Connect Series: The Hsu Family

As we continue our journey of connecting…one person to another, building and rebuilding relationships - this week, we invite you to connect with the Hsu (pronounced “shee”) family!

Who is a part of your household?  
Ellen, Al, Josiah, and Elijah (no pets). Josiah is a sophomore at Wheaton College this year, majoring in computer science. Elijah is a high school sophomore at Clare Woods Academy in Wheaton.

Where  do  you  live?  Where  are  you  from? 
We’ve lived in Downers Grove for the last two decades, and both of our children were born here. Ellen grew up in Wisconsin where she grew to love cheese and ice cream and learned to call water fountains “bubblers.” Al grew up in Minnesota where he played Duck, Duck, Gray Duck. We met at college in Minnesota. 

How long have you been attending Church of the Savior? 
We’ve been attending Church of the Savior for over 16 years. We started attending just a few months after the church was founded when Ellen was pregnant with Elijah. Josiah was 3 years old at the time, and we happened to visit on the first day that the children’s program started.

In your time at Savior, what have you enjoyed most? 
It’s hard to say what we enjoy most because there are so, so many things we love about Savior! What we probably love most about Savior is the people and the sense of community. We’re particularly grateful for the multiple ways our family has been invited into Savior’s community that show how much God and the church love and care for every one of us. When Elijah was a baby, we needed people to watch him and Josiah while we led worship. What Ellen remembers about that time is how delighted people were to help and how loved we all felt. More specifically, she remembers Marilyn Stewart telling us not to worry that our kids were making a little noise during the service because we (the church) want the children to feel welcomed into our worship. It was such a different perspective than we’d felt while visiting other churches. We could go on and on, but we’ll stop there :-)

What is something folks at Savior might not know about you?
Ellen is in her second of two years in the Christos training program for spiritual directors. We both work at InterVarsity Press and love reading books, so feel free to ask us what we’re currently reading – just don’t assume that every book we read is published by IVP (Ellen reads a lot of novels). You can ask Al about all the things he collects (LEGO Architecture sets, commemorative stamp yearbooks, comic books, Starbucks mugs…#enneagramseven). We love theatre and have seen almost 200 musicals together over the past 27 years.

How do you enjoy connecting with others?
Ellen is an introvert and enjoys connecting with others in 1-on-1 settings. She especially loves going for walks. She also enjoys getting to know people over coffee, a meal, or dessert. Al is an extrovert and loves trying new restaurants, so if there’s an interesting place or different kind of cuisine you want to try, let him know! 

Connect Series: The Scheuermann Family

At Savior, we are in a season of connecting. One person to another, building and rebuilding relationships. This week, we invite you to connect with the Scheuermann family!

Who is a part of your household?
Barrett, Rochelle, Isaac, and our furry friend Dolly (a beagle/jack-russel mix.

Where  do  you  live?  Where are  you  from?
We currently live in St. Charles. Barrett is from central Illinois and Rochelle is from southwestern Missouri. Isaac is also from central Illinois. We relocated here from central Illinois for Rochelle to teach at Wheaton College in the graduate school.

How long have you been attending Church of the Savior? 
Since December 2020.

In your time at Savior, what have you enjoyed most? 
We’ve enjoyed so many things. To name a few: the sermons, the liturgy, the ways the church tries to engage thoughtfully and compassionately around race/ethnicity, disabilities, and current cultural events. One of the things we have most appreciated is the warm welcome we have received. We’ve noticed such an effort for people to be in true community. In the few gatherings we’ve gone to, people noticed we were new and took time to talk and genuinely get to know us more. We have felt a particular welcome for Isaac and believe Savior will be a great place for him to flourish. 

What is something folks at Savior might not know about you?
We love fishing, gardening, and making all of our own breads. Barrett owned his own woodworking business for 17 years and Rochelle is an ordained minister and was once an associate pastor at a church plant.

How do you enjoy connecting with others? 
We like to connect over coffee/dessert, in shared meals, and through small groups.

Connect Series: Heather Matthews & Family!

At Savior, we are in a season of connecting. One person to another, building and rebuilding relationships. This week, we invite you to connect with Heather Matthews and her family!

Who is a part of your household?
Me – Heather Matthews
Kyama Webb – 17, Senior at Wheaton North
Ashtyn Webb – 15 – Sophomore at Wheaton North
Micah Webb – 13 – 7th grade at Franklin Middle
Geni Webb – 9 – 4th grade at Lowell Elementary

Where  do  you  live?  Where  are  you  from? 
Wheaton. We moved here from Milwaukee over Christmas. I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, went college and seminary around here at Northwestern University (Go Cats) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. I also lived in Nairobi for three years.  

How long have you been attending Church of the Savior? 
We started attending online in January during covid.

In your time at Savior, what have you enjoyed most? 
I’ve enjoyed almost everything at Savior so far. I have not been part of an Anglican church before or a liturgical church in general. So I have enjoyed learning more about the liturgy and traditions and enjoying a new style of corporate gathering and worship. 

What family ritual that started this past year (of the pandemic) do you hope will continue forever? The pandemic was hard in so many ways but it also felt like a gift to our family. We have gone through a lot of transition and stress over the last three years and to have the time and space to be with one another more than normal without so many outside distractions and a simplified lifestyle was a gift to us in many ways. While I know that life will get busier now that we are getting back to normal schedules, I still want to be committed to spaciousness and rest and our daily life as much as possible. 

How do you enjoy connecting with others? Anything! Our family just wants to get to know more people here and find a new community. We’ve lived in Africa and the inner city so our door is always open. I love walks, hikes, conversations over meals or wine or dessert, backyard fires, or hanging out with other families.

Spotlight on Jan Bruesch

In today's Spotlight post, get to know Jan Bruesch a little better! She’s a long-time member and dear friend of Savior’s.

How long have you been attending Savior? And how did you first learn of Savior?

I’ve been going to Savior since the summer of 2006 or 2007.  I first heard about it from Linda Richardson, who I worked with as we were both a part of the Early Childhood diagnostic team in District 41 in Glen Ellyn. I remember sitting at a table waiting for an IEP meeting to start and she told me she and Bill had started an Anglican Church in West Chicago. She gave me the location and time and I let a year go by before I took her up on her invitation to “come and see”. I went and basically never stopped. I was hungry for a church that had what I called “Teaching” sermons and I found it at Savior.

Describe how you've encountered God through your time at Savior? 

So, I met God through the preaching, no matter who was doing the preaching. I have also encountered God through The Holy Week services. I remember we were at Trinity in Wheaton for Good Friday and seeing Erik Peterson slowly walking down the aisle with the cross on his shoulders. I was not expecting seeing this enactment of Jesus on his way to Calvary and the tears just started to flow. I think I encounter God every week at Savior and sometimes in the middle of the week when I talk to other Savior parishioners. It became evident to me early on that people attend Savior not because they are supposed to go to church every week, but first and foremost because they love the Lord. That draws me back every week. Another way I have encountered God in my time at Savior is at Taize. I had never gone to Taize before and Savior introduced me to that way of worship. I often went to Taize alone, even if people from Savior were not going.

Share your fondest memory together with “friends of the Savior”?

Some of my fondest memories at Savior are from participating on the worship team, especially during the Vigil. As an Episcopalian, I had never wanted to attend the Vigil because it was so long and boring. Savior can only commit to one of those adjectives. Our Vigil is long, but not a second of it is boring, therefore it does not seem long. I have another fond memory of Savior and that is when we went on an all church retreat up at George Williams College on Lake Geneva. That whole weekend was a connection with God. I distinctly remember getting to know several members of the church at that retreat.

What are you looking forward to most in returning to in-person worship? 

If I am able to attend, because of my disability, I look forward to seeing everyone. I especially look forward to seeing the children dancing at the end of the service, as Fr. Bill called it the Savior mosh pit. I look forward to that encounter with God in seeing all the people who are there because they love the Lord. I also look forward to the music. The music has always been a high point of worship at Savior.

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.