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Monthly Report - August 2026
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Official Acts July 17 - August 17
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Son of Chris and Sara Wuebben
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Son of Steve and Katherine Raetzman
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St. Andrews Family! This is an exciting time of year. This week our teaching staff returned to school in anticipation of the start of the school year on Tuesday. The summer is a great time of personal refreshment, and also a busy time of reparing and updating our school campus. A HUGE thanks to James and Gary Trapp for their hard work day in and day out!
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CONFIRMATION:
On September 13 we return back to our regular worship schedule - Contemporary Service at 5pm Saturday, Traditional Divine Service at 8:30am Sunday, Bible Class/Sunday School at 9:45am followed by our new Foundations Service at 11am Sunday.
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Confirmation will now take place in the context of a traditional worship service at 11am. Everyone is welcome, not just students and their families. This service will be very traditional with a couple of small changes (we moved the confession and absolution to just before communion as C.F.W. Walther recommended over a century ago).
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The sermon will also be a time of interactive study and instruction in the doctrines of the church. So if you'd like to get a refesher or learn more about our faith as taught in Luther's Small Catechims, come to this service!
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STRATEGIC PLAN - DISCIPLESHIP
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While we are still hard at work coming up with a more robust Discipleship strategy, there have been a few changes which are making a difference already. The New Confirmation plan is part of this, along with our weekly "Car Ride Question" emails. I hope you have been enjoying them as much as I have! I have a few busy weeks ahead of me with Pastor Ethan on paternity leave, but soon I am going to get a small group of leaders together to gather with me as we learn the spiritual disciplines, grow in faith, and serve God together.
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We gathered some very valuable data from oun intial Church Voice Surveys, and we are making changes based upon what you have told us. I would love to see many more people participate in this next round. So look out, starting September 15, for another suvey to appear in the following three months. And when one does, please take a few minutes to complete it. It helps us more than you know!
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Thanks for a great summer, and I am looking foward to a great fall season together!
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Blessings to you as we walk together in Christ!
Pastor Matt Hoffmann
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Here are my August updates:
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- My family has been on the receiving end of so much love and support as we anticipate our baby boy. Thank you for everyone’s prayers, gifts, and for all the work put in to the baby shower!
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- On August 2 nd I got to guest preach for the first time at St. Peter Arlington Heights. It was such a great experience. To see other Christians doing the work of Christ, using their unique gifts and abilities all to the glory of God, is such an inspiring thing. I encourage everyone to visit our sister LCMS churches and see how God is at work in the Chicagoland!
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- We had our Youth Ministry Kickoff and Grill Out on August 2. This was such a fun weekend welcoming in new families to the youth ministry and getting ready for the year ahead. I was blown away at how parents and families stepped up to make this event happen – setting up tables, prepping food, speakers and audio, tear down and cleanup – This event could not have happened without them.
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- August 9th, we rolled out the new Youth Group schedule. From now on, Middle School and High School will meet every Sunday night with a meal provided at each gathering. One additional parent/adult will be present at each youth night – we are now opening this up to the congregation. If you would like to be present at a youth night (not prepping a lesson, just being an encouraging presence), please look out for the announcement or check the announcement page on the website. We’d love to have our congregation involved with the awesome things happening in youth ministry!
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- You should have received an email on August 5th titled “11am Worship and Confirmation” detailing the adjustments being made to the 11am worship service and the Confirmation program. We are so excited about how this will impact the spiritual formation of not just the youth, but everyone connected to the St. Andrews family. Please pray for us as we seek implement these adjustments with care and intentionality, trusting God to be at work.
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- Finally, August is the month that our son will be born! I will be taking about 5 weeks off of preaching. Since we are starting a new youth schedule, I will hopefully be back and involved with the youth program after only 2 weeks or so. Our family is so grateful to belong to St. Andrews and for the way you have supported us. We cannot wait to continue raising our family in Park Ridge! We are truly grateful – please keep us in your prayers!
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The Luft Family welcomed Hunter William Luft on August 20, 2026! Pastor Ethan is on Paternity Leave.
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The halls of St. Andrews School are coming back to life! Our teachers are officially back and preparing for another wonderful year, and there is a lot of excitement as we get ready to welcome back our students and families.
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This week, our teachers are busy putting the finishing touches on their classrooms, while our staff works on those last-minute details, cleaning, organizing, and making sure our school is student ready!
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We are looking forward to seeing our school families at School Supply Drop-Off on Sunday, August 23, when students and families can bring in their supplies, visit their classrooms, and enjoy some ice cream in the gym!
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Then, on Tuesday, August 25, we officially begin the 2026–2027 school year! We are excited to welcome our students back for a year filled with learning, growth, friendship, and faith formation.
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Please continue to keep our teachers, staff, students, and families in your prayers as we begin this new school year. We are grateful for the continued support of our St. Andrews church community and for the opportunity to serve and nurture the children entrusted to our care.
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We can't wait to see the halls filled with students again!
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As we continue improving our systems and technology, I have been working with Christa Neve to make some of our processes easier. We have started with chancel flower sponsorships.
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You can now sponsor the chancel flowers for any weekend through the Church Center app:
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- Open the app and tap More in the bottom-right corner.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Signups.
- Select the chancel flower sponsorship form and follow the instructions.
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Dates are currently available up to two months in advance. If you need to reserve a date farther out, or if you prefer to pay by check or cash, you may continue using the original process. Payments can be placed in the collection plate or mailed to the church office.
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Please include the following information with your payment:
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- Your name
- The requested date
- The occasion for the sponsorship
- Whether you are sponsoring one or both bouquets
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Please call or email Nichole with any additional questions or concerns.
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Our various boards and ministries are busy and dedicated to bringing wonderful opportunities and activities to our church and school community! I have been working with them to share announcements and information with the congregation. Thank you to everyone who has been using the Announcement Request feature on our website! This helps us make sure we can share important information and upcoming events with the congregation.
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Please take a minute to visit our church website regularly for up-to-date information and upcoming events. You can also follow St. Andrews on Instagram and Facebook (@standrewslutheranchurchpr)! We share photos and updates that highlight the many wonderful things happening throughout the St. Andrews community.
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You should have also received an email about our Lobby Beautification Project. If you would like to view the presentation slideshow, you can find it here:
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Thank you for staying connected and helping us share all that is happening at St. Andrews!
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The Church Council met on August 18. The minutes of the July Meeting are below.
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ST. ANDREWS LUTHERAN CHURCH
260 N Northwest Highway
Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
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Matthew Tobias, President
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Hillary Delanty, Principal
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Motion to accept minutes for the June 16 Regular Council Meeting, carried.
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Motion to accept minutes for the Annual Meeting of the Voters’ Assembly, carried.
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Pastor’s Report: Demonstrated the capabilities and some results of Church Voice. Used results to find new areas to target. Specifically, looking to help people take Christ home, and reaching people beyond our church. Promoted NID Lay Leaders Conference on August 23rd.
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1st VP Report, Phil Kober: Board of Fellowship has upcoming Baby Sprinkle. Service reports St Paul’s food pantry had 165 visits in June. SARG is funding a grocery event. Exodus World Services delivered household care packs to two families. Worked with Youth Group on a serve day at St Baptist Village. Will need 2 reps from St Andrews for the upcoming crop walk to take place October 18. Confirmed that Diane Peterson is no longer on the Board
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2nd VP Report, Eric Wandel: Stewardship in the process of planning the thank you dinner in September. All classrooms have been converted to LED tube lighting. Still need to do the art room. New scoreboard scheduled for install August 3rd. Identified emergency lighting needing improvement. Planning to schedule HVAC replacement for sanctuary between AC and heating season. Fence at Elm House replaced, on track to finish the basement before baby arrives. Solar system connected and worked during a test phase. PR needs more weight added to the sleds. Hope to be finished by end of July.
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BCDS, Julie Hock: Enrollment is at 167, with 175 expected. PK position has been filled. Interview process for 1st grade is ongoing. Gym is being painted. Sycamore to Digital Academy transition is in progress. PTL has elected their board. They will sponsor a luncheon for staff on August 19th. Middle School Boot Camp will be august 12th with local HS attending. August 23rd is teacher dedication/supply drop-off.
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Good turnout for Taste of Park Ridge. 6 tours were scheduled as a result. See Banner discussion.
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Family Ministry, Julie Hock: Looking to create a VBS planning team next year so it is not all on one purpose. Christmas in July changed to the baby sprinkle. New Sunday School curriculum for next year. Debating whether to do a Nativity play or lead Advent worship service. Holding a rally/registration kick off in the fall.
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Controller’s Report, Mike Bauer: Fiscal shortfall for the year was ~$44k lower than stated at the June Voters’ Meeting. The largest driver of this was spending on major projects expected in the last weeks of the year will instead turn up in the following year. Donation wise, we had our worst June in 5 years, coming in ~$10k below budget and over $15k below last year. School receipts were $30k over budget driven by higher than expected pre-payment. It is very hard to predict year to year how many families will opt for prepayment. Will update payroll for the new year.
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BALANCE SHEET (approximate as of June 30)
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Member-at-Large Report, Dale Mirow: Altar Guild gained two new members as a result of Voters’ Meeting publicity. Thursday women’s group looking to spruce up the Nursery.
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Nursery: Council noted Nursery was recently redone by Family and expressed a desire to maintain it as a quiet space. Thought best that any changes be coordinated with Family.
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Banner Proposal: Council compared the two proposals for rear lot banners. The first was a 2-banner, in case, proposal endorsed by B&G that would reduce the number of anchors driven into the brickwork over the long term. The second a 3-banner, no case, setup preferred by BCDS. Council weighed the length of time the banners were likely to be there, the cost, and how effective the banners might be. Concerns were raised about potential vandalism and UV fading.
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FORMAL MOTIONS
Motion to authorize BCDS’s 3 banner, no case, option for the rear of the school, carried.
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Next regularly scheduled Council Meeting August 18, 2026.
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Motion to Adjourn @ 8:10pm, carried.
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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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With school starting in just one week, the BCDS has been busy wrapping up a few last-minute details and preparing for the start of another school year.
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Our School Committee interviewed a number of candidates for our two open positions and was excited to present Daniele Fazio to the Board. The BCDS unanimously approved offering her a position as our new Pre-K teacher. Mrs. Fazio comes to us with 17 years of experience in early childhood education, and we are thrilled to have her joining our staff.
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The search continued for our first-grade opening, and the School Committee interviewed Aaron Loveless along with several other candidates. He was presented to the Board, which unanimously approved an intent to call. At the voters' meeting on August 9, the congregation approved offering him a called position in first grade. Mr. Loveless is a reading specialist, and we feel privileged to add his expertise in this area to our staff.
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Our marketing efforts are continuing, and we are excited about the new signage that has been ordered for the back lot. We cannot wait to see it installed and to have another opportunity to increase the visibility of our school in the community.
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The Board has also been busy making some last-minute updates to the student handbook. In addition, we have been diligently updating job descriptions for our staff to provide greater clarity around the expectations and responsibilities associated with the additional roles they take on. Our goal is to ensure that everyone has the support and direction they need as we continue working to make our school an amazing place for our students and families.
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The BCDS was pleased to sponsor the Middle School Bootcamp to help our middle schoolers get ready for the new school year. Our middle school staff enjoyed a fun and exciting morning with 25 of our middle school students. Mrs. Delanty was able to connect with all parents in attendance, and representatives from three private high schools were there also to answer questions for both parents and students.
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At the time of our meeting last week, we had 172 students enrolled for the 2026-2027 school year. We thank you for your continued prayers and support for our school.
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We spent a lot of time in our meeting discussing the transition to the new 11am worship service. We also went over the Church Voice survey results and began brainstorming ways we can address any glaring issues that came from that.
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1. We are very excited to be proceeding with implementing "The Scholarship Fund for St Andrews School Tuition Assistance Matching Challenge". The goal of the Challenge is to encourage contributions to the Tuition Assistance Subfund so we have the resources to provide assistance to families desiring to provide their children with a Christian education. To encourage contributions for this purpose, the Church Council and our Committee, have approved the creation of a matching fund from the General Endowment Fund in the amount of $10,000.00. For each dollar contributed to the tuition assistance subfund, a dollar will be transferred from the General Endowment Fund up to the $10,000.00 matching amount. Communication pieces will be going out shortly to school families, alumni and church members to make everyone aware of this exciting opportunity.
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2. We will be assisting Pastor Matt and Anne Hoffmann in hosting a dinner at St. Andrews on September 18th to thank those contributing significantly financially and of their time and talents to St. Andrews in the last fiscal year. Invitations will be sent in the next few days.
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3. We are working on a number of other projects to promote contributions to the many St Andrews programs which we will be communicating in coming months.
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Sunday, August 23 - Ice Cream Social in the gym following the 9:30am worship service
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Friday, September 11 - Friday Family Fellowship will take place on the second Friday of each month, beginning on September 11 from 6-7:15pm. Please join us in the gym for a meal and time of fellowship followed by Bible classes for ALL ages!
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Sunday, September 27 - Pancake Breakfast will take place the fourth Sunday of each month, beginning September 27. Please join us in the gym in between worship services at 9:45am.
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SIGN UP HERE to provide a meal for the Luft Family. St. Andrews would love to bless them with some meals to make the days with a newborn a bit easier. The selected dates work best for the Lufts. More dates might be added as needed. Thank you!
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Food Pantry Update: 138 households visited the St Paul of the Cross Pantry during the July distribution. Service Ministry will participate in a November school Chapel to provide an overview of food insecurity and the food pantry and to assist with the school food drive.
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Sunday Night Suppers (SNS): Two board members participated in the Coordinating Committee planning meeting. The second season of SNS at First United Methodist Church will begin in September. During the September 2026 to May 2027 season, St. Andrews will sponsor and serve two dinners and will provide volunteers to assist with hosting responsibilities at eight additional events.
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Looking Forward: The Board is actively planning for several upcoming outreach ministries: The Harbour, CROP Walk, St Matthews (coats, turkeys), Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, two food pantry distributions and mailings to our homebound members. Additional information forthcoming!
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Sunday School Registration is open for children in preschool through 8th grade! Sunday School teachers will be installed and celebrated on Sunday, September 13 at both services with refreshments in between the services. Sunday School begins on Sunday, September 20, 9:45-10:45am. REGISTER HERE
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We are still looking for a couple of Sunday School teachers! Curriculum is provided and the schedule is flexible. Please email [email protected] if you can help out this year!
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Follow Myra on Instagram (lcck9myra_) and Facebook to keep up with her visits and ministry.
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Join us in the gym on Sunday, August 23 to support the Comfort Dog Ministry by purchasing a hot dog and chips for $3.
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The Comfort Dog team is holding a shoe drive to help raise funds for the Comfort Dog Ministry, so please save your shoes! Collection bin locations and dates coming soon.
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Annual Meeting of the St. Andrews Lutheran Church Voters Assembly
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ST. ANDREWS LUTHERAN CHURCH
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Park Ridge, Illinois 60068
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Pastor’s Report, Matt Hoffmann: Recapped all the major changes of the last year including, adding Pastor Luft and Principal Delanty, and creation and implementation of a strategic plan. Provided an overview of the communication upgrades and discussed a pivot towards enhancing accountability over the summer and fall. Stated belief the congregation is in a better spot than a year ago. Pastor is looking to develop tools to help grow faith at home and in the community. Noted the cost of living near St Andrews presents challenges in finding talented staff.
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Pastor’s Report, Ethan Luft: Expressed appreciation for the volunteers and organizers of VBS. Going forward looking to enhance intentionality in the Youth Ministry. Looking to increase impact by adding intergenerational activities. Announced change to 11AM service in the fall to integrate confirmation into a worship service available to all.
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Principal’s Report, Hillary Delanty: Summarized her first 3 weeks on the job. Started meeting staff one on one. Actively engaged in finding replacements for departing teachers. Expressed gratitude to Laura Boggs and congregation that she was able to come into the position in a healthy and orderly way.
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Secretary’s Report: 56 members present. Including 3 looking to be added to the voter roll. Jessica Kim, Christa Neve, and Heather McKeon. See Motions
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Reports of the Boards: Emily Kober (Deacons), Jenny Dougherty (Fellowship), Wendy Stoven (Service), Gary Trapp (B&G), Eric Wandel (Stewardship), Laura Tizura (BCDS), Heather Scalzitti (Youth & Family), Janet Dilfer (Bethlehem Walk), Dawn Mikulski (Comfort Dog), Terri Mirow (Altar Guild) provided information about what their boards have been working on this past year and what they have planned for the future.
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Solar Update: Park Ridge added additional requirements in the last month. There will be a push to get the system turned on by end of fiscal year to secure Federal credits ASAP.
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Loans - We have two outstanding loan balances. The first is a little under $70k that we took out in 2015. We should pay down roughly 12.5k this year. The second is 706k used for the solar project. Once operational, subsidies will be available to pay much of that back.
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Endowment – The Endowment fund has roughly $430k in total funds. It is primarily invested in the market. It is in the process of being consolidated into one account.
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2025/2026 Recap – With less than one month to go, revenue is projected to come in roughly $107k over budget. This is driven primarily through an increase in school receipts which are 120k above projections. A deep dive into why is ongoing. A combination of tuition increase, childcare revenue increase, and tuition prepayment explains much but not all of it. Meanwhile, church donations are down roughly 10k YoY while building usage fees fell roughly 2.5k. Spending this year will come in roughly 152k over budget. Major factors driving cost were: Additional personnel costs due to overlapping principals and PK substitutes; A school marketing push; Timing issues surrounding personnel leaving and curriculum purchases being pulled forward; Additional completion costs on the solar project; and unbudgeted items such as repaving parsonage driveway and church communication software. This resulted in a projected shortfall of approximately 181k, which is more than 45k over the budgeted 136k.
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2026/2027 Budget – Revenue - $2,256,000 Expenses -$2,354,850 Deficit - $98,850
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Assumptions factoring into these numbers. School revenue will increase with 9 additional students, along with a tuition increase. Church donations are projected to remain roughly flat YoY. On the spending side, in addition to the standard lane/step increase, there will be a 2% base increase to personnel, and a projected 8% increase to insurance costs. Special projects will again be elevated with HVAC system replacement, major concrete work, and sound mixing board and “snake” replacement. We should start seeing benefits from the Solar project, but projections at this point are just a guess. Cash on hand should adequately cover next year’s projected shortfalls.
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Questions from the Congregation focused on a handful of areas. With respects to service congregation was interested in how much St Andrews is contributing to outside organizations. With respects to stewardship congregation was interested in what the board might be doing with regards to spiritual reflection on giving. With respect to the school, congregation was interested in the process of hiring teachers and student capacity.
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Motion to add Jessica Kim, Christa Neve, and Heather McKeon as voting members, Carried.
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Motion to accept the meeting minutes of the January 18, 2026 single issue meeting of the Voter’s Assembly, Carried.
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Motion to accept the 2026-2027 Budget as presented by Mike Bauer, Carried.
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Motion to accept the slate of board members as offered by the nominating committee, Carried.
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Motion to Adjourn @ 12:49 pm, carried
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Submitted by John McCarty, Secretary
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