Visitor Information

At Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, all activities flow from the knowledge that God’s love, through Jesus Christ, makes a critical difference in the lives of individuals, families, and society.

Pastoral Welcome

To our many visitors and/or those who would like more information about OSLC, we encourage you to take the time to browse the rest of our web site. We describe in detail the many ministries, programs and opportunities available here at OSLC. We invite you to visit and join us in weekend worship!

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The Mission Of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church By the power of God's love we: Welcome all people into a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ and one another. Grow together in faith and understanding of God's grace. Equip each other to Make Christ Known in the world. Our vision is to be a loving community where all people discover and grow an active faith in Jesus Christ that changes lives in the world. At Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, all activities flow from the knowledge that God's love, through Jesus Christ, makes a critical difference in the lives of individuals, families, and society. This site details the many ways in which adults, children, life-long Christians and new believers come together at Our Saviour's to nurture one another in faith, and to bear the fruits of our faith to the world.

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Statement of Welcome and Affirmation

It is the power of God's love that transforms us, makes us children of God and inspires us to live as God's people in our world.

Jesus broke through barriers and brokenness in the world to reach out to all. Our Saviour's Lutheran Church believes that all people are created by God and share the same need for forgiveness, hope and healing. Even on issues where it is difficult to reach a consensus, Our Saviour's desires to reflect the love of Jesus with a welcoming spirit. Moving beyond the common distinctions of race, national origin, age, gender, physical, mental and emotional condition or capacity, political perspective, personal history, marital status, sexual orientation, economic or social situation, we seek to…"Welcome all people into a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ and one another."

Our Saviour's is a member of Lutherans Concerned North America-Reconciling in Christ Program.

Our Saviour's strives to "Grow together in faith and understanding of God's grace." All people in a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ are encouraged to let God's Spirit deepen their relationship. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to grow spiritually through worship, prayer, Bible study, fellowship and service as we participate fully in the life of this congregation.

Our Saviour's also works to "Equip each other to Make Christ Known in the world." Our mission is to be ambassadors of Christ's love in the world. The life-giving work of Christ is accomplished as we discover and use the gifts that God has given us in our daily life and work.

Click here for our Congregation Constitution and Bylaws .

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What to Expect During Worship

Is everyone invited to take Communion?

All who believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ and are baptized Christians are welcome to share in Holy Communion, celebrated at every weekend service.

Are my children welcome in church?

Yes! Children are invited to join in the children’s sermon, sing the songs, say prayers, or enjoy their very own children’s bulletin. We have a Quiet Room, adjacent to our Traditional Worship Space for our youngest worshipers, who may need some personalized attention. A nursery is provided during the 9:00 and 10:30 am services.

Does Our Saviour’s have a dress code?

No, please come as you are! Most people dress for the weather, while showing respect for the occasion of worshiping the Lord.

Does Our Saviour’s have women pastors?

Yes! Women are welcome to become ordained ministers in the ELCA, and Our Saviour’s currently has three women in pastoral positions.

What is the difference between the Traditional and Contemporary Services?

Our Traditional and Contemporary services run at the same time on Sundays at 9:00 and 10:30 am. See the “Worship” category for service descriptions.

Where should I park?

Our Saviour's Lutheran Church has a large parking lot adjacent to our building. You may enter the parking lot from Olive Street (enter heading south) or Dunton Avenue (enter heading east). The AT&T building directly south of our church offers their parking lot for our use during worship service hours. Enter the AT&T parking lot by turning to the west off of Arlington Heights Road, and follow the path to the back of their building.

Can I sit when everyone else is standing?

Yes, absolutely. Here at Our Saviour's, you stand "if you are able." Some members prefer to sit during these times.

Do I need to give money into the collection plate?

As a visitor, you are not asked nor expected to give anything to Our Saviour's when the baskets are passed. However, if you choose to become a regular worshipper here at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, you need to know up front that we take our response to God's blessings seriously. If you choose to become a part of our church, you will be expected to give freely, regularly, generously, and proportionately to help carry out this church's Mission and Vision as a congregation.

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Location Of Our Saviour's

Our Saviour's Lutheran Church is located at 1234 N. Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights, Illinois (a northwest suburb, located about 25 miles from downtown Chicago), at the intersection of Arlington Hts Rd. and Olive St. Click on our address for a location map and a layout map of our building. We have a large parking lot to the west of our building which has entrances off of Olive St. and Dunton Ave. Overflow parking is available at the Ameritech/SBC building lot just south of our building. Our phone number is 847-255-8700. Our fax is 847-255-8721.

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Special Needs

Our Saviour's addresses the special needs of its members and visitors. The building is handicapped accessible. We have handicap parking right outside the entrance to the main worship space. Entrances to both of the worship spaces are at the same level as the parking lot, with no ramps or steps. We have handicapped accessible washrooms located near the main worship space. Hearing enhancement units and large print bulletins are available for our worship services. Our main worship space seats 500 and our north worship space seats 200.

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Photo Tour

Click here for a photo tour of Our Saviours' facilities. It will open in a new browser window.

Click here for a photo tour of Our Saviours' Main Worship Space Stained Glass Windows. It will open in a new browser window.

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New Member Classes

Are you interested in joining Our Saviour’s? We offer quarterly New Member Classes. If it is your desire to unite in membership at Our Saviour’s and to share our ministry here, or if you would like to come and learn more about Our Saviour’s and make your choice sometime later, please call Cheryl Boncher in the church office at 847-255-8700 ext. 223, or email

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Calendar of Events

Calendar, Updated July 21, 2010	PDF format

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What's New

Following is a summary of upcoming events of note. See the Parish Memo for full details.

• Listen to Recent Sunday Sermons. Click here for a list.

  
  

• Link to Prayer Page.

  
  

• God's Work, Our Hands Short Video. Several members of OSLC offer how they are doing God's work. Click here for a Quicktime movie (.mov file, 21mb, time 4:50).

  
  

• Click here for a photo tour of Our Saviours' PADS site. It will open in a new browser window.

  
  

• Worship Survey Results 440 members responded to the Worship Survey distributed in late April. The feedback was invaluable to the Pastors and Worship Team as they evaluated the best way to reach our goals, especially to increase congregational worship participation. The Congregational Council spent time de-briefing this information with Pastor Dan at its June meeting. The decision has been made to continue with the current Worship and Sunday School schedule for the rest of 2010.

  Click here for the presentation given at the Listening Posts.

• The Call Committee has been meeting weekly. We have completed our MSP (Ministry Site Profile) and it has been submitted to the Synod. It is now available online for candidates to review. The Profile gives information about the vacancy, as well as, information about Our Saviours and the community. At the end of June we met with Rev. Cynthia Hileman, Associate to the Bishop. She gave us a detailed description of the Call Process. She is very confident that there are several people who are interested in the position. We hope to receive some RLPs in the next few weeks for the committee to begin to review. (RLP, Rostered Leader Profile, is the new name for mobility papers.)

• Each Sunday for the rest of the summer there will be a table just outside of the main entrance for members to leave the excess produce from their home gardens for fellow members (who may live in condos and canÕt have gardens!) to take home and use. This Òveggie shareÓ is sponsored by the Green Team. We hope to make connections between people with excess tomatoes (and other items) and those who need them. For those who feel guilty in taking home produce they didnÕt buy, weÕll have a jar for you to make donations to a local food pantry. And all produce not picked up by 12 noon will be donated to the Wheeling Food Pantry.

  
  

• Youth Summer Bible ChallengeLearn the Bible verse for the week and present your booklet and recitation to a pastor to get a star!

  
  

• High School and College-age students-Movie Mondays July 19 and 26 We will be showing movies in the Fellowship Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m. We will then follow up with a discussion on how these movies fit into our lives, how do we feel about the message? Some possible movie titles are; Paper Clips; I am Legend; Angels and Demons; Amazing Grace; Food Inc. Just show up, bring your friends, we will provide the popcorn and pop!

• All women invited to 2010 Renewal - Pray Without Ceasing on July 31st from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Leave renewed in your commitment to prayer. Deposit your $15 and pick up your study handout from the box attached to the information rack in the S. Narthex. For more information, contact Jan Getty, Barb Nelson or Liz McKay.

• Electronic Recycling Day on Saturday, August 14, from 9:00 a.m to noon at the Wheeling Public Works Department, 77 W. Hintz Road. Car-loads of outdated computers, TVs, and other electronic equipment can be brought to the Wheeling Public Works site for free. Take advantage of the economical way of reducing land-fill by bringing your old equipment to the site. (And if you have extra room in your trunk...let Jim Valentine know and he will send some of OSLC's cast-offs with you!)

• Altar Care Team Annual Meeting. Get together to sign up, plan, and learn about the ministry of Altar Care. Please plan on meeting Wednesday, August 25, at 7:00 p.m. We even have a new training tool to show off! Please join us for the fellowship, then stay if you wish to become a team member.

• Celebrate Pastor Baik! Over the past two and a half years, Pastor Trish Baik has served faithfully as one of our pastors; first as an interim, and for the past year and a half as a called pastor of our church. To wish her well and thank her for her ministry among us, we have set aside Sunday, August 29 as a day to celebrate Pastor Baik! A reception in her honor will take place after services in the main narthex. The congregation is accepting donations toward a thank you gift for Pastor. If you would like to contribute, please donate to the labeled box on the literature rack in the main narthex or send your check to OSLC. Put "Pastor Baik's gift" in the memo line. You may also leave your cards and notes for her in the box as well.

• There is some exciting news about how the Rotation Sunday School program has been updated. This summer a Sunday School Review committee was assembled to assess how well the program is fulfilling its mission of instructing our young people in the Christian faith and life. The group concluded that the Rotation Sunday School model still engages our young people. At the same time, the committee saw the need to reintroduce a "home base" and a team of consistent teachers for each combination of grade levels. These recommendations are being implemented for this fall's program. All students will begin their morning in their classroom with their teachers learning the Bible stories and doing other activities that reinforce the lesson. They will also have the opportunity to rotate out with their teachers for sessions of music, crafts, science, and cooking that will continue to reinforce the Biblical message.

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Administration & Staff

Pastoral Staff

See Church Staff section below. Click here for photos of our staff.

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Pastor on Call

If you, or someone in your family, need a hospital visit from a pastor, please contact Our Saviour’s at 847-255-8700 during office hours and the Pastor On Call will be notified right away. After hours, the Pastor On Call is carrying a pager to aid us in responding to needs. When you call 847-255-8700 and leave a message on the “Pastor On Call” voicemail, ext. 300, the pager is automatically called.

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Church Office Hours

Monday – Thursday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

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Church Staff

Click here to meet Our Senior Pastor! .

Click staff name below to send an e-mail.

If you do not have an email program, click here for an email form to send a message to a member of the staff at OSLC.

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Organizational Chart

Our Saviour's Senior Pastor is Daniel Hoeger. Assistant pastors are Gail Heidtke and Trish Baik.

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Finance and Stewardship

Simply Giving
	Simply Giving® is an automated giving program designed to help you conveniently and consistently contribute to Our Saviour's. Through Simply Giving®, your gifts are made through a pre-authorized withdrawal from your bank account. You determine the frequency and amount of your automatic gift—weekly, semi-monthly or monthly—the option is yours. There is no cost to you or Our Saviour's. Click the logo to go to the Simply Giving® page at Thrivent Lutheran Financial Services. Print and complete the form and return it to Our Saviour's.

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Stewardship

Click here for the 2010 Stewardship Info and Commitment Form

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Celebrating Missions and Ministries

Ministry Highlights Articles

• Caring Ministry
• Children's Ministry
• Social Ministry
• Worship Ministry
• Youth Ministry

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Annual Report

Click here for the 2009 Annual Report (702kb)

Click for February 21, 2010 Annual Meeting Summary.

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Memorial & Special Gifts

Click here for the Memorial and Special Gift List

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Mission Endowment Fund

Click here for the Mission Endowment Fund

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Heritage Society

The Heritage Society will have as members those who have decided to make a gift to Our Saviours in their will or other estate planning document. Click here for the Heritage Society

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Church History

Our Saviour's has been ministering to the people of Arlington Heights and the northwest suburbs of Chicago since 1955. Click here for a brief history with photos of our church and its leaders. Our baptized membership as of April 1, 2010 is 2396 and confirmed membership is 1830; average weekly worship attendance is 665.

In 2004-2005, Our Saviours celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The congregation looks forward to its next 50 years.

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Opportunities for Sharing your Time and Talents at OSLC

Click here for the Opportunities for Ministry

Click here for the Opportunities for Ministry Form

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Quick Link to Ministries at Our Saviours

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Google Search

Click here to use our search engine on the OSLC web pages to quickly find what you are looking for.

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Contact Us

Click here for an email form to send a message to a staff member at Our Saviour's.

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