Welcome Caprice Miller, Director of Communications

Savior has welcomed Caprice Miller as our new Director of Communication. Get to know her a little better in the interview below!

What is your role at Church of the Savior?
I am the Communications Director. My focus each week is to produce the weekly Order of Service, newsletter, and update our website. I hope to keep the Friends of Savior connected and informed.

Where do you live? Where are your from?
I live in Wheaton with my husband, Ben, and our two children, Dana and Eve. We both grew up in Wheaton. We have tried to leave many times, but we always found ourselves back here. Over the years we have grown to love the area. Our motto is “never make decisions in January!”

What do you do when you’re not at Church (job, hobbies, etc)?
I love to be active, working in my garden, and being with my family and friends. I love long meals and good conversations.   

What is your favorite book?
I have been reading Freedom of Simplicity, by Richard Foster and enjoying it so much!

2022 Good Friday Gift: An Interview with Dc. Sandy Oyler

This year, the Vestry has selected the Employment Opportunity Center of our longtime ministry partner, Outreach Community Ministries. Through training and paid internships, the EOC helps folks get a job, keep it, and improve their lives. Please read more here and watch one participant’s video. 

We are blessed to have our own Deacon Sandy Oyler working at Outreach as a social worker, and value the opportunity to interview her to learn more about the Outreach and the EOC. 

How long have you worked at Outreach Community Ministries as a social worker? And what do you enjoy most about working there? 
I've worked at Outreach Community Ministries for nearly 20 years.  For the first 14 years, I worked at Wheaton Youth Outreach where I oversaw a transitional housing program for homeless young women.  In 2016 I made the switch to our Warrenville location, Warrenville Youth and Family Services, where I serve as the director of their counseling program.  I really enjoy being in a missional, non-profit environment that offers an array of services to people who might otherwise not have access to social services due to lack of income or other barriers.  

 
What caused you to recommend this as our Good Friday Gift?
I recommended the Employment Opportunity Center to be Savior's recipient of our Good Friday gift because I believe the program meets an unique and much-needed niche in DuPage County  It's easy to assume that everyone knows how to go out and get a job; but that is not the reality for many young people who live right here in our community.  The EOC helps young people learn all the skills they need to secure meaningful employment... and then helps them actually get and sustain a job.  

 
What do you think is unique about the Employment Opportunity Center?
The Employment Opportunity Center is unique because it is the only one in DuPage County that serves young adults who are completely unprepared for employment.  There's a growing group of people lacking in the most basic of skills.  It's the only program that doesn't assume the participants enter with a certain baseline of knowledge and abilities.  

 
You’ve worked at Outreach a long time. How do you keep serving people in situations that are difficult?
What keeps me energized the most is seeing change in people that I have the privilege of working with, even if it's incredibly small.   Witnessing those changes, and being part of what can often be a slow, incremental process is also redemptive  and life--giving, and I'm thankful that I get to be part of that.  God is working in me even as he works in my clients.  

 
In addition to giving financially to Outreach, how might we at Savior support and serve those individuals receiving support from the Employment Opportunity Center? 
There's a need for volunteers to drive program participants to/from their places of work.  This can even be just one time a week - it doesn't have to be an everyday commitment.  Tutors are also needed, especially in the subjects of math and language arts, as participants receive help to earn their GED certificate if they don't have it upon entering the program. Visit Outreach’s website to learn more. 

 
Giving Details: 
You may give any time between now and April 30. Online: on our Giving page, click “Choose a Fund” and select “Savior - Good Friday Gift.” Mail: PO Box 507, Wheaton, IL 60187. Please write “Good Friday Gift” on the memo line of your check. 

Welcome Steve Dilley, Youth Pastor

Savior has welcomed Steve Dilley as our new Youth Pastor. Get to know him a little better in the interview below!

What is your role at Church of the Savior?
I am the Youth Pastor for 6th through 12th grades. My hope is to help students deepen their understanding of God and His world, grow in their personal (and interactive) relationship with Him, and actively serve others in the youth group and beyond.

Where do you live? Where are your from?
My family and I live in Wheaton. We moved here in the summer of 2021. Prior to that we lived in Texas. As a kid, I grew up in Alaska.


What do you do when you’re not at Church (job, hobbies, etc)?
Professionally (outside of Savior), I work a lot on the integration of science and Christian faith. Otherwise, I enjoy spending time with my family.


Who do you share a household with?
Andrea and I have been married since 2005. We have four kids: Madeline, Eden, Asa, and Julian. We now have two rescue cats as well: Jamboree and Toto.


What is your favorite book?
Recently, I have very much enjoyed the work of Michael S. Heiser.

Interview with Sarah Lindsay (Disability Theology)

Each post in this series comes from someone at Savior who has a disability. Today, we hear from Sarah Lindsay, Savior’s Pastor of Adult Formation.

Tell us about yourself:
I’m Sarah Lindsay, the Pastor of Adult Formation here at Savior. I live in Wheaton with my husband, Brad, and my three daughters (Isabel, Claire, and Vivian). Before we moved to Wheaton a few years ago, I taught college English, so I’m always happy to talk books! In addition to reading in my spare time, I also enjoy baking and knitting.

Tell us about your disability, and how it affects your daily life:
I have depression and anxiety, mental illnesses that affect millions of Americans. I was formally diagnosed with postpartum depression (PPD) after the birth of my second daughter, but after receiving that diagnosis I realized that I had experienced multiple major depressive episodes, starting in my teens. With the PPD diagnosis, I was able to start learning how to treat my depression and anxiety.

I can best describe my experience of depression as wading through thick mud while the entire landscape is covered in fog. Tasks that are normally easy feel almost impossibly difficult; everything feels muffled and distant. During the worst days of a depressive episode I know, objectively, that doing certain things — taking a walk, talking to a friend — will probably make me feel a little better, but the steps required to actually do those things seem insurmountable.

My anxiety is typically less severe than my depression, and unlike depression anxiety brings more energy — which can sometimes prevent me from recognizing when I’m experiencing unhealthy levels of anxiety. I know that my anxiety levels are high when I’m either constantly fighting back intrusive worries about things that are extremely unlikely to happen, or when insomnia strikes.

When my depression and anxiety are under control, they don’t affect my life much; I’ve lived with them for my whole adult life, so I’m not sure who I would be without anxiety and depression. However, when I have a depressive episodes, I tend to withdraw from others; my limited energy goes into fulfilling my obligations at work and to my kids, and I don’t have the resources for much beyond that. I’m grateful for friends and therapists (and my family) who help me remember that there are still good things in the world — and that I won’t feel this bad forever.

What does or can the Savior community do to make you feel loved, supported, and fully included in the life of the church?
I am grateful that Savior is a church that understands mental illnesses as illnesses that often need to be treated with medication! In the first year or so that I was at Savior, Fr. Kevin mentioned in a sermon taking anxiety medication. I don’t remember anything else about that sermon (sorry, Fr. Kevin!), but that was the first time I’d heard a pastor mention medicating mental illness in such a matter-of-fact, non-judgmental way. 

I’ve never once had someone at Savior raise an eyebrow when I mention antidepressants, nor has anyone suggested that my anxiety stems from a lack of faith or that I should just get over my depression. I deeply appreciate that people at Savior are willing to be open about their own mental health and that they accept that mental illness needs to be treated like any other illness. And I also appreciate the way that Savior values rest: I’m not always good at being kind to myself when I’m in the middle of a depressive episode or a bout of anxiety, but Mtr. Karen and Pastor Mary in particular always remind me of the value of rest and caring for my mental health just as I would my physical health.

I encourage Savior to keep caring for those who struggle with their mental health, and to keep normalizing openness about mental health.

Interview with Alyssa Barringer (Disability Theology)

Each post in this series comes from someone at Savior who has a disability. Today, we hear from Alyssa Barringer, one of Savior’s newer members.

Tell us about yourself.
My name is Alyssa. I teach Latin, I teach, coach and perform improvisational theater, and I read stacks of books to my kids.

Tell us about your disability, and how it affects your daily life.
I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) as well as some other still-mysterious hormonal irregularities. About 1 in 10 women have PCOS, and it affects every person differently. It causes irregular menstrual cycles, which is why it is a common cause of infertility; but it also affects sleep, metabolism, mood, and skin. 

Roughly 1 in 20 women have PMDD, which I experience as 7-10 days of anxiety, brain fog, and flu-like symptoms. 

I do not yet have a diagnosis for the other hormonal irregularities, but the main concern is fainting spells. When other people would go into fight-or-flight mode under stress, I faint and then need a day to sleep it off.

The PMDD gives me 7-10 days every cycle of fever, fatigue, and anxiety. The PCOS means I never can quite predict when those PMDD symptoms are going to hit. (And, when they do hit, how do I know for sure this fever is hormonal and not a mild breakthrough COVID case? Should we all get tested? Should we keep the kids home from school?) This makes it difficult to make plans more than a week or two ahead of time. It often feels easier not to plan ahead at all, just to avoid my disappointment and other people's inconvenience if I have to back out at the last minute. 

I usually have a couple of days per cycle where my symptoms are too severe for me to be on my feet or safely drive a car. I work part-time and largely from home; I have had to decline opportunities to grow my job because my health is too unpredictable.

What does or can the Savior community do to make you feel loved, supported, and fully included in the life of the church?
Just because I can do something this week doesn't mean I would be capable of it next week; conversely, just because I am not capable of something this week doesn't mean I wouldn't be excited to do it next week. I appreciate when I am invited to participate and serve in ways that intersect with my gifts. I also appreciate when leaders understand that, if I have to decline or back out, it is about timing and not about my willingness to be involved in the church.