Download - Maverick - February 2014

FEBRUARY 2014

MAVERICK

2 A Letter from Pastor

3 February Worship

4 January Highlights

6 Sunday Servants

8 Trending at St. James

10 School House to “Green” House Part I

IN THIS ISSUE

STAY CONNECTED

ST. JAMES LUTHERAN CHURCH AND SCHOOL2101 N. Fremont Street I Chicago, IL 60614773.525.4990 I www.stjames-lutheran.org

St. James - The Oldest Continuously Operating School in Chicago This picture of a group of St. James students in 1906 was taken at our current school building. But, before we moved to our current location at Fremont and Dickens, the school occupied as many as five buildings since 1857 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Learn more about our 1879 location, Willow and Burling, on page 10.

GATHER • GO • GIVE • GROW 1

Dear People of God,

This season of Epiphany celebrates the work of Jesus to minister to creation healing, forgiving, preaching and teaching that the Kingdom of God is near. For us it is a time to reflect upon the growth of Christ in our lives as we live in the kingdom He calls us to in Baptism. As Jesus moved through the towns and people of Galilee, so Christ moves among us. It is also a time to remember that He does this not for His benefit but for ours and for the benefit of the lost.

This is a good season for self-evaluation. How is Christ’s grace making a difference in your life? How is Christ’s grace touching the people you are in community with? These questions form the foundation of reflection upon our spiritual growth.

Let me put before you a Biblical model for your consideration. Our growth in Christ begins with Word and Sacrament ministry. Are you attending church and studying your Bible as often as you can? These two activities feed the Holy Spirit, given in Baptism, so God’s grace daily overcomes our human will to disobey God.

Do you practice hospitality and service in the community of faith and in your neighborhood? God places us in community to build each other up and support the work of the church to be a healthy place for mission and ministry. Your time in support of St. James projects and programs not only strengthens you, but it strengthens others.

How generous are you with your resources and God’s mercy? Do you forgive regularly and often on the basis of God’s grace given to you? Or do you prefer to judge others and lord over them in the mistaken belief that you are qualified to judge? Do you recognize that God provides you with financial resources with the expectation that you will generously support the work of Christ at your congregation?

And do you share the love of God with others by inviting them to St. James, telling them about our excellent Lutheran School, and by living a gracious life as witness to God’s work in you?

These form the values of our life together – Worship, Hospitality, Service, Mercy, Generosity and Witness. Prayerfully take the time in this season to consider how God sees you in these areas and pray for His continued work in you to commit with greater devotion to be the person He baptized you to be.

It is my prayer that this is so.

In Christ,

Pastor

2 FEBRUARY 2014

ST. JAMES LUTHERANCHURCH AND SCHOOL

Senior Pastor Rev. Robert B. Donovan Jr.

Principal Warren Gast

Early Childhood Director Lynda Adams

Communications / Admissions Kate Donovan

Business Manager Martha Bulin

Office Manager Catherine Sitz

Children’s Ministry Jennifer Donovan

Facility ManagerSam Herlo

Music DirectorMeghan Sleezer

ReceptionKatey Kerman

Early ChildhoodLiz KoehnekeMeredith BoeseJennifer KolovosKristina Buschle

ElementaryJessica Lore, First GradeKristina Kaldis, Second GradeStephanie Bending, Third GradeBrianna O’Connor, Fourth Grade

Middle SchoolBecky GorcycaKim MayNikki Hantel

SpecialsAndy Macaione, MusicAbby Parsons, Physical EducationMary Barber, Art

Fellowship CouncilErica ChandrasekharJonathan DrewsClark EverettCarl HibbenJason HockmanJennifer LarsonMichelle PennyJason SleezerPhil Spahn

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Services are on Sundays at 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. Podcasts of Pastor Donovan’s sermons can be found on our website.

Prophets The drama intensifies as Jeroboam and Rehoboam fight for control of the kingdom. In response, God sends messengers to put the nation on the right track. But they only find resistance and animosity. All God wanted was that the nations see Israel as a reflection of Yahweh and cause them to want to part of God’s kingdom. So God divided the kingdom and the kingdom stoned the prophets.

Fall of Israel The ten tribes of the north continued to struggle to follow God’s commandments. They squabbled and worshipped false gods and ultimately the only thing God could do was to turn His back on them. So in 722 BC the Assyrians overran Israel and the northern Kingdom was no more. In 2 Kings 17:18 it says that God “removed them from His presence.”

Fall of Judah

God made promises to Abraham and Moses the He would show His love to all people and call them back to himself. To David, God promised to bring the Messiah. Even though God’s people fail to obey, and the kingdom split into two smaller, weaker nations, God will fulfill his unconditional promises. But the northern kingdom, Israel, went into exile to Assyria in 722 B.C. What will happen to Judah and even more important what will happen to God’s promise? Ezra

The nation of the covenant, the Hebrews who came out of Egypt are no more. God denied them the land and His name just as He had to Adam, Cain, the people of Noah’s day and the people of the Valley of Shinar. Those who returned from Babylon came back with a new faith, a new focus and a new mission. These are the people we call Jews and they were determined to never let this happen to them again.


ST. JAMES TEACHERS SERVE OTHERS

On November 20, the St. James faculty served the needs of others by preparing a dinner of chicken and stuffing casserole for about 40 residents of the Lincoln Park Community Shelter. They look forward to their next opportunity to serve as a group.

JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS

GET SCHOOLED GEOGRAPHY BEE

POWER OF WE TEA TABLE DECORATING

4 FEBRUARY 2014

WINTER CONCERT COLD WEATHER PROBLEMS

RALLY DAY

St. James didn’t escape unscathed from the extreme cold weather in January. In addition to two school days closed for the children’s safety, a

pipe burst in the school knocking out the boiler and a pressure pump. Thanks to the good work of Sam Herlo and Mr. Gast we got a plumber in here to replace the pipe with only a single lost school day. Later that day a waterfall was found rolling down the Church balcony steps due to a frozen drain the Bell tower; again Sam to the rescue with no permanent damage.

St. James Middle School students joined with Lutheran schools from all over the Northern

Illinois District to kick-off Lutheran Schools Week. At this special rally each student participated in worship, Bible study and serving events. It is good to know that we are not alone but part of a larger church that works with us to share the Gospel.


6 FEBRUARY 2014

SUNDAY SERVANTS

The central activity of our congregation is public worship. Each Sunday we gather as a community to pray, praise, give thanks and receive the gifts of grace God offers through word and sacrament. God not only expects that all who are baptized in His name gather, but that we do so in an orderly and quality manner that brings glory to His name.

Imagine if the Preacher just “winged it” with a sermon that he made up on the fly? Or if the choir just picked up a piece of music for the first time and tried to get it right without rehearsal? What if there were no bulletins, no hymn books, no structure? Chaos would prevail.

Just as God gives us His very best – His own son – so He wants us to give our best for Him and each other. This begins in public worship. Our fellowship is divided into six serving teams so we can all pitch in and staff a Sunday morning by sharing in the work load.

When your Serving Team leader sends an email or contacts you please take the request seriously. The request is only God asking you to do what we pledged to do when we joined the congregation. Be sure to respond quickly with your availability. He needs a yes or no to plan effectively.

When you are scheduled to assist please arrive at least 15 – 30 minutes early, there is a lot more to supporting worship than simply standing at the door. If you have children this is an opportunity to teach them how to serve appropriately. But please remain with them at the door. Teach them how to greet and model for them what service looks like.

For those who teach on Sunday morning, also arrive early to make sure everything you need is in place and ready to go. Lessons and materials are sent out far in advance for your convenience so please be faithful to your schedule.

If you worship with us regularly and are not sure about your serving team leave a note at the Fellowship station in the Narthex or email Catherine Sitz and she will make the connection for you.

Spiritual growth is more than just observing. It is also formed as we serve others and share Christ’s love in action activities. And it is certainly most evident when we value the hard work of our Serving Team leaders and show them the care and support that is due their faithfulness.


MARCHIf you are on Kent’s team check your calendars now and be ready for his email. Services in March:Sundays March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30Ash Wednesday March 5 at 7:00 p.m.

MEET THE ELDERS: SERVING TEAM LEADERS

John LarsonOctober and April

Paul OttJuly and January

Mike WelchMay and November

Carl HibbenAugust and February

Clark EverettJune and December

Kent RehmerSeptember and March

Shake off those winter blues and enjoy piping hot chili on Sunday, February 9 at 12:00 p.m. Brew up your best batch of chili and submit it to the discriminating tastes of St. James worshippers. Corn bread and drinks will be supplied to help put out the fire. Register your chili online.

Not a cook? No problem. Simply attend the Chili Cook-Off and be a judge by tasting the entries and submitting your vote for the best.

TRENDING AT ST. JAMES

Become a Patron by helping to underwrite expenses of the Traveler’s Gala, so more of the auction proceeds will be able to support the educational needs of the school. Patron cards can be picked up in the office, are available at the Fellowship Station in the Narthex or can be downloaded here. Thank you in advance for helping to make this year’s event great!

WINE DONATIONS

Looking for a way to donate to the Traveler’s Gala? Donate a couple bottles of your favorite wine to the Instant Wine Cellar, a very popular live auction item! Bottles should be a minimum of $25 and can be dropped off discretely in the office or at church on Sundays.

KEEP WARM AT ANNUAL CHILI COOK-OFF HYGIENE DRIVE

Fifth grade students are collecting hygiene products for Lakeview Pantry in conjunction with a letter writing campaign for their Language Arts Class. If you’d like to participate, please drop-off hygiene products (deodorant, soap, shampoo, dental items, etc.) in the office or at church on Sundays. They’ll be collecting items through February 7.

8 FEBRUARY 2014

SHARE THE GIFT

With thankful hearts we celebrate the generosity of so many to provide $80,750 for the Scholarship Fund. Every penny of this money is applied to the tuition of families who can’t afford to pay the full rate. Your love for them and support of our mission is truly a joy. Thank you.

SUPPORT THE AUCTION - BE A PATRON

GOING GREEN

Celebrate environmental stewardship with special “going green” events March 14 - 17. Specific information coming soon.

GETTING MARRIED AT ST. JAMES?

If you’re getting married at St. James, we invite you to a Wedding Fair on Thursday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. Hear popular wedding songs from professional musicians and socialize with other couples who are getting married at St. James.

TRENDING AT ST. JAMESLENT

UPCOMING CLASSESBasics Beginning February 11 at 6:00 p.m. or February 15 at 9:30 a.m.Basics is a four-week overview of the Christian faith. Classes are suitable for people desiring information about the Lutheran Church or for those who want to become a part of the St. James fellowship but come from a non-Lutheran background. Register Online.

Confirmation - Lord’s Prayer I February 23 - March 16An overview of prayer in general and specifically the prayer our Lord taught us to pray. The class is four weeks. LP I is a prerequisite for LP II. May be taken at any time after completion of the Bible Overview class. Register Online.

Confirmation - Ten Commandments II February 23 - March 16Students review the content, history and meaning of the Ten Commandments though two sequential classes. The class is four weeks. TC I is a prerequisite for TC II. May be taken at any time after completion of the Bible Overview class. Register Online.

Confirmation - Baptism February 23 - March 16Students will learn about the means of grace and how God works through Sacrament to adopt us as His children and how that should inform our lives in vocation. May be taken at any time after completion of the Bible Overview class. Register Online.

Confirmation - Big Ideas February 23 - March 16Understanding the Bible and our vocation has some big picture ideas. This class is going to discuss four of them: the relationship between scripture and reasons, Law and Gospel, the two kinds of righteousness, and the theology of the cross. Successful completion of the Lord’s Supper is a requirement to register for this class. Register Online.

Confirmation - Worship February 23 - March 16Worship is the heart of the Christian life. In Worship, God fills us with His Word, His Sacraments, and sends us out into the world by the power of the Spirit to serve each other. In this class, students will learn about the meaning and reasoning behind the rituals of worship. Successful completion of the Lord’s Supper is a requirement to register for this class. Register Online.


March 5 begins the season of Lent. Many in our tradition mark Lent with mid-week services as a discipline for reflection and repentance. At St. James we will continue to expand upon the Story from the previous Sunday but will set aside time for worship and prayer as part of our Lenten habit. All Wednesday gatherings will be in the Community Center.

10 FEBRUARY 2014

THE STORY OF 727 W. WILLOW STREET

A Lutheran mission school circa 1879 survives today as a surprising environmentally-friendly single family home. Known as 71-73 W. Willow until 1909, 737 W. Willow is a handsome Italianate structure located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its history includes stories of scores of students, predominantly young German immigrant children, who studied there. After its conversion to apartments, teachers and immigrant families, many of Eastern European background, would call it home. From parochial school to multi-unit dwelling, to single-family “green” house, the schoolhouse could chronicle well over a century of Chicago history.

PRE-CHICAGO FIRE YEARS

Both of 737 W. Willow’s lots are part of a large land parcel called Sheffield’s Addition, property acquired by Joseph Earl Sheffield in 1845.1 A wealthy Connecticut businessman and philanthropist, Sheffield invested in canal and rail transportation including the Chicago &

Rock Island Railroad completed in 1854.2 A year earlier Sheffield’s Addition had been annexed to Chicago.3 His Chicago land purchase, largely vacant with orchards and some small farms, began to be subdivided and sold. It is doubtful that Easterner Sheffield ever walked the schoolhouse grounds, but in 1857 a Lutheran mission school was constructed on the Willow lots4 and a steel rolling mill opened a few block west at North Avenue and the Chicago River.5 Granaries, slaughterhouses, and tanneries soon followed. Simple wooden cottages were built for the workers employed in the factories and in the newly-opened shops. Truck farms were established with crops of celery and lettuce. These northside farmers, workers, and tradesmen were predominantly German immigrants6 who soon established schools and churches.7

GERMAN LUTHERANS BUILD A MISSION SCHOOL

In 1857 a group of German Lutheran immigrants, who were determined that their children learn about homeland

“Green””HouseTO


THE STORY OF 727 W. WILLOW STREET

culture, organized a mission school at Willow and Burling Streets. No images were located of the 1857 school, but it was likely a simple building. Their church First St. Paul Lutheran was located further south on LaSalle Street, but religious services also began to be offered at the new school. First St. Paul Lutheran congregants lived downtown and on the north side; the north side parents of the children attending the mission school felt that a closer church would be beneficial. In 1869 church leaders adopted a resolution which permitted members north of North Avenue to create their own church.8 In August 1869 about thirty members of First Saint Paul’s Congregation organized the German Evangelical Lutheran Saint James Congregation.9 These LaSalle Street congregation members, who were released from St. Paul’s, built St. James Church on Fremont and Dickens,10 a few blocks west and north of their twelve year-old Willow Street school. Opened in 1870 the church included a three-room school in its basement, but the Willow Street mission school continued to serve students also.

In 1893 the Inter-Ocean ran a lengthy article on the history of St. James also called St. Jacobi:

Twenty-two years ago (1870) thirty-five parishioners of Pastor Wunder, the first German Lutheran clergyman in Chicago,… having bought residences north of North Avenue, gained the consent of the St. Paul congregation to form a separate communion and to build their own church. For many years previous there had been conducted a mission and parochial school on the corner of Willow and Burling streets.11

One year after the new church opened the Great Chicago Fire struck. The blaze almost engulfed the church and school but “God graciously called a halt to the holocaust.”12

The mission school which stood on the western perimeter of the Fire’s confines survived. Fire victims took refuge in both the Willow and Fremont St. buildings as they fled west to escape the conflagration.13

“Green””Houseby Diane Gonzalez • Chicago House Histories • [email protected]

The second part of Diane Gonzalez’s School House to Green House about St. James will be published in the March issue of Maverick.

12 FEBRUARY 2014

Two years later the Cook County Recorder of Deeds tract book listed a warranty deed wherein the First German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of St. Paul sold to the German Evangelical Lutheran St. James Congregation the school and its land.14 In 1874 a Trib article announced that the corner of Willow and Burling Streets had a new fire box whose number was “824.”15

THE SCHOOL IS REBUILT CIRCA 1879-1880

The 1857 building permit for the mission school would have been lost in the Fire if the record had existed. The Chicago Landmark Commission dates the current building circa 1880. A possible listing was discovered in the permit index; mostly illegible, the notation looks to be dated from March 31, 1879. The actual permit was missing. Probably the old structure was demolished, and a new building constructed on the site in 1879 or 1880. An 1878-1879 Chicago city directory listed a St. Jacob’s School at 77 W. Willow, but no principal was mentioned. The dual addresses “77” and “71-73” are due to its double lot. That year a second St. Jacob’s in the new church’s basement was listed at Fremont and Dickens Streets with Principal William Hoppe.

The 1879 city directory listed Frederick Kringel as principal of St. James Lutheran School and resident in the school house at 77 W. Willow. Teachers might live in the school, although according to both the 1886 Robinson and the 1892 Rascher fire insurance atlases there was another smaller dwelling on the school lots with the address 77 W. Willow. Kringel was likely the schoolhouse’s earliest occupant although he seemed to have lived in the smaller house, too. The 1881 city directory used the address 77 W. Willow; the same year the Trib detailed a horrible fire that roared between Halsted, Burling, Willow, and North Avenue. The school, now two years old, survived. Willow Street was also spared, but a planing mill, a furniture shop, and twenty wooden buildings nearby were destroyed in a half hour.16 The block contained about100 wooden shanties and six brick structures; the folly of frame construction was duly noted.17

In the 1886 directory St. Jacob’s Evangelical Lutheran School was listed at 73 W. Willow with teacher Fred Kringel residing at 77 W. Willow, the second structure on the lot. The 1886 Robinson fire insurance atlas listed the site as a German school west of a German Baptist church.

The atlas also depicted the small frame two-story dwelling at the lot’s west end. An 1888 Trib reporter described the neighborhood as “a litter of cheap wooden houses with here and there a midwife’s sign and here and there a saloon…”18 when he was covering an accidental shooting on nearby Burling. The school must have stood out as a fine edifice compared to its neighbors.

1 Research for Sheffield National Register District Nomination Form by Ted Wrobleski, unpublished, p. 3.2 Ibid., p. 8-9.3 Ibid., p. 9.4 Serving Christ for a Century, St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, 1969, p. 14.5 Research for Sheffield National Register District Nomination Form by Ted Wrobleski, unpublished, p. 12.6 Historic City: The Settlement of Chicago 1976, p. 35.7 The Encyclopedia of Chicago by James Grossman, Ann Durkin Keating, and Janice L. Reiff, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, p. 525.8 Sheffield Neighborhood News, June 1991, p. 4.9 The Lutheran Trail by Louis J. Schwartzkopf, Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, p. 215.


The 1886 Robinson atlas showed the German school with the Second German Baptist Church to the east on Willow. Both were pink coded which represents brick material. The yellow color, which signified frame siding, depicted a house west of the school which seemed to have served as residence for the teachers. Newberry School was rebuilt in 1937 at its original location.

10 Chicago Tribune, March 13, 1869, p.N4.11 Inter-Ocean, January 16, 1893, p. 9.12 The Lutheran Trail by Louis J. Schwartzkopf, Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, p. 216.13 Chicago Tribune, March 13, 1969, p.N4. 14 Recorder of Deeds document # 109089, August 11, 187315 Chicago Tribune, January 3, 1874, p. 7.16 Chicago Tribune, August 4, 1881, p. 6.17 Ibid., p. 6.18 Chicago Tribune, June 4, 1888, p. 1.

school.stjames-lutheran.org/auction

A Roaring Good TimeBenefiting St. James Lutheran School

Live and Silent Auctions

TRAVELER

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GALA

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Salvatore’s SpeakeasyMay 2, 2014

Download - Maverick - February 2014

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