Filled with living hope in Christ,

Confessing, Praising, and

Advancing His Kingdom.

Giving Thanks

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Proverbs 1:3

As we move towards Thanksgiving and reflect on our many blessings, I feel this little poem is an accurate reflection.

   You’ve Made a Difference

As Thanksgiving Day approaches,

Our blessings we recall;

The things we are most thankful for,

We recollect them all.

You are really special,

In all you say and do.

You’ve made a difference in lives;

We’re thankful now for you.

   -Joanna Fuchs

Our Lord and Savior has gifted each and every one of you with talents that are a special package for you. As redeemed children of God, we shepherd children and families with those special gifts. You touch so many more people each day with the love of Jesus than you even imagine. Where we have failed, the righteousness of our Savior covers us.

I give thanks for the dedication and faith of all workers daily in my prayers. May your work be blessed by the Father.

Thank you for all you do and Happy Thanksgiving!

Serving the Master Teacher,

Lois Stewart

Mission Facilitator for Schools

School Statistical Update Report

All school administrators (Principals and ECE Directors) received an email from the LCMS Office of Rosters and Statistics early in the fall. The Office of Rosters and Statistics has contacted me and also all schools who have not yet reported. The deadline has been extended to December 1, 2025. You all have plenty of time to access the form and get it completed. 

For login assistance, the schools can email rosters.stats@lcms.org. Your username and password are confidential to you. The District does not have access to any of that information. Last year, we came close to 100% submitted. I know our schools can do it!!

Save the Date

As school administrators start working on the 2026-2027 calendar, please include the Educator’s Conference on Friday, October 16, 2026. It will be held at Concordia University Chicago. The planning committee has begun their work to prepare for a wonderful conference.

8th Grade Visit Day at Concordia University Chicago



Concordia University Chicago invites all 8th graders in the LCMS Northern Illinois District to attend the Concordia-Chicago Adventure: NID 8th Grade Visit Day on Thursday, April 16, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Schools are responsible for their own transportation, and there is a $6.00 per participant lunch fee (to be collected in early spring).

Please use the link below to reserve your school’s spot. The reservation deadline is December 15, 2025. Spots are limited, so please register early!

2026 CCE Book Drive

The Center for Christian Education (CCE) at Concordia-Chicago is excited to host the 2026 CCE Book Drive in February to support our local Lutheran schools in the LCMS Northern Illinois District. This initiative is designed to help administrators and teachers build their school OR classroom libraries.

Please complete this form to nominate your school, or a classroom teacher within your school, to receive books. All nominations are due by December 15, 2025.

Please reach out to Dr. Anne Thies with any questions at anne.thies@cuchicago.edu.

Early Childhood, Elementary and High School Administrators

Join the Early Childhood Consultants on February 7, 2026 for a morning of learning and fellowship as we DIG DEEPER into PLAY. 

KINDERGARTEN Teachers and ADMINISTRATORS will learn how ways to begin to implement play-based instruction in order to meet the new state mandate, as well as how to support the transition from preschool to kindergarten.

PRESCHOOL teachers will play with literacy and small worlds through interactive workshops.

EVERYONE will participate in a make and take activity to take back to your classroom and use the next week!

Registration ($35 per person) opened on Monday, November 17, 2025 and is available via the email you should have received. A light breakfast will be served. Laughter and fellowship is guaranteed! 

The second Elementary and High School conference will take place on Monday, February 9, 2026 at Concordia University Chicago. The on-line registration link will remain live on the NID website if you still need to register. Our guest presenter will be Justin Hannemann from Relational Health. His presentation will focus on the "difficult conversations" that are necessary to have.

Hearts for Jesus

We are blessed to be a blessing. It is with great joy that I am able to share that your dedication and support of the 2024-2025 "Hearts for Jesus" project blessed the Belize Mission Society with a contribution of over $15,000.00! That generosity has assisted in the building of the playground located right next to Christ Lutheran Church where the message of Jesus is proclaimed in Word and deed.

The Hearts for Jesus focus this school year will be a starting point as donations are collected for the Vacation Bible School program. The program needs to be updated and given new energy. We get to be good neighbors and then speak the Living Hope we have in our Savior. We get to connect the community with the mission. Word,

Wellness, and Witness are all part of the daily walk in Seine Bight where Jesus is the center.

The four people pictured below were on my team last week when the playground was constructed. Mark, Jessica, Martha, and Jake have been in Belize many times during their summers to serve on the Vacation Bible School team. They love Jesus so much and share that love with all the children in Seine Bight. Let’s be prayerful to support this "Hearts of Jesus" endeavor. 

Parish Professionals

To God be the glory for the Parish Professionals who serve in the NID (Directors of Christian Education, Deaconesses, Parish Musicians, just to name a few). This group met on November 20, 2025 (today). Alex Brice serves as the group coordinator. Watch for emails each month with event information. If you have any questions, please reach out to (alex.brice@stmarkslife.org) or myself (lois.stewart@nidlcms.org). The book read this year is Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership.

Illinois State DCE Retreat

What a blessing it was to hold the first DCE retreat in quite a few years. The group was small, but comprised of DCEs from all three IL Districts. Pastor Jeff Leininger (First St. Paul’s, Chicago) was our workshop leader on vocation and the many callings we all have. 

LCMS Youth Gathering 2028

Higher Things 2026

June 23 - 26, 2026 @ Washington Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri

June 30 - July 3, 2026 @ Washington Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri

July 14-17, 2026 @ Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado

National27

Mark your calendars! The National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference (NATIONAL27) will take place July 14–17, 2027, at the InterContinental San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

NATIONAL27 is a standalone youth ministry practitioner conference that equips and encourages youth workers and Adult Leaders from across the country. It’s a time to connect, learn, and grow in your calling to serve the next generation.

Adult participants will receive a transferable, complimentary registration to the 2028 LCMS Youth Gathering, and there will also be opportunities for high school students to participate in YouthLead training (Please note, YouthLead training spots will be extremely limited).

Registration for NATIONAL27 will open in Summer 2026.

SHINE 2026

April 2026 will arrive soon! The dates for our NID SHINE event this year are April 10-19, 2026. In previous years, our schools have done a great job reaching out into the community to serve. Plan ahead to get your groups involved this coming April. You are blessed to be a blessing!

TEC21

Lutheran Junior Honor Association

Does your school value Discipleship, Service, Leadership, and Academics? Then Lutheran Junior Honor Society is for you. LJHA can assist your school’s ministry by

• Nurturing the qualities that you value.
• Assisting you as you give students opportunities to grow outside of the classroom.
• Allowing you to join with Lutheran schools across the nation as you inspire leadership, build character, and recognize excellence.

Student members are saying the following:

• "The Lutheran Junior Honor Association has had a big impact on my life this year. It has taught me how to be a servant and leader, while motivating me to strive at excellence in academics.”
• "Being a part of LJHA for the past two years has helped build my faith in so many ways. It has encouraged me to continue God's work in my everyday life and to do so even when I am no longer a part of LJHA."
• “Lutheran Junior Honor Association has inspired me to lead with the qualities of discipleship and servanthood. It has helped be grow in my faith. A favorite phrase of mine is “Soli deo Gloria” meaning Glory to God alone. Through Him I can do all things.”

LJHA is easy to implement and has easy to access support from LEA staff, and it was designed by teachers across the country for schools of all sizes for the uniqueness of all Lutheran schools.

Want to know more? Go to LEA.org or contact Denise Rice at denise.rice@lea.org

Chapel Talks

Please find below the weekly information for Chapel Talks for the 2025-2026 school year.

Wish to stop receiving the School Newsletter? WAIT! Don't unsubscribe below!

Click here and tell us to remove "School Newsletter"

from your preferences, but still remain on other NID lists.