This group is for men of faith to come together throughout the year to share their faith and thoughts about topics that are challenging. We support one another through our personal journeys. All are welcome.

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Please join us on Saturday mornings. In September and October we will be using the material Dialogues On: Race to engage in respectful and challenging conversations about racism. Participant books are available for pick up at the church office. Request a book here: bit.ly/bookRACE

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Please contact Steve Oelschlager at steve@holycrosschurch.org  or Pastor Bob at pastorbob@holycrosschurch.org with any questions.

​Grounded in Grace is an opportunity for women of faith to connect together in fun, fellowship, and learning.

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In Marcus Borg’s Beyond Belief, a DVD series surrounding the thoughts and work of Lutheran pastor, theologian, speaker, and writer Marcus Borg, we are invited to engage in thinking alongside Borg who spent his adult life contemplating who Jesus is, and what faith is all about. This all resulted in insightful perspectives and more than a few challenges to how many of us learned the faith. Come share your experiences and unpack some of the thinking that you’ve always known to be true and how your experiences have been the same or different than others. Our third lesson, Followers of the Way, is inspired by Borg’s non-violent world view. “God's dream for the earth is for a world of justice (meaning primarily economic justice) and peace. And the way to justice and peace, in terms of Jesus' own message and incarnation, is the path of non-violent resistance to oppression and an affirmation of a non-violent world. That's one way of talking about…following the way of Jesus.”- Marcus Borg

Please contact Pastor Sally at with any questions.

Crossroads High School Youth Group:

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The Crossroads High School Youth Group (9th - 12th grade students) gets together for nights of community and fun! We take some time out each evening to share how God's grace has impacted us, as well as to discuss a new and relevant theme each month. In-person meetings are weather permitting.

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The Crossroads High School Youth Group is directed by Sarah Grayer (sarahgrayer@holycrosschurch.org).

College Students Study Break: 

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​College students, please gather via Zoom to catch up with friends (and the pastors!). We hope this will be a time for students to breathe, support each other as they navigate online classes and campus closures, and think about what faith looks like right now. We hope you can join us to reconnect and take a study break!

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Please contact Hannah Oelschlager at (847) 502-5006 or Sam Randall (408) 614-4981 with any questions.

MP3 topic: Hope...Walking the Way

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Hope is such a powerful concept - it’s a key theme in the Christian faith experience. But what does hope look like in practice? What does it feel like and sound like? What does it do? Hope is about the long haul. Hope is robust and muscular and ferocious and long-suffering. Hope never gets so cynical that it can’t be surprised. Hope finds and names God in the world’s most desolate places. Hope kneels on hard ground and yearns without shame. Hope ponders and meditates and ruminates. Hope gets in apathy’s face and says, “No. Not good enough. Try again.” Hope sits in the darkness—out-waiting torture, humiliation, crucifixion, and death—until finally a loving and grace filled God shows up and calls us by name.

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Men (21+), BYOB for social time from 6:30 - 7 pm, with special music and meaningful discussion to follow.  The evening will include both large and small group conversations (using breakout rooms in Zoom) so that we might benefit from each other’s wisdom.

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Please contact Steve Oelschlager at with any questions.

Book Club Topic for October:

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This month, the book club is discussing Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini. Resistance Women is a story to sink into, to relax and explore, to worry, to feel, and to think. Would you do the same thing these three women did? The book is thoughtful, thought-provoking, powerful, and inspiring. The author's note including information on the real people is not to be missed! If you have any questions, email Felicia Brandt at felicia.s.brandt@gmail.com

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This fall we group with the Deep Blue kids program we have been utilizing these last few years, as they grow into their virtual curriculum Celebrate Wonder. Celebrate Wonder offers online Sunday School and will be available most Sunday mornings via Zoom. These meetings are open to all students age 3 through 5th grade, and are hosted by Mrs. Mack and other adult or youth helpers.

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Each session begins with conversation and peer engagement facilitated by Mrs. Mack, followed by music with Mrs. Mack. After this part of the session, a video is shared featuring the Bible story of the day, videos of the story, and a teacher teaching the lesson. The session conclude with Mrs. Mack bringing the children together for final comments and prayer. These virtual sessions last 30 to 40 minutes.

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The October Sunday School lessons are grounded in the book of Genesis and its early characters.

October 4 - God Creates People, October 11 - God Creates Helpers, October 18 - Abraham & Sarah, October 25 - God’s Promise to Abraham

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If you miss a virtual session, the lesson video portion will be available to view for a week on the Holy Cross Sunday School Google Classroom. If you haven’t joined the classroom yet, you can do so at the following link:

bit.ly/sundayschoolGC     Classroom code: ksnvyua

At Holy Cross, we recognize that discussions about racism are difficult topics that require safe and respectful moments to have thoughtful conversations as people of faith. This series will utilize a discussion book published by Sparkhouse, and each week we will discuss a weekly topic, watch a video featuring a leading voice, and share our thoughts and ideas with each other. Each session will end with a check in and prayer.

Our goals and hopes are that you build lasting relationships as you share your thoughts with one another, and engage in respectful conversation about local and worldwide issues. We hope that you feel like this is a place where you can have difficult conversations, hearing others’ thoughts, and ultimately turning conflict into community.

Participant books will be available for pick up at the church office. To request a book, please fill out the following form:  bit.ly/bookRACE

Everyone needs an opportunity to connect… even without a book to discuss. Each session, Pastor Sally will pose a question or topic of the date for discussion or display a short video for reflection as a group.

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The October session will focus around reconnecting with one another and exploring transition. As the fall leaves begin to turn color and drop, what are some things you’ve outgrown in your life that you are ready to let drop? What do those transitions look like and how are they going?

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We will be meeting the first Tuesday of each month. Contact Pastor Sally with any questions at PastorSally@holycrosschurch.org

Join a guided reading group facilitated by Holy Cross member Carol Dikelsky for conversations about the themes explored in Lenny Duncan’s book, Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the U.S. Duncan is a black, queer ELCA pastor who is a nationally recognized writer, speaker, preacher, thinker, and agitator who has centered most of his theological work in the task of dismantling white supremacy in the Christian community. During five Sunday morning Zoom sessions, we’ll prayerfully unpack this thought-provoking book, review related media and resources, and explore calls to action.

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September 13       Introduction to the book and background about the author

September 20      Part 1: Dismantling White Supremacy is the Way of the Cross

September 27       Continued

October 4              Grace is an Ever-Widening Circle

October 11             The Church Can Lead the Way

Participant books are available to pick up at the church office. To request a book, please complete this form: bit.ly/bookDEARCHURCH

Class Schedule:

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Large Group: Sunday, October 4 (virtual), Sunday, November 1

Small Group: (Virtual or in person, watch for communication from your small group leader.) Sunday, October 18, Sunday November 8

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Questions? Contact Pastor Sally at PastorSally@holycrosschurch.org

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Confirmation Electives Course Catalog

Confirmation Electives Matrix

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Holy Cross is at work to bring more learning your way through shared classes with other congregations. This means we may have members from other congregations joining us for our courses and groups just as we might participate in their events. With Zoom and virtual connections, all sorts of new possibilities exist. Watch our print and digital communications for more information.

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This is NOT Sunday School is an intergenerational learning experience, perfect for families and individuals of all ages that will launch weekly starting September 16.

Each week’s session features video teaching by a professional from the Christian formation network, Forma, as well as downloadable lessons, readings, and engagement opportunities for all ages. The curriculum is from Exploring the Bible by Forward Movekent and instructors include Victoria Hoppes, Roger Hutchison, and Miriam McKenney, and others.

You can find out more and sign up on the ChurchNext website today. 

Holy Cross is at work to bring more learning your way through shared classes with other congregations. This means we may have members from other congregations joining us for our courses and groups just as we might participate in their events. With Zoom and virtual connections, all sorts of new possibilities exist. Watch our print and digital communications for more information.

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From our friends at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights. At a moment in time when the killing of black citizens through police demonstrates the destructive force of violence, we will look for answers in the Bible. Led by Rev. Dr. Klaus Peter Adam from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago we will consider questions such as: How would two enemies go against each other and how do the Psalms refer to violence? What was the reason for violent conflicts? Did law enforcement exist in biblical times and what was its role? What could be the meaning of “love your neighbor” in the Bible and today? Finally, we will think about how congregations can best pray and act about the violence and the bloodshed in our cities.

 

Holy Cross is at work to bring more learning your way through shared classes with other congregations. This means we may have members from other congregations joining us for our courses and groups just as we might participate in their events. With Zoom and virtual connections, all sorts of new possibilities exist. Watch our print and digital communications for more information.

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From our friends at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Arlington Heights. Although Jesus’ parables are grounded in the context of Jesus’ ministry and in First Century Palestinian life, we read them, as the gospel writers did, in the context of the events, perceptions and experiences of our life. In this four week study, associate member and retired UCC pastor Paul Meltzer will help us examine how Mark, Matthew and Luke “read” the parables in different ways, as we look at the ways the parables speak to us in our “time of pandemic.” As a supplement to our discussions you can read Short Stories by Jesus; The Enigmatic
Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine ($10 from Amazon).

 

Holy Cross is at work to bring more learning your way through shared classes with other congregations. This means we may have members from other congregations joining us for our courses and groups just as we might participate in their events. With Zoom and virtual connections, all sorts of new possibilities exist. Watch our print and digital communications for more information.

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From our friends at St. Armands Key Lutheran Church in Sarasota, Florida. Facilitated by Rev. Dr. Gabriel Morgan. All are welcome!

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OUTLINE

Week One: An Introduction to Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Week Two: How to Pray: The Psalms
Week Three: Religionlessness
Week Four: The Expense of Cheap Grace