'Forgive, and you will be forgiven ...'

On behalf of Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, I want to thank the community for reaching out to us following the recent vandalism at our church.

We received dozens of calls of support and offers to help. Many residents were concerned we would not have a Christmas tree, and had we said yes to them all, we could have 40! (treeclassics.com of Lake Barrington has donated a 10-foot, pre-lit tree).

Thanks to volunteers and workers, especially from our sister church, Messiah Salvation Center, we reopened our Kids of the Kingdom Daycare, we've cleaned our offices and other areas of the church, and other repairs are on the way.

Jesus said in Luke 6: 37-39: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

For the last few years we have been quietly reaching out to our community by providing space for two guest churches, Arlington Heights Community Church (Korean speaking) and Messiah Salvation Center (Russian speaking), providing quality and loving child care for families including under-resourced families and through our Ministry of Hope to the homeless and jobless in the area.

Our members would agree that we are being blessed in return!

We strive to avoid judging and condemning and instead pursue forgiving as Jesus directs us, and we invite you to join us in prayer for healing and wholeness for the two teenagers involved.

Also, some of you are getting acquainted with our Ministry of Hope and may want to come and help. We serve every Saturday from about 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and volunteers come for any or all portions of the ministry. Come and serve in the kitchen or volunteer your musical talents for the worship service (around 11 a.m.) or come and talk - get to know our guests and give them a priceless gift, the gift of friendship!

The Rev. Randy Thompson

Cross and Crown Lutheran Church

Arlington Heights