Lutheran Home celebrates 125 years of service

In celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights, officials point to a sentimental milestone: Its first donation toward opening the residence - a whopping 26 cents.

It came in the late 1880s from a parishioner in Chicago. He was responding to a sermon by the Rev. August Reinke that focused on the obligation to care for the community's aging population. Two days later, an envelope appeared on Reinke's desk with the meager, but pious, donation.

"No other story conveys the faith of those who founded this ministry, and the vision which makes a historic celebration possible, 125 years later," says Rex Paisley, corporate communication director for Lutheran Life Communities.

Look for that faith and vision to be at the heart of an 125th gala celebration that takes place Saturday on the Lutheran Home campus.

Organizers expect nearly 400 guests to gather in a heated tent, as well as indoor space, for live music and culinary stations featuring "food through the decades."

After holding previous galas at landmark venues in Chicago, this will be the first time guests celebrate on the Lutheran Home's historic site. Paisley says that is fitting, and he hopes it will draw from generations of people from the Northwest suburbs whose families have benefitted from care at the Lutheran Home.

"We hope to celebrate the relationships we've had with people we've served alongside all these years," Paisley adds.

Part of the fun will be sampling food options that organizers expect to take guests on a trip down memory lane. Look for selections to range from shrimp cocktail - linked to the serving of shrimp in cocktail glasses during 1920s Prohibition - and Oreo cheesecake, reflecting the Oreo cookie's introduction in 1912; to meatloaf and TV dinners, all the way up to pork belly banh mi sliders and sushi.

Live music is sponsored by the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, while auction items will tempt supporters with a variety of restaurant, sports and entertainment packages. All proceeds will benefit the Pastor David Abrahamson Fund for Spiritual and Benevolent Care.

"The fund helps people who have outlived their savings," Paisley said. "It also allows us to provide spiritual care for our residents, which is not funded by Medicare or Medicaid."

It is the Lutheran Home's long history in the community that will be the center of attention Saturday. The home dates back to 1893, when its first residents moved into what was then called The Altenheim.

By the early 1950s, The Altenheim building on Walnut Avenue had become too small to accommodate the growing demand for services. Consequently, leaders sold the site and moved north to the current Oakton Street location in October 1953.

Their vision to respond to the community's aging population moved officials to purchase an adjoining 75 acres on the north side of the Lutheran Home, which later was developed into Luther Village. Its independent living residences opened in 1991.

Subsequent senior living communities, under the umbrella of Lutheran Home Communities, have opened outside of Arlington Heights. Wittenberg Village opened in 2000 in Crown Point, Indiana, followed by Pleasant View in 2005 in downstate Ottawa.

Further expansion led to St. Pauls House, which opened in Chicago in 2006, and Luther Oaks, which opened in downstate Bloomington in 2007. The most recent addition was the opening of The Arlington of Naples in 2016, which brought the mission of Lutheran Life Communities to southwest Florida.

Last February, Lutheran Life Communities welcomed Jesse Jantzen as its new president and CEO. He's charged with advancing the organization's mission toward its next 125 years.

"Lutheran Home and Lutheran Life Communities should be at the forefront of successfully and sustainably serving the growing expectations of our nation's age wave," Jantzen said.

For more information about Saturday's gala, visitlutheranlifecommunities.org/gala.