This is my last log as a member of the Northbrook staff. It has been my honor to be of service to this church and its wonderful congregation.

When Rev. Laurie Moeller asked me to apply, I was hesitant. It was an hour’s drive from where I lived at the time and I knew little about Roswell and nothing about this church. It was immediately evident that Northbrook was a warm and welcoming place. So many people came by to just say hello and offer their support. The staff were kind and helpful. I knew I was in the right place.

My role as Financial Administrator had a steep learning curve. The first few months were a blur of new terms, procedures, names, and traditions. Wade Starling, my predecessor, was so patient and willing to answer my questions. His trust and belief in me were fundamental to my success.

I was struck by the tremendous generosity of the congregation both in time and money. Love Serve, Esther Jackson, Trinity Table, Habitat for Humanity, Altar Rail, and the Emergency Assistance Fund reached out to the least, the last and the lost near and far. Northbrook understands what it means to be Jesus to the world. I quickly realized that this was not only where I worked, but this was a faith community I wanted to join. You have celebrated happy times with me, prayed for me and my family during challenging times and always been a source of joy in my life.

The last four years have been rewarding and fulfilling, but it’s time to move on. I will still be active in the church and will keep you informed about what I’m doing. I might surprise you. The finance office will be in the capable hands of Lori Fain. She is a kind, talented and efficient person who will serve Northbrook well. Please stop by and say hello, her door is always open.

There is a song by Drew Holcomb that expresses how I feel about Northbrook UMC. These lyrics say it best:

You gotta find your people
The ones that make you feel alright
The ones you want to stay up with all night
The ones that make you feel whole
​The ones that don’t let you lose your soul
You gotta find your people
The ones that understand you
The ones that lend a hand to you
When you’re together you got nothing to prove
When you’re together you got nothing to lose
You gotta find your people, then you’ll find yourself

Northbrook, you are my people and I thank God that we found each other.

Peace and blessings.
​
Sara Armstrong

Greetings!
​
While many of you were here at home, packing away your Christmas trees and lights, members of the Northbrook UMC Chancel Choir and friends were strolling the historic streets of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna! We shopped at the Christkindl Markets where they served warm pretzels and mulled wine, and drove through the countryside to Neuschwanstein castle where the farmland was blanketed in the whitest snow I’ve ever seen. We got our fill of pork knuckle and dumplings and enjoyed good German potato salad. Oh, and while we were there, we sang!!  

We were honored to perform in some of the most amazing cathedrals in Germany and Austria! Some of the highlights included singing for Mass at St. Michael’s Jesuit Church in Munich, the Salzburg Dom where Mozart was baptized, Melk Abbey, the Palace Chapel at Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, and St. Michael Basilica in Mondsee where Maria and Georg von Trapp’s wedding was filmed in The Sound of Music.  

Anyone who has traveled abroad knows the benefits and this trip was no exception. The people in our group were able to mix and mingle as they shared meals with one another. I enjoyed seeing the younger folks mesh with the older ones and those relationships will only continue to grow here at home. There was a lot of fun and laughter, but it never took long to see the reverence and sincerity in the faces of the singers when they gathered to sing.

Representing Northbrook UMC by sharing music that conveys the love of God was certainly a unique ministry opportunity. Quite often, the ancient wooden pews were filled with tourists as well as locals who either made plans to attend or simply took a quick rest to hear choral music in a great acoustical space. I continue to be in awe at the power of sacred music to captivate people from all over the world.  

To those of you who contributed to our trip through your financial gifts and prayers, know that we are humbled and extremely grateful. 2025 has just begun and we have a lot of powerful music awaiting Northbrook in the months to come!  
With Joy,
Chad

One of my first years at Northbrook, in worship one day, I was sitting in the back pew and my attention kept being drawn to whispering. Someone was talking constantly. My eyes began searching for the whisperer and landed pretty quickly on a man and wife that I knew. It’s important to note that Spanish was their first and main language. And there they sat with the husband translating every word of the service into Spanish for his precious wife – creeds, announcements, prayers, scripture, and the sermon in its entirety. They were lovingly leaning into one another and he whispered the whole service to her in Spanish. 

It was one of the more beautiful things I’ve ever seen happen in our Sanctuary. He took what was literally a foreign language and translated it so she could understand it. He did it with love and patience, making sure that this person he cared for so deeply was able to understand God and our worship of Him.

It got me thinking that THAT is the crux of what we are called to do as Christians. We are supposed to take this Word of God that is complicated and so difficult to understand and translate it to those God cares for so deeply. We are to take this language that is foreign to so many and lovingly lean into one another and help them understand. We are to tell them through words, example, actions, and our treatment of others that they are valued by God, they are loved beyond their imagination, and there is so much power and wonder to be found in our Lord. WE are called to translate God to those who find God foreign and difficult to understand.

And as parents, we are called to do this same work for our children. We are to take the lessons of God that seem complicated or hard and show them daily life lived with God’s love, joy, understanding, compassion, forgiveness, and service. We are to show them the love of the Father through OUR love as their parents. We are to be the translators of God into the hearts of our children, our Mom friends, our work friends, random people in the park who are struggling, and even the person in your life who you do NOT “get” as a person (haha). 

It won’t be done by yelling the “right way” at them. It won’t be done by enumerating all the ways we think they are wrong, using this difficult Word as our proof. It won’t be done by sharing the things we already know with people who already know them.  

It will be done by lovingly leaning into people and remembering that they are the ones God cares for so deeply – even if they are different, even if they find God to be ridiculously difficult to understand, even if they are difficult to understand. Lean in lovingly and translate His love.

May it be so,

Leslie Bowers
​Director of Worship Arts