This policy (posted in the
foyer and also available in the church
office), includes six specific guidelines. For example, one guideline is the
two-person rule, which states that two
approved workers should be present
during any church activity involving
children or youth. Since adopting the
Safeguards, we have required two volunteers in the nursery and two teachers
for each Sunday School class.
Last May, an ad hoc committee met to
review the Safeguards and to make
recommendations for revisions and
updates. The most immediate concern
was the issue of overnight trips, as the
MYF trip to Costa Rica
was fast approaching.
The group recommended
the short-term fix of performing a background
check on all adults chaperoning the trip.
The Ministry Team then
discussed at length the
idea of requiring back-
ground checks, before agreeing to the
following
change in section C of the
2007 Safeguards (the
changes are
italicized and
underlined).
“C. Adequate
Supervision.
Programs that
involve chilMYF in Costa Rica
dren or youth
must always include adequate (at least
two) supervisory personnel. Supervision must be maintained before and
after the event until all children are in
the custody of their parents or legal
guardians. Overnight events with
youth must include at least one chaperone age 21 years or older
of the same gender as each
student. Each adult chaperone (age 18 years or older),
for overnight events will be
required to have a background check on file with
the church office.”
As a result of this recommended change in guidelines, each of the four adult
Women of the Word: Wow!
By Carol Bohnert
WOW! Laughter, tears, hugs, smiles;
all are present. Add each of them to
singing, Bible study, sharing, lively
and insightful discussion, and prayer.
All of these can be found in a short,
designated block of time when WOW
gathers together.
Women of the Word (or WOW for
short), meets Wednesday mornings
from 10:00-11:30 AM at LMC. All
women are invited to participate in the
group, which is also known as the
Wednesday women’s Bible study
group.
This fall, we are using the book Prac-
October 2014
ticing Presence by Terri J. Plank
Brenneman, as our resource guide for
our Bible study. This focus is assist-
ing us as we learn through the biblical
stories in scripture how to be more
fully present with God and each other.
WOW encompasses all the women of
LMC. Childcare is provided for the
chaperones for the MYF trip underwent a
background
check. We will
continue to
apply this policy equally to
all overnight
chaperones.
Requiring
background
checks like
this for church
volunteers is
increasingly common in a variety of
denominations, including the Mennonite church.
At the 2009 Mennonite Church USA
Convention, a group of concerned
Mennonites started Dove’s Nest to
help congregations address child and
youth protections (visit dovesnest.net
for more information). At this time, an
ad hoc committee is being formed at
LMC to revise our LMC Safeguards.
We will use some of the Dove’s Nest
resources as we work to create updated
Safeguards for our children and youth.
We will also consider a more overarching church policy on safety. If you
have any questions or concerns, please
contact Melissa Miller.
preschool children. This is a time to
invite friends and neighbors to share a
spiritual experience with you. When
you come to this group, you may indeed want to describe the experience as
Wow!
Concerts on October 25-26
You are invited to hear Karin
Redekopp Edwards performing the
Mozart D Minor Piano Concerto, K.
466, with the Fox Valley Orchestra.
Concerts are at 7:30 PM on October 25
at the Batavia Fine Arts Centre (1201
Main St, Batavia), and at 3:00 PM on
October 26 at Crimi Auditorium of
Aurora University (407 Calumet Ave,
Aurora). Tickets at the door are $15,
$13 students and seniors, $9 children.
Page 5
Lombard Mennonite Church
Vital Signs
nation for the first female Mennonite
pastor in North America.
Emma Richards—A Life Well Lived!
By Lisa Rose
Ed. Note: Emma Richards, former
LMC pastor with her husband Joe,
passed away on September 6 at the age
of 87. She had a deep impact on the life
of our congregation.
How do you put into words a life so
well lived? Emma Richards was an
amazing woman who had a profound
influence on so many people. For me,
LMC and Emma Richards went hand
in hand for two decades, during which
time I grew from a toddler to a MYFer.
It is with much fondness that I think
back on my years of knowing Emma.
Her wisdom and example provided me
with much guidance as I found my way
through the early years of my life.
I remember the wonderful evenings
spent at Joe and Emma’s home. There
was always delicious food waiting and
unconditional hospitality. I enjoyed
hearing intriguing stories about life in
Japan, and my brothers and I loved to
play in their basement. I don’t recall
quite what the attractions were down
there, but I remember looking forward
to being there. Joe and Emma always
made us feel loved and
important, and in return I loved to be with
them.
ings of Jesus. I was honored that she
and Joe were the ones to baptize me
as a junior
high student.
Emma was a
quiet and sincere, yet
strong woman.
She barely
passed 5 feet,
but her
presence commanded respect and her
interactions
were always
Emma at her installation in 1972
genuine. Her
preaching was polished and eloquent.
She was an excellent teacher; I was
lucky to have Emma as my MYF Sunday School teacher while we learned
about Anabaptist History.
When I heard of Emma’s passing, I
knew my week would include a trip to
Goshen for her funeral. It is with sadness that I said goodbye, but I know
that Emma is right where she has been
waiting to be. I was so glad to be a
part of a wonderful celebration of a
life so well lived!
**************
Dear Emma,
My family moved to
Thank you for being
Lombard around the
YOU! You came with
time that Emma was
Joe when he was called
ordained and I was too
to be our pastor, along
young to remember
with your three chilany of that. But as I
dren. Your light blended
grew older and heard
with Joe’s light, so that
the story, I realized the
soon LMC called you to
impact that Emma had
Emma at the release party for According to the
be co-pastor with him.
made in the history of
Grace Given to Her, the book about her life
We recognized that one
the Mennonite Church.
of
your
strong
gifts was preaching.
Because of Emma, a woman pastor
never seemed odd or controversial to
We knew we were asking the Illinois
me. Emma was a trailblazer who led by
Mennonite Conference to do someexample and taught me that no goal
thing new. And it did take some time
was too lofty. As a child, I learned
for the truth to be understood: a two
from and admired Emma’s devotion
year licensing process AND the ordiand faithfulness to following the teach-
Vital Signs
Editor: Katharine Richert
You have left a giant footprint. I am
only too happy
to have been a
part of that
process with
your 23 years
in pastoral
ministry at
LMC.
With you and
Joe as our
pastors, our
number grew
so much that
we had to
expand our
building—
from about 70 to 200.
Here are just a few memories from our
family:
 A live nativity scene at Christmas
 An MYF tour for several years to
Europe to visit Anabaptist places.
You taught their Sunday School class
on Anabaptist history, which also
gave them college credit.
 An annual August evening of square
dancing, with Ryan Ahlgrim as caller
Thank you Emma, for leaving your
footprint at LMC!—Elton Martin
October Nursery Schedule
5 Self service
12 Lisa, Cynthia; Stephanie, Adriana
19 Ken G, Bart; Caroline, Evan
26 Jeremy S, Valerie; Jill BT, Ioannis
IMC Day of Discernment
Illinois Mennonite Conference will
hold their Day of Discernment on November 1 at Community Mennonite
Church in Markham, from 9 AM-3
PM. This is an annual event to which
all IMC congregations are invited. The
focus is: “The Confession of Faith in a
Mennonite Perspective is ours!” If
you’re interested in participating,
please contact the church office.
October 2014; Vol. 33, #10
Deadline for the November Vital Signs is Monday, October 27