This past weekend I had the opportunity to participate in Northbrook’s Women’s Ministry retreat with fifty other women. The beloved former senior pastor, Rev. Laurie Moeller, led the retreat on the theme of legacy.
 
Being surrounded by 50 other Christian women of different ages and stages of life, singing together, sharing together, praying and breaking bread together was encouraging. I’m grateful to Leigh Anne Launius and the leadership team, which included Beth Houlton and Amy Turner, along with their friend Stephanie Gall, who led us in music.
 
One thing we did on the retreat was write down the names of three people who had impacted our life of faith—for whom their legacy of faith helped shape our own.
 
I’d like to invite you to do the same. Take a moment, right now. Pause and think about who was instrumental in helping you take the great leap of faith, whose words and witness, along with the nudging of the Holy Spirit, led you to become a follower of Jesus and grow in his grace. Now name them out loud before God, giving thanks for them.
I had a hard time naming just three! So many Christians have impacted my life by modeling the words and way of Christ: Mr. Cook who welcomed me to the church nursery and made me feel loved and cherished, Rev. Nysewander who never said a bad word about anyone, and Ms. Dorothy who visited the homebound and mowed the church cemetery into her eighties. I could go on and on, as I’m sure you could, too.
 
I have a friend who never married and has outlived all her immediate family. She has no children of her own, but taught toddlers in Sunday school for 25 years and now oversees, with another friend, an afterschool enrichment program at her church for 20 elementary age children. She has built a rich legacy that will impact generations to come.
 
There’s a song by Nicole Nordeman we sang on the retreat entitled “Legacy.” The words of the chorus are:
 
I want to leave a legacy,
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to you enough?
To make a mark on things
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace
Who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy.
 
Who, when you have finished your course in faith, will speak your name because you helped them pick up and carry the mantle of faith? In other words, who have you passed the baton to?
 
Don’t worry about how many people there are, just focus on one person at a time. That’s how Jesus did it and just look at the legacy he passed on to us.
 
See you Sunday!

Rev. Jennifer Andone
​Senior Pastor

A few weeks ago, I was preparing to go out to dinner with some friends. I had made dinner for my family, and then I went to kiss my son, Jonah, goodnight, letting him know I would not see him until the morning. As I approached, he paused the episode of Bluey he was watching to give me a big hug. He asked if I was going on a sleepover, and I laughed and said, No. I would just be back after he was in bed.
 
“Ok,” he said, “well, let me give you a blessing before you leave.”
“A blessing?” I questioned.
“Yes, give me your hands…Dear God, please help mommy have a fun time with her friends and help her be safe and…no, Livy!”
 
His words were suddenly cut short as he noticed that his baby sister had grabbed the remote off the table and was about to put it in her mouth. The tender moment ended abruptly in a bit of family chaos, but I was so stunned at Jonah’s spiritual intention in offering me a blessing. He did not call it a prayer, but a blessing.
 
We use that word frequently during bedtime, but I suspect he got the idea from our Godly Play Sunday school program. Each week, children receive an individual blessing from the storyteller before they leave. The traditional blessing is the Levite blessing:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
 
However, blessings can use different words, some more specific to a particular circumstance. One definition of blessing I found says, “A blessing is a state or an act of invoking divine favor, happiness, or benefits, often interpreted as divine protection or a gift from a higher power.” I like that phrase “invoking divine favor.” That we, as beloved children of God, have the privilege of ‘invoking’ something as it relates to God. There seems to be more umph in the idea of blessing someone rather than simply praying for them, although prayer is important.
 
However, that interaction with my son got me thinking… what if we blessed people more often? Not just say “God bless you” when they sneeze. Not just a blessing said over a meal. What if we took the time to look someone in the eye, hold their hand, and invoke God’s favor? Perhaps someone in your life needs a blessing like this. Someone you’ve been praying for, but who might need to hear your prayer in person, spoken over them with love and authority.
 
I encourage you to explore the practice of blessing. There are blessings throughout scripture and traditional blessings from different cultures. Together, we can be a community that speaks blessings over our world.
 
Blessings to you!
Rev. Kena Newkirk
Associate Pastor of
Discipleship and Connections

What a joy it is to share the exciting news that our new playground is now complete!  The children have been enjoying it and watching them play and hearing their laughter brings a renewed sense of life and energy to our campus. This new space is not just a playground, it is a place where friendships will blossom, where imaginations will run free and where the joy of childhood will be celebrated!
 
I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who helped make this dream a reality. Whether you contributed financially, prayed over the project or offered words of encouragement along the way, your support made a difference. Thank you to the Hope of Christ Team for supporting this financially. Thanks to the grant we received, we were able to build the playground a year earlier than we hoped! Thank you, too, to Trey Kinney and Russell Blocker, the preschool finance team, who fully supported getting this project off the ground asap and helped me with the budget!
 
We will dedicate the playground at our “Pizza on the Playground” event on Thursday, September 25 at 5:00 p.m. We hope you will join us for this fun-filled evening. Watch the bulletin for more information on how to order pizza for your family.
 
As we dedicate the space to the children of our church, preschool and neighborhood, we are reminded of Jesus’ words in Luke 18:16: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Our prayer is that this playground will be a place where the children not only play and grow but also feel the love of God through the care and joy of this community.
 
Thank you again for being part of this journey. Let’s continue to nurture our youngest members and celebrate the joy they bring into our lives!
 
With gratitude and love,
Jennifer Picquet
Preschool Director
 

​Greetings to my Northbrook friends. I hope that I find you all in good spirits. It’s a blessing and a privilege to be with you today. How times fly! This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On August 29th this horrific storm devastated the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coastlines. As many of you already know, I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and lived the majority of my life there. Being natives of the deep south, we generally stayed prepared for the powerful storms. Tucked away out of sight in the closet with the non-perishable food and supplies.
 
At the time, I was employed at the Fairmont Hotel and Resorts. We were offered rooms for family members if they needed a place to shelter during the storm. Of course, we would have to work, but our families would be safe from flooding and possible injuries. That sounded fair-- rooms for everyone! Early Sunday morning things began to change. Katrina was getting stronger. The winds had reached 175 miles per hour as it churned through the gulf. For years I had been tracking storms and had never seen one as powerful. We began to receive calls from family members saying they were changing their plans. Everyone had decided to leave the city for higher ground elsewhere. New Orleans was often called a fishbowl because it sits below sea level. I turned on the news and the governor of Louisiana urged people to evacuate the city. She advised everyone to travel east because of the congested traffic going west.
 
For the first time, Patricia and I decided to leave New Orleans due to a storm. We packed some things and headed east. She asked, “Where are we going?” and I replied: “Florida I suppose.” Traffic was frightening. It was nearly at a standstill. Cars were overheating and running out of gas. We managed to reach Mobile, Alabama where we checked into a motel. It took us nine hours to get there. The storm finally came ashore near Biloxi, Mississippi the following day. We were still in its path, but we bunkered down safely. Later we learned that New Orleans was underwater, and we had no place to go. We were unaware of the whereabouts of other family members. Cell towers were down everywhere, and communication practically didn’t exist. After a week in a motel with no place to go, we decided to look for a place to settle. We found an apartment and planned on moving soon. Suddenly God answered our prayers. We received a phone call from a relative that everyone had met at a shelter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and they were safe. They planned on heading to Atlanta where a nephew had made his home. So that is how we came to Georgia. We later returned to our hometown and found almost everything destroyed by the storm. Some people decided to rebuild while others relocated to other parts of Louisiana. Patricia and I decided to return to Georgia and make it our home.
 
Hurricane Katrina was a difficult and challenging time in my life. God can use painful experiences such as these for future blessings. I found mine here at Northbrook!
 
Blessings to all!
​
In Christ,

Jerome Young
Facilities Manager