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Monthly Report - July 2026
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Official Acts June 17 - July 17
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Baptisms:
Jinlai Joseph August
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Caroline Christine Mocarski and James Edward Mocarski
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Children of Mark and Jennifer Mocarski
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The church office continues to focus on updating and organizing our Church Center database and other records to ensure our information is accurate and up to date.
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Pastor Hoffmann Report - [email protected]
A few weeks ago, I was blessed to preach at a sister congregation - Immanuel Lutheran in Downers Grove, IL. It is always fun to preach at a new place, and I always feel I get to learn from the members of other congregations. The folks at Immanuel are doing a great job with discipleship and engaging members in service, and it was really cool to witness first-hand. As we are looking to do both of these things, I will be sitting at the feet of Pastor Chris James and their leadership in the months ahead to learn more about what they are doing.
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No matter how enjoyable preaching elsewhere is, I am also struck by how much I long to be back at St. Andrews when I worship elsewhere. I am so proud of our congregation, and I love to worship with all of you every week. The way our congregation fills the sanctuary with songs and praise is so inspiring, and I always leave worship feeling so blessed and so fulfilled! Thank you!
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I am hard at work planning for the next school year. Pray for me as we plan New Member Classes, First Communion, and make so major changes to our 11am service and integrate worship in with Confirmation instruction. I am so excited for the year ahead!
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As always, it is such a pleasure to work with Pastor Ethan, and I do not take this for granted! Thankful every day!
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Blessings to you as we walk together in Christ!
Pastor Matt Hoffmann
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Hello everybody! Here are my July updates:
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-Officiated my first wedding between James and Kathleen Redis on July 11 - Woohoo!
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-Youth Serve Day at Central Baptist Village senior living facility on Sunday, July 12. There were 25 Middle School and High Schoolers, along with 6 adult chaperones/drivers. Thank you to the Board of Service Ministry for partnering with the Youth for this event!
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-I will represent our circuit at the Tri-annual Synodical Convention in Phoenix, AZ from July 18-21.
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-Progress on our basement has been going really well (looks like all should be completed before baby boy is here, God willing!). And our new fence was just completed as of July 13. We are so grateful to the Board of Buildings and Grounds for taking such good care of our home. And thank YOU for supporting our family so well. We are incredibly fortunate to belong to St. Andrews.
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-Integrating Sunday School Registration into our Church Center software for the coming Fall. Board of Youth and Family has selected a curriculum and are working diligently to make Sunday School as impactful as possible. So grateful for their efforts and for all our Sunday School teachers! Keep an eye out for opportunities to assist with Sunday School this year.
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-Excited about our work on the 11am service beginning in the Fall and how impactful it will be on the Confirmation process and overall youth & family spiritual development. More details coming soon!
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-Preparing for Paternity leave - having substitutes and seamless transition for start of Fall Youth Group schedule. Planning to provide congregation members with opportunities to volunteer for youth nights.
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-Praying for God's continued provision over St. Andrews and our community.
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As we continue preparing for another wonderful school year at St. Andrews School, our team has been hard at work behind the scenes! We are actively interviewing candidates for our open positions and are excited to welcome talented educators and staff who will help support our students and school community.
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We're also looking ahead to several fun events in August that will help our students and families reconnect before the first day of school. Our preschool families are invited to join us for "Popsicles in the Park", a relaxed opportunity for our youngest learners to meet new friends and become familiar with one another before school begins on August 16 from 2-4p. Our middle school students will kick off the year with "Middle School Bootcamp" on August 12 from 8:00-12:00p, where they'll learn the habits, expectations, and skills needed to be successful, confident, and engaged middle school students while building connections with their classmates and teachers.
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Thank you for your continued prayers and support as we prepare for another year of learning, growth, and faith formation. We look forward to welcoming our students and families back to school very soon!
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Music Director Jordan Holiday Report - [email protected]
Jordan is taking the summer to work on planning, organizing all of the music, and composition.
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Director of Contemporary Worship Greg Lendy Report
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A special thanks to Carrie and Jim Kuehm for sharing their musical talents with St. Andrews. Carrie has been playing the piano once a month for the Contemporary service and Jim has been playing both the electric and acoustic guitar for us along with filling in on the bass. They will truly be missed.
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Thank you to everyone who has been submitting announcement requests through our website! If you have something you'd like to share with the congregation, please use the online Announcement Request Form located at the bottom of the St. Andrews home page.
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Over the next month, the information on the wooden slat boards in the narthex will be updated. Be sure to check them out for up-to-date information on our current boards and ministries.
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You can follow St. Andrews on Instagram and Facebook (@standrewslutheranchurchpr)! We regularly share photos and updates that highlight the many wonderful things happening throughout the St. Andrews community.
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Church Voice Reflections – Summer of 2026
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1. Worship life – Worship at this church nourishes me spiritually and strengthens my faith. Music, prayer, other elements of worship invite me into active participation.
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2. My interactions with church staff are warm and enjoyable.
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Two Areas to Improve: Overall – people need to be nourished outside of the worship service.
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1. This church helps me discover and use my gifts to serve
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2. This church actively seeks to reach people beyond our church with the good news of Jesus
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4. Continued attention to communication
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5. Member and Visitor Check-in system
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a. Allowed for much improved communication with visitors
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1. Revamping the 11am service to encourage discipleship
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3. Streamlining worship service volunteering
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The Church Council met on July 21. The minutes of the June Meeting are below.
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ST. ANDREWS LUTHERAN CHURCH
260 N Northwest Highway
Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
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ATTENDANCE
Matt Hoffmann, Pastor
Ethan Luft, Pastor
Matthew Tobias, President
Brenda Penny, 1st VP
Eric Wandel, 2nd VP
John McCarty, Secretary
Mike Bauer, Controller
Dale Mirow, Mem-at-Large
EXCUSED
Hillary Delanty, Principal
Julie Hock, 3rd VP
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OPENING
Prayer: Pastor Ethan Reading: Colossians 3:12-17
Motion to accept minutes for the May 19 Regular Council Meeting, carried.
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REPORTS
Lobby Beautification Committee: Committee presented mock-ups of the various areas they were targeting for aesthetic improvement. Rear Entry, Aftercare Area, Welcome Center, Slat Boards, current sitting area. This included cost estimates for various furniture elements and upgrades including an annual coffee service contract. They were still working to come up with cost estimates for a bench and signage, but were currently around $42k. They discussed the issue with groups that currently use the space to ensure that it would still be usable for those purposes.
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Lead Pastor’s Report, Matt Hoffmann: Recapped what happened over the last year. Planning for new member classes in the fall. Looking to leverage Planning Center better. Started writing a devotional book. Has a lecture series in Michigan in August. Working with Ethan on 11AM service revamp.
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Associate Pastor’s Report, Ethan Luft: Heather Scalzitti is doing a lot of work on VBS. Youth Ministry Leadership Team helpful in setting up summer activities. Looking to improve intergenerational opportunities. Will be attending a synodical convention in July. Still looking for leaders for Sunday School ministry. Fourth Friday Family Fellowship is being reworked due to lots of Holiday conflicts. Want to raise discipleship among men.
1st VP Report: Service reports St Paul assisted 148 families in April and 154 in May. Jennifer Babich Feed My Starving Children sent to Haiti. Lutheran World Relief collected $669 for Backpacks.
B&G Report: Approval needed for ballast plan holding the panels down. Parking lot repaved.
Multiple Volunteers to backfill the parking lot to extend its life. Ethan House Driveway
BCDS Report: Currently have 163 registered with 12 more anticipated to complete registration. First Grade teacher took a call in Texas. Candidates are actively being interviewed for open Pre-K position. PTL to rework their bylaws this summer. Field day had good turnout for volunteers. PTL has begun to use fundraising monies to purchase items off teachers’ wish lists. Will purchase a new scoreboard and will work with B&G to place a little library. Overlapping both principals in June.
Controller’s Report, Mike Bauer: Revenue came in about 9.5k under due to a smattering of issues. School receipts slowed down. Spent $33k more than budgeted. This is due mainly to timing issues but the 11k spent on parsonage driveway wasn’t in the budget. Nor was the substitute teachers needed to cover PK teacher’s early departure. June should have close to a 90k shortfall. There is roughly 18k left to spend on the church basement and 16k on solar.
BALANCE SHEET (approximate as of April 30)
GENERAL FUNDS: $351k
RESTRICTED: 176k
ENDOWMENT: $406k
EXTERNAL DEBT: $777k
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Member-at-Large Report, Dale Mirow: New paraments, stoles, and bookmarks are in use. Will talk to board chairs about speaking at voter's meeting.
Secretary Report: Review of umbrella liability insurance policy notes policies only protect
negligence and not overt unlawful acts by leadership or employees. It still provides value because primary policies appear a bit light on coverage in some areas.
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DISCUSSIONS
Lobby Beautification: Council discussed various aspects of LBC’s presentation including how to proceed regarding financing. As a lot of thought, coordination, and planning went into a fully fleshed out proposal, Council adopted it wholesale. As to funding, council thought the project did not need to be included in the budget and that funds could be raised through a request to the congregation following a presentation video.
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Teacher Pay Discussion: Controller worked with BCDS to prose an increase in the number of steps in the teacher matrix. This will give teachers that have reached the end of the current lane to get smaller increases without having to increase certification. This would only affect a handful of teachers, but would be available to others when they reach the ends of their current lanes.
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FORMAL MOTIONS
Motion to accept the Lobby Beautification Committee’s proposal and to present it to the
congregation to solicit funds, carried.
Motion to accept Controller’s proposal to increase the number of steps in early lanes of the teacher salary matrix, carried.
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CLOSING
Prayer: Lord’s Prayer
Next regularly scheduled Council Meeting July 21, 2026.
Motion to Adjourn @ 8:55pm, carried.
Submitted by John McCarty, Secretary
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Financial Update - [email protected]
See Controller's Report from Church Council Minutes.
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The Board of Christian Day School has had a busy and productive month. We are actively interviewing candidates for our Pre-K and first-grade teaching positions as we prepare for the upcoming school year.
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At the June Voters' Meeting, Tiffany Kendrigan was elected as Assistant Treasurer for the School. We are working with the Comptroller and Treasurer to refine these responsibilities and ensure they fit well within the overall operations of the church and school. Al Neve, Debbie Panagakos, Heather McKeon, and Tiffany Kendrigan were also re-elected to begin their second term serving on the BCDS. The board also elected Liesl Sanchez to serve as secretary for a second year at our most recent meeting.
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We wrapped up our outreach efforts at the Canopies on Courtland during Park Ridge Fest. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to greet us and support our presence in the community. We had the opportunity to connect with many families and collected contact information from individuals interested in learning more about both St. Andrew's Lutheran Church and School.
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The board is exploring new marketing signage for the back parking lot to increase our visibility and help more families discover our school. As of our most recent board meeting, school enrollment stood at 167 students.
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We thank you for your continued prayers as we prepare for the 2026-2027 school year.
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We've been talking with Pastor Matt and Pastor Ethan about revamping the 11 a.m. services in the fall to be more geared toward Catechism lessons. We're also helping encourage members to sign up for Church Center and to remember to check in when they arrive to worship.
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-All of our classrooms have been converted to LED tubes.
-The artwork room is still old T-8 and T-12 fixtures, and we will replace them possibly before school starts.
-A new school gym scoreboard is scheduled to be installed August 3rd.
-We have identified some emergency lighting and exit signs that need to be replaced and/or improved and hope to have that work done by the end of summer.
-Planning has begun for replacing the church HVAC unit. Trying to schedule it before we need heat and after we need A/C.
-Elm St. house front fence and gate were replaced.
-Church office was completed.
-Work continues on fixing up the Elm St. house basement in advance of the arrival of the new baby Luft.
-Work started on installing new audio equipment in the lectern. If you are a reader on Sundays, don't be alarmed at the large hole in the brick. A custom made cabinet is being made to fit that space with appropriate trim.
-The solar system is connected and worked during a test phase. Some modifications requested by the city to brackets holding the panels are being done and we should be able to begin operating this month.
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The Stewardship and Endowment Committee will be meeting in the first half of August. The primary matters we will be covering are as follows:
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1. Implementation of a campaign directed at school families to raise contributions for a sub fund under St. Andrews Endowment Fund for the purpose (when funded) of providing financial support to families who are sending children to St. Andrews School, but are in need of financial assistance to pay the tuition. The Stewardship and Endowment Committee with the approval of the Church Council has allocated $25,000 from the existing General Endowment Fund to be used as a matching fund on a dollar for dollar basis to help incentivise contributions for this purpose.
2. Planning for an appreciation dinner early this fall to thank those who have made significant contributions to St. Andrews financially as well as of their time or talents.
3. Ongoing efforts to raise contributions to fund the budget through regular giving and the Endowment Fund through the Jeremiah Tree and Endowment envelopes located in the Church pews.
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The Board of Fellowship has been busy this month planning and organizing a Baby Sprinkle for the Luft family on Sunday, July 26, following the 9:30 a.m. service. Looking ahead, they will host an Ice Cream Social on August 23 when students drop off their school supplies. Friday Family Fellowship and Pancake Breakfast will resume in September - dates to come.
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St. Paul of the Cross Food Pantry: 165 households visited the food pantry in June. The current most needed items list was distributed to congregation and school families. A special thank you! to Saint Andrews Retired Gents for funding a special grocery shopping event for the pantry and to Nichole for coordinating the shopping trip and assisting with delivery.
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Exodus World Service: Household Care Packs (cleaning and personal care items) donated by congregation members for refugee families in June were delivered by two board members and an Exodus representative. Both families expressed deep appreciation for our support of their resettlement.
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Youth Groups Serve Day: Two Service Ministry board members joined the youth for their Serve Day at Central Baptist Village. It was an afternoon of fun and fellowship with the residents!
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Niles/Park Ridge CROP Walk 2026: The Walk Coordinating Committee, including two representatives from Saint Andrews, conducted the initial planning session for the October 18 Walk.
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The Board of Youth and Family has been busy preparing for the upcoming ministry year. We are purchasing new Sunday School curriculum, finalizing the Sunday School schedule, and forming a Vacation Bible School planning team to help organize next summer's VBS.
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We started planning Christmas in July, but due to the Baby Sprinkle this month, we will plan the event for next year. We are also discussing plans for December, whether to present a Sunday School-led Christmas service or Nativity play.
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We have also been exploring the possibility of offering a babysitter first aid class. Our initial plans with the fire department did not work out, and we are now looking into offering a class through the Red Cross in the future.
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We hope to distribute a congregational survey to better understand the needs and interests of our church families.
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Altar Guild - Contact Leader
The Altar Guild is busy working behind the scenes! They set up communion, take care of the altar, and handle the paraments. If you're interested in helping, please contact the Altar Guild Leader.
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Myra has been very busy this month! The Comfort Dog Team has two to three outings with Myra each day. She visits hospitals, schools, care facilities, and other locations, and also attends Saturday worship and one to two services on Sunday. Follow Myra on Instagram (lcck9myra_) and Facebook to keep up with her visits and ministry.
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The Comfort Dog Team will be hosting a "Dog Day" fundraiser on Sunday, August 23, following the worship service. The event will coincide with School Supply Drop Off and Ice Cream Social. More details will be shared soon!
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The team will also be holding a shoe drive soon to help raise funds for Myra's care. Please start saving your shoes!
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We are meeting this summer to begin planning for Bethlehem Walk 2026. Last year, we welcomed 1,006 visitors and had more than 100 volunteers. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and helped!
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We will be looking for volunteers again this year to serve as actors in Bethlehem Walk, as well as to help with behind the scenes work, including setup and takedown.
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