tHIS WEEK AT  ST.  PAUL'S



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So glad you found us. Best way to learn about us is to come to worship, meet people, and find a group.

Pastor Peter Heide grew up just north of Evanston in Kenosha, Wisconsin. After developing eye problems in 1960, he has been sighted and blind four times. After graduation from high school, he had experimental surgery that resulted in his sight being mostly restored in one eye. This surgical procedure made Peter highly aware of some of the difficulties in modern understanding of miracles.
 
For 16 years he tuned pianos in the Madison, Wisconsin, area, taught catechism and was both assistant youth director and then director at Luther Memorial Church. Following graduation from Wartburg      Seminary in 1996, Peter’s eyesight deteriorated requiring surgery. The eye collapsed, and he was blind again for the second time. Further surgery restored the eye’s structure, and he regained the vision that he had had.
 
In 2006, (now) Pr. Peter’s eyesight again deteriorated to the point of being blind for the third time. After successful surgery, he temporarily regained much of his eyesight. In 2010, he was blind again and          temporarily took a leave-from-call. In 2011, the eye was removed, and, today, he is blind for the fourth and last time. Pr. Peter has served congregations in Kansas, Illinois, and Wisconsin. He has taught Systematic Theology, New Testament, and Biblical Images of the Life of the Church in the diakonia programs of  Metro Chicago, central Florida, and South-Central Wisconsin. He serves on the ELCA Disability Ministries Advisory Team and the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin Racial Equity and Stewardship Teams. He is a prolific writer, having published with the ELCA, both hard-copy and digital. You can find him at Blind Faith, Dumb Cluck (blindfaithdumbcluck.blogspot.com). His current writing focus is on reading the Bible from a blind perspective.
 
Pr. Peter and his wife Susan live in Baraboo, WI.

We are thrilled to welcome Rev. Matthew J. Holmes as our new Pastor of Care & Engagement at St. Paul's.  Currently serving as  an Emergency Department Chaplain at Loyola University Hospital, Pr. Matt served until recently as a  Chaplain and Grief Support Specialist with Advocate Hospice. Pr. Matt is a 2010 graduate of The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and is ordained to Word & Sacrament in the ELCA.  Though he's spent most of his clerical career serving as a chaplain in the healthcare ministry setting, Pr. Matt loves to preach and lead worship, and he's frequently invited to be a guest pastor at ELCA congregations around the Chicago area.

Matt is married to Rachel Wind, a former St. Paul's MIC student and another graduate of LSTC who works in development for the ELCA. They have two children, Hugh (12) and Louisa (9). In his free time, Matt is a paid-on-call Firefighter/EMT for the village of LaGrange Park, and a prolific if rarely published writer. Matt is the author of two published books Breath: 52 Reflections for those who Care for the Dying (Avenida Books, 2017).and coauthor with Rev. Thomas Gaulke of Everyday Armageddons: Stories and Reflections on Death, Dying, God and Waste (Cascade Books, 2023).

Formerly, Matt has worked as a commercial fisherman, nervous bouncer, short order cook, carny and plenty more.

Kurt Westerberg has been privileged to serve as Director of Music at St. Paul’s since 1998, performing on piano and pipe organ, directing the St. Paul’s chancel choir, and arranging music for the choir as well as instrumental and vocal soloists.   He recently retired from the DePaul University School of Music, where he served as an Associate Professor of musicianship and composition and held several administrative posts.  He holds degrees from St. Olaf College and Northwestern University and has been active as a composer of modern classically-oriented music. 

Kurt, soloists, and choir aim for a blend of classical, gospel, and global music to meaningfully enhance the worship experience at St. Paul’s like

Come and Fill Our Hearts With Your Peace featuring soloists, choir, and cello.