Pilgrim Dictionary
In any group or community there develops a way of talking about things, and using phrases that are not understandable to a new person. We hope this "dictionary" will be of help.
Church Council:
An elected group from the congregation to carry on the monthly business of the church and to make decisions on the school's behalf.
Annual Congregational Meeting:
An annual meeting held in January where the budget for the following year is set and elections are held. All confirmed members of the church are eligible to vote.
ELCA:
Stands for the "Evangelical Lutheran Church in America". The largest national Lutheran body. It is a merger of three church bodies that came together in 1988. Our Bishop is Mark Hanson.
Metro Chicago Synod:
This is equivalent of a Catholic diocese in the Lutheran Church. There are 65 Synods, including Puerto Rico, in the ELCA. Our Bishop is Wayne Miller.
North East Conference:
The designation for the small area of Lutheran Churches in this part of the city whose Pastors work together and sometimes bring the churches together for worship and activities.
Chicago Uptown Ministry:
A not-for-profit agency on Sheridan Rd. just north of Lawrence Rd., where the homeless are served in a variety of ways. A Lutheran Pastor serves as the chaplain and Pilgrim has a long history of supporting this agency.
Central African Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa:
The companion Synod for the Metro Synod. Pilgrim has hosted teachers from their Diocese and we hope to continue a relationship. Delegations from the Synod have been to South Africa and will go again.
Rev. Phil and Lou-Marie Knutson, Lindiwe and Thandiwe:
They are our missionary family that we support in South Africa. They come to visit us about every other year.
Ravenswood Ministerial Association:
An ecumenical organization of churches in our neighborhood whose Pastors work together for mutual support and ecumenical understanding as well as sponsoring joint events.
Common Food Pantry:
The local Food Pantry sponsored by the Ministerial Association and supported strongly by Pilgrim. Our school children bring can and dry food for offering at chapel time along with their change. Monetary and can goods are regularly donated from the congregation, you can use the pew envelopes and mark it for Food Pantry.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans:
Thrivent is a fraternal organization that sells insurance and other financial plans, and pours the profit back into the community. One of our members, Ed Nelson, is a Thrivent representative. Thrivent's matching gifts program provides a golden opportunity for Pilgrim members to maximize their giving to support the operation of Pilgrim Lutheran School.
LBW:
Stands for the Lutheran Book of Worship, the green book.
WOV:
This stands for With One Voice, the blue book.
ELW:
Stands for Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the red book.
HS:
This stands for Hymnal Supplement, the burgundy book.
Parsonage:
This is the house that the Pastor lives in, owned by the congregation, at 4332 N. Winchester.
Teacherage:
Pilgrim owns the first two brick two-flats just north of the church. This is used to house our teachers and staff.
Auditorium; Fellowship Hall; Basement; Cafeteria:
All of these words are to represent the large room beneath the sanctuary where we have fellowship events, such as coffee hours.
Annex:
The small room next to the kitchen off from the Fellowship Hall where small meetings and dinners are held.
Narthex:
The area behind the organ. The Usher Stand is also located there.
Parlor:
The room immediately to the left of the stairs at the main entrance of the Church.
Nursery:
The Pre-school room located on the North East corner, on the first floor of the school, serves as our nursery on Sundays during the service.
Hot Meals:
We have volunteer teams from the congregation prepare meals for approximately 40-60 low income or homeless people, on Saturdays from 10:30am - 1:00pm. New volunteers are always welcome. Please contact Janet Taylor if you would like to be a part of this outreach program.
Altar Guild:
This is a group of people who help keep the altar, communion ware and paraments in good order. They also have teams to clean and set up communion every Sunday. There are many opportunities to participate in various parts of this valuable team.
Women's Society:
An organization of women that meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 12:30pm. All women are invited to join this group. Contact person: Millie Ostrander
Pilgrim Guild:
These women meet on the second Sunday at 11:30 in the annex. The purpose of this group is to cultivate Christian fellowship through activities and fund-raisers. All women are welcome to join the Guild. Contact Person: Gail Egebrecht
Parish Life:
In 2001 Inreach and Outreach committees merged to form Parish Life. The committee focus is on strengthening the relationships within our church community, and to promote Evangelism outside of our church to the neighborhood, and work with Global Missions. Everyone is welcome to be a part of this committee. Contact person: Pastor Karl Redelsheimer
PTL:
The Patent Teacher League is a very active organization that supports the staff and families of Pilgrim School. The PTL also organizes many events for the families and staff through the year. Refer to the PTL section of the website for more information.
Update:
The insert you find in your bulletin each week that gives the weekly news and events and includes our prayer list. You can access the most recent ones here.
Pink Pages:
A weekly newsletter for our school families that is sent home with students on Thursdays. You can also access them via the website here.
Annual Block Party Picnic:
This is held on a Sunday in September on the street outside the front doors and is a wonderful event that brings the community together. We have games, dunk tank, jumping jack, food, prizes, music and a lot of FUN for all ages.
Pilgrim Lutheran School:
See About the School.
Pilgrim Quilters:
This is a group that started in 1997 that wanted to learn about quilting. Today it is a group that continues to develop their quilting skills through fellowship and ongoing education. All quilters (wanting to learn, novice or expert) are welcome to join. Meetings are usually once per month. Contact person, Gail Mendiola.
