Greetings

I often wonder about the procedures surrounding who gets “the last word.” This is especially true when we communicate via email. The fine points of two way communication are lost. You can’t see the look of satisfaction on the face of your counterpart. It is hard to know if your witty joke got through or if you sound like a person incapable of a coherent thought.

Even in person it is tough to know if you made your point. When your partner in communication sits in silence you can’t be sure if they understand the complexities of the challenges facing the church or if they have dedicated ¾ of their gray matter to planning a weekend of Super Bowl excitement.

Feedback matters.

It is important for us to be engaged in two way communication if we hope to tap the potential of the relationships that enrich our lives. This of course is the reason that Christ is present “where two or three are gathered in His name.” We operate Christian schools so that believers get feedback. We come together in worship to reinforce the examples of lives transformed by the power of God.

The greatest blessing of the Christian life is that of knowing, that despite the craziness of our world and all of our shortcomings, God has the last word and it is not a word of judgment.

School News

Kudos to juniors Benjamin Lamey and Erica McLin of the Walther Forensics Team who competed on Saturday, January 26, at the Stevenson High School Speech Festival. Erica brought home a fourth place ribbon in Oratorical Declamation and placed second in Verse reading. She and the rest of the team will be preparing this week for the IHSA Regional competition at Downers Grove South this coming Saturday. Great job, Erica!

Congratulations to the Bronco wrestling team that finished the regular season with a first place finish at the Rockford Lutheran Invitational. Champions for the Broncos were: freshman John Reeves, juniors Larry Barajaz and David Tuomi, seniors Steven Campbell, Will Jenkins and Robert Watson. Runners-up were freshman Anthony Larios, junior Torrence Givan, seniors Mitch Berg and Maurice Jefferson. Freshman Jimmie Thompson and Keena Griffin were third. Freshman Andre Cooper and sophomore Martece Free finished fourth. David Tuomi was named outstanding wrestler in the lower weights and Will Jenkins in the upper weights. The Broncos finished 18-3 for the season.

Be ready to see history in the Private School League. The girls’ basketball team has already finished a perfect regular season record. The boys have conference basketball games against Timothy on Thursday at home and against Chicago Christian in Palos Heights on Friday, February 8. If the boys win one of these games they will also take the regular season championship.

The Walther Board of Directors received a six month update from our Auditor that highlights that we continue to run a very slim margin in our cash flow accounts. Expense is under control but income from congregations, earned income and gifts are lagging behind. All of this has an impact on our thinking about tuition in the short term and the best financial model for long term security.            

Senior Jasmyne McDonald received a certificate designating her as one of the finalists in the National Merit Achievement program for African American students. More than 140,000 students entered the competition and slightly more than 1,000 are still under consideration.

Alumni News

The All Alumni Reception on Saturday, January 27 was a great time for people to get together from across the years. We had 20 different years represented from 1961 to 2007. The committee that is putting together the 10 year reunion for the Class of 1998 used this occasion to take another step in the process of planning for their event.

Pastor Dave Kruckeberg ‘61 attended his first basketball game since the winter of ’61 this past Saturday when he watched the Bronco boys defeat Immaculate Conception, 65-56.

Walther Class of ‘95 grad Mark Meyer went to his heavenly home this past weekend. The service of internment will be held at Chapel Hills Cemetery in Oak Brook Terrace at 11 a.m. this Thursday. Click here for more information. We also grieve with the family of Dr. Roy Austensen ‘61, who lost his 30 year old son Matthew this weekend. Click here for more information.

God’s blessings

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