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Filled with living hope in Christ,
Confessing, Praising, and
Advancing His Kingdom.
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School Newsletter: January 8, 2026
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Plans for 2026
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6
Happy New Year!
We have had the opportunity to share that greeting quite a few times in recent days. It brings the excitement of a new start, new opportunities, new goals, etc.,... and yet, sometimes it brings anxiety and uncertainty of the days ahead. We wonder: What will 2026 hold in store for me? Will I remain healthy or recover from an illness? Will my finances hold out? Will my ministry opportunities be blessed?
No matter what the situation, struggle, or challenge, we know without a doubt, that we are encouraged to take it all to God in prayer. He hears us before we even utter a word. Do not be hindered by the fear of stepping out and being challenged when you don’t have all the answers. Don’t let guilt keep you from presenting requests. Christ prays with you and for you. He is your High Priest. God’s plan is always in motion, and He uses us in different ways to accomplish His purpose in His time.
Each new day that God blesses us with is a new start for us to live for Him and share our faith and the promise of life in Christ! God knows the plans He has for us. Through His redeeming love, we do not have to be anxious. We are loved and forgiven totally by the blood of Jesus. We can begin each day knowing that God has it all in His control and care. Live this new year as living for Christ with confidence. Jesus is for you!
Stay in the Word. Take care of yourself to be Well. Use your words and life as a Witness.
Remember each day – Christ loves you and holds you close.
Serving the Master Teacher,
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Lois Stewart
Mission Facilitator for Schools
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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.
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National Lutheran School Accreditation
A request has come from the LCMS School Ministry Office in St. Louis, Missouri. If you are an accredited school with National Lutheran School Accreditation, please update your school website with the correct NLSA logo. They would like all the accredited schools to have the new blue logo on their website. Thanks in advance for your help with this. A .png file is attached below for your convenience.
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Testimonies about Jesus Being the Center
Take a look at these testimonies shared by one of our NID schools. They are comments made by students who love Jesus and love the opportunity to attend a Lutheran School:
"A third grade student in our choir opened his Bible during a break in practice. The students were practicing Psalm 25 for the Chicago Wolves game recently. The student shared Psalm 25 from the Bible with students in first and second grade. There was no prompting from the teacher; he started sharing God’s Word with classmates."
"When we were talking in JAM (Jesus and me) time about the importance of learning about God, we mentioned church was one place to go. I brought up a story where a child asked children to play instead of going to church. The little girl immediately said she would tell the child she could play after she came back from church. Later in the conversation, she shared that she could ask the other child to attend with her. It brought a smile to my face." (shared by a preschool teacher about one of her students)
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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 the registration link is available via the original email and reminder 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. | | |
Continuing Education Opportunities
Studia Vitae: Concordia University, Nebraska is offering five options for continuing education courses, beginning January 12, 2026, including Biblical Foundations of Classical Christian Leadership, Sport as Faith Formation, and Biblical Foundations of Philanthropy and Fundraising, among others. Each course will be held as six 1-hour sessions. The cost per course is only $150. Please see below for more information and to register.
| Free Professional Development: The Center for Christian Education at Concordia University Chicago is excited to offer teachers and administrators a FREE Professional Development Series held via Microsoft Teams during the spring of 2026. The first session, Teach What Works: A Simple Framework for Strong Tier 1 Reading Instruction, will be held March 24, 2026 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The second session, Creating Space to Support Educators and Unpack Secondary Trauma: A Healing Session, will be held April 21, 2026 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. CPDUs are available. Spots are limited. Register at the link below. | |
Hearts for Jesus
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 VBS team members 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.
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LCMS School Ministry Zoom
By request of the LCMS School Ministry office, an email was sent out earlier this week with information about a Zoom scheduled for tomorrow, January 9, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. This Zoom is intended to share information about discount opportunities for your ministries through ProcurLogic. The Zoom link was in the email, and we hope you find the information to be helpful.
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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). The group met on November 20, 2025 for worship, sharing, and learning. 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 next meeting will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2026, starting at 11:00 a.m. at Lord of Glory Lutheran Church (607 W. Belvidere Rd. #120, Grayslake, IL 60030). The book read this year is Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. Chapters 5 and 6 will be discussed at that time.
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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!
| 2026 National Lutheran Schools Week Manual | |
Filled with living hope in Christ,
Confessing, Praising,
and Advancing His Kingdom
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