Farewell Interview with Pastor Esther

A farewell interview with Esther Chuang, who has served as Savior’s Pastor of Music & Worship for the past 2 years.

What is taking you and your family to Malaysia?
My husband, Tony will be working for his family business which manufactures semi conductive plating. I'll be teaching worship at a Christian Seminary in Penang.

What are you looking forward to?
I'm looking forward to living closer to family. We have no family in the States. My family lives in Korea, so when we move, it will be a much shorter flight to see them. Tony's parents live in Taiwan, and his brother's family lives in Penang, Malaysia (the same city we are moving to), so it would be nice to be able to see family more often.

I'm also looking forward to new ministry opportunities in Asia. Tony and I have a heart for the nations, and before we had kids, God opened doors to many countries where Tony preached the gospel, I gave worship concerts, and we taught Christian seminars. I'm hoping we can do more of that ministry in Asia.

What are you anxious about (so we can pray for you)?
I'm anxious about living in a new country. It's also a Muslim country. And the COVID situation is pretty bad there and they haven't gotten many vaccines yet. That means that we will probably live in COVID world for a bit longer, which makes it harder to make new friends. Please pray that we will find a good church family there, and that God will open doors and the hearts of our new neighbors in Malaysia, so that we could minister to them.

How have you grown or changed during your time at Savior?
I have been at Savior for less than 2 years, but one of the biggest things I have learned at Savior was to slow down and keep the Sabbath. Since coming to Savior, Tony and I have kept our Sundays as a day of rest and lots of family time, and it has been rejuvenating!

Also, I have been to a liturgical church before, but I have never attended one weekly. During my time at Savior, my love for the liturgy and the weekly Eucharist has grown.

And lastly, my perfectionist side for musical worship has changed quite a bit. After 1 year and 2 months of Zoom church at home with a toddler that does unexpected things all the time, I learned to "let go." No matter what is going on -whether it's Adrielle pulling my hair or Aidan crying in the background- I have learned to let go of my perfectionist side and to still focus on the Lord and worship him. I'm also very grateful for friends of the Savior for being so understanding and loving of everything Adrielle does at the worship service!

Anything you'd like to say to the church?
In the short time I was at Savior, you have blessed me so much with your prayers, cards, and warm words, both in my lows (like my miscarriage) and my highs (the birth of our baby). Church of the Savior has been so amazing in its worship services, leadership, and people, and I will definitely miss Savior a lot.

As a farewell gift, I want to gift you 2 songs. The first one is called "Beauty out of Brokenness," a song that is based on my testimony. The second one is a piano hymn arrangement of "Great is Thy Faithfulness". I hope these songs minister to you. 

Pastor Esther's music comes from her albums, "Beauty out of Brokenness" and "Esther Shin Chuang Plays Hymns." For the lyrics and full info about the albums, visit www.tonyandestherchuang.com/music.

Photo taken by Kristen Page on Easter Sunday morning 2021. 

Multicultural Worship at Church of the Savior

Seeing artwork of a Cameroonian Jesus, an Indian Jesus, a Korean Jesus. Singing songs in Swahili, Korean, and Spanish. Why are we incorporating global art and music in our worship at Church of the Savior? 

Before we talk about the "why," let's first talk about "what" multicultural worship is. Multicultural worship is when multiple cultures are celebrated and multiple cultural elements are utilized in the worship. This celebration of diverse cultures could be done by using visual art, musical forms and styles, languages, stories, testimonies, instruments, dance, drama, communion elements, prayers, and gestures that reflect diverse cultures.

So why do we do multicultural worship at Savior? Here are some of the reasons.

1. Multicultural worship reminds us that God loves people of all cultures. God shows his steadfast love and faithfulness toward the nations (Psalm 117).

2. Multicultural worship shows that God welcomes diverse cultural gifts. C. Michael Hawn, in Gather into One: Praying and Singing Globally, writes that Revelation 21:24, 26 shows how God welcomes the cultural gifts of the nations into the Holy City, a place of perfect worship in the coming Kingdom of God.

3. Multicultural worship gives us a glimpse of worship in heaven. We see in Revelation 7:9–17 a great multitude “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (7:9) worshiping God in heaven. This multicultural worshiping community in heaven is a community we look forward to joining one day.

4. Multicultural worship was part of the church from the beginning. The church was born on the day of Pentecost when God was worshiped in multiple languages, spoken by "Jews from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5). Early Christian worship was multicultural, drawing from Jewish roots and Greek ideas, and the cultural symbols of the Greco-Roman era.

5. Multicultural worship enriches the global church. Multicultural worship reminds us that every culture has something to share with other cultures. The American church has something to receive from the African church, the Asian church, the European church, and vice versa. By cross-cultural sharing, our worship experience is enriched.

6. Multicultural worship reminds us that we are part of the global church. When we worship God using cultural expressions of others, we are reminded that we are part of something bigger, the global body of Christ. And when we sing songs from the global church–since songs are the prayers of the people–we are praying with the global body of Christ.

7. Multicultural worship is an act of loving our neighbor. When we embrace the many cultures around us, we show that we love our neighbors.

8. Multicultural worship allows the people from those cultures to worship God using their heart language. When we sing in Korean, it will be a foreign language for many at Savior, but for me, that is my heart language. As a Korean-American, when I see artwork of a Korean Jesus or sing worship songs in Korean, my heart is stirred and I feel more closely connected to God.

As Soong-Chan Rah writes in Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church, the purpose of multicultural worship is to “honor the presence of God in different cultures . . . [and] to see God at work in all cultures, not just in one.” My prayer is that Church of the Savior continues to honor God's presence in all cultures, love others by embracing their cultures, and love the God of all nations.

Cover image: Kungfuman, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Welcome John Rakes, Pastor of Music & Worship

Savior has hired John Rakes as our new Pastor of Music and Worship, beginning May 16th. Get to know John a little better in the interview below!

What  is  your role at  Church of the Savior?
As the Pastor of Music and Worship my principal role is leading the congregation in musical worship during weekly services.  Music is such a powerful vehicle for connecting to God.  It is my prayer that my leading of the congregation will assist all in meeting God through whole-hearted worship.  I also lead and organize the worship ensemble, offer up instrumental service music, and build up the musical gifts of our congregation.

Where do  you  live?  Where are you from?
For the past 15 years I have lived in the beautiful town of Warrenville.  I grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia and was transplanted to the mid-west when I came to Illinois to study music education at Wheaton College.

What do you do when you're not at Church (job, hobbies, etc)?
I work as a conductor for the Downers Grove Choral Society and the Naperville Men’s Glee Club.  I also teach conducting and music history at Wheaton College and teach voice and music history at Kishwaukee College.  When I am not planning, studying, or practicing music I love to play board games with Marissa and our kids.  I love playing outside with the kids, watching Cubs baseball, watching classic movies, and traveling. 

Who shares your home?
Our house is truly made a home by my family. Marissa is my wife of 15 years. Our children keep us active. Samuel is 7, Ana is 4, and Lydia is 2. We like to remember Abigail, Lydia’s twin, who lives in heaven and is always close to our hearts.

What is a favorite quote?
“Great music is that which penetrates the ear with facility and leaves the memory with difficulty. Magical music never leaves the memory.” – Sir Thomas Beecham

How does the ministry you lead serve the life of our congregation?
Praise is the most often repeated command in the scriptures and this command to praise God is closely tied to musical expression.  Music is such a unique, God-given gift without parallel that unifies the congregation in whole-hearted worship of their Creator and Savior.  The church that sings together, breathes together, learns to worship God together, and then serves together.  It is my prayer that my leadership as the Pastor of Music and Worship unifies and builds up the worship of those who attend Church of the Savior. 

How can people get involved in the ministry you lead?
As a relatively new member of the congregation I am very interested in meeting the musicians of our congregation.  If you have a musical gift please contact me or just introduce yourself at a service.  I look forward to meeting you and to exploring ways to integrate your gift into the musical worship of our church.  From serving in the worship ensemble, playing service music, or being involved in occasional music offerings, I hope to connect our congregation’s musicians to opportunities to serve while building up the worship of Church of the Savior.     

Learn More About Savior's Good Friday Gift

To learn more about the work of DuPage PADS, watch this video from PADS president April Redzic.

Devotion in Lent

When we step into the natural landscape that surrounds us, we are free. Free from the distractions of technology, daily household chores and the demands of what’s next. For me, getting outside and into the natural beauty of our Lord’s creation is realigning. I feel an invitation, an invitation from the Lord to see him more fully. What a gift that is to my soul. 

The Passion Flower
Wanting to draw nearer to the Lord this Lenten season, I wondered if there was a specific “Lenten flower”. I was thrilled to discover, that yes – there is! It’s called the Passion Flower and it’s rich with religious symbolism. To name just a few…the petal count represents the number of apostles that betray Jesus and the lifespan of the flower’s bloom only lasts three days which is the same time lapse before Christ’s Resurrection. (For the full list of the flower’s religious meaning, click here.) 

You will see that the image of the Passion Flower was chosen to be our cover art for Savior’s Lenten sermon series: “The Lord is Gracious & Compassionate”. It is my prayer that this flower will be a gentle reminder to root yourself in the Lord and draw close to his creation (it’s all around you!).

Devotional Resources
As a church we are meditating on Psalm 103:8-14 and have created a Lenten devotional for you to use. May these resources provide opportunities of reflection as we walk through Lent, and preparedness in our souls as we look ahead to Eastertide. 

Additionally, here is a Lenten coloring calendar to engage with during Lent (color a square for each day of Lent that passes), and an Alleluia coloring sheet that we used to “bury the alleluia” in our last service of Epiphany. And lastly, for our Good Friday gift, Savior has chosen to partner with DuPage Pads, a Wheaton organization that provides temporary shelter for homeless people and works to get them established in permanent housing. We invite you to create this paper house craft as a reminder to pray for those in need of housing, and to ask the Lord how you are to give financially toward our Good Friday gift this year.

Cover art: Passion Flower (1825) by Jean Bernard (1775-1883). Original from The Rijksmuseum. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.