What Is Savior’s “Outward Journey”? 

What Is Savior’s “Outward Journey”? 

By Fr. Kevin 

 At Church of Savior, we talk about the “Inward Journey” and the “Outward Journey.” These names were coined by Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, a church that inspired our own name. 

The Inward Journey stands for the life of prayer and worship, and from Savior’s beginning, we have done a lot of work here: forming our weekly worship as a place of meeting God, not performance; practicing Sabbath; resisting hurry and busyness; offering retreats; and more. Where our leaders are now giving us greater clarity is our Outward Journey--how we love and serve people outside of Savior. Of the many good ways churches serve people, here are three we feel drawn to, in order: 

1.Local Compassion  

People at Savior love to give to our neighbors in need, both in our monthly budget and through the yearly Good Friday Gift. This pleases God. As he says through Isaiah: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” 

So Savior has shared food with the hungry by giving to Peoples Resource Center, and provided the poor wanderer with shelter, by giving to PADS. Through our longtime ministry partners—Outreach and World Relief Chicagoland—we help teen moms and immigrants. 

Our growth edge here is to add to our giving, serving. So we not only give gifts to the Outreach Christmas Store, but this past Christmas, served there. 

2.Justice 

Isaiah points us to this: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” So we especially want to love those who have been unjustly treated. We have given to help fund church planters of color, provide water for people in the Navajo Nation, and much more.  By temperament, Savior is more likely to hug than to picket, but we want to educate ourselves and to advocate for others. We have done some educating and/or advocating for refugees and immigrants, and for persons with disabilities.  

Our approach is not so much focusing on Big Causes but on serving real people with names. As one member put it, “Church of the Savior has gifts in looking out for people who are in spiritual pain or physical pain or relational pain. We offer them our vulnerability and listening. It seems part of our DNA to slow down, listen, involve, learn from.” 

3.Church Planting 

It has been our joy to help launch Christ Our Peace Anglican Church in Oak Park, led by Mtr. Sandy Richter. We expect to release the church into full independence this year. So right now, we are resting and saving toward a future church plant, but here’s why church planting is part of Savior's 

Outward Journey:​

1. There is a great need for more life-giving, healthy churches.​

2. The way the apostles in Acts spread the Gospel was primarily by starting churches. ​

3. New churches have been shown to be the most effective form of evangelism because they tend to be easier for people to connect with.​

4. Our bishop, Todd Hunter, built our diocese, C4SO, to do church planting, so we have examples and encouragement and a culture that gives permission to risk and keeps red tape minimal.​

5. We have a steady source of funds for church planting. Many dioceses ask their churches to donate 10% of their operating budget to support the diocese. But Bishop Todd says, “I’ll run the diocese on 5%; put the other 5% into church plants.”​

6. Church planting fits a passion of Mtr. Karen's and mine to develop leaders.​

7. Church planting meshes with our desire to create relationship-sized churches rather than grow into a medium-size or large-size church.​

8. Savior can make a contribution that is still too rare: We plant by sending men or women, when many church-planting agencies exclude female church planters from receiving funds. 

I love this clearer Outward Journey. It feels like Savior. It expresses what God’s put in us, a natural extension, not something bolted on. And it gives us direction: we can take steps on this Outward Journey, year after year. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, please contact Pastor Sarah. 

Good Friday Gift: A Word from Rachel Wassink

Rachel Wassink is the Annual Giving Manager at World Relief Chicagoland. She shares with us the impact of our Good Friday Gift Donation, and who this donation will help.

  • What NEED IS the Good Friday Gift helping?

One of our top needs at World Relief is securing affordable housing for our refugee and immigrant neighbors. Amidst the shifting sands of the economy, the continued effects COVID has had on our communities, and the rising cost of housing, there has been a significant need for additional funding that supports the costs of transitional housing and bridges the gap as our neighbors work towards self-sufficiency to pay for their housing. This Good Friday gift will directly contribute to this need, which will allow the refugees and immigrants we are welcoming into our community to feel at home.

  • HOW DOES THIS HIT PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECENTLY COME TO THE U.S.?

    Many refugee and immigrants arrive with very little saved financially because of the right to work being taken from them in their refugee camp. When they arrive in the US, they partner with World Relief to begin working and committing to a budget that is sustainable for them. This empowers them to earn, save, and support their family. A crucial piece in this empowerment is the assistance World Relief is able to provide for the first three months of their arrival as they adjust to a very new culture and prepare to begin work. Additionally, there are many Ukrainians coming right now in need of permanent housing who do not have access to federal grant funding that supports housing.

  • HOW will the money be used?

    The money will be used in Chicagoland to pay for two primary areas:

    1. Transitional housing expenses such as hotels and temporary rental homes.
    2. The gap cost of permanent housing for refugees and immigrants as they begin working and saving to pay for their own housing costs.

  • What DOES STABLE HOUSING DO FOR NEWER ARRIVALS?

    When refugees and immigrants have the stability of a home, this leads to significantly greater flourishing. They are able to have a gathering place to feel safe and secure. They are able to adjust to new styles of living, cooking, and learning. When children have a home to come to, they are more likely to grow in school. When adults are able to afford a living space, they feel the dignity and empowerment of caring for their family. Home matters more than we often realize, and for refugees and immigrants, their sense of home has been incredibly uprooted and lost for a long period. A welcoming home here in the United States reminds them that they are wanted and welcomed here.

Good Friday Gift: A Word from a World Relief Employee

Catherine Norquist is a longtime Savior Member and employee of World Relief. Even though the Good Friday Gift is going to housing benefits for refugees, Catherine is working hard in a different department at World Relief. I believe it is helpful and encouraging to see Catherine’s work as well as understanding the vast services that World Relief provides to our refugee and immigrant neighbors. Please connect with Catherine’s words below and how her department is serving those in need.

  • What's the need your department addresses? 

    My department is the Immigration Legal Services Department and we function like a non-profit law firm/Legal Aid. We provide mainly family-based immigration legal services, helping immigrants and refugees navigate the complicated Immigration system here in the United States. Many immigrants can't afford a private attorney but our team consists of both Department of Justice Accredited Representatives and Immigration Attorneys who are providing high quality legal services at either low or no cost. We help people find out if they have a path to legal status in the United States, family reunification processes, immigration assistance for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes to name a few things we do. This Fall we launched an Asylum Legal Clinic, which means we are helping people apply for asylum here in the United states and representing them at their asylum interviews with Immigration. 

  • What are some examples of someone in this situation?

    I'll answer this with a quote from one of our attorneys: 

    I have had a lot of consular processing (family reunification) interviews all over the world recently: Burma, Liberia, India, Mexico, Yugoslavia, and Ethiopia. Many of these families were separated due to civil war or ethnic conflict and are trying to reunite with children under 21, spouses, and parents. Most of these cases were delayed due to US government backlogs and then extra delayed due to the pandemic, and then further held up after the embassy interview by additional document requests. Even though these cases can seem like we overcome one obstacle just to run into another, this work is such a privilege to walk alongside our clients as an advocate; to reassure them that there WILL eventually be an end to the frustration and to celebrate with them when their loved one finally arrives in the USA.

  • Can you give a few examples of someone being helped?

    Our first asylum case we took was for an Afghan woman who was a reporter in Afghanistan who was highlighting the abuses of the Taliban. She had received multiple death threats and had been harrassed by the Taliban multiple times. After she was evacuated to the United states in 2021, one of our attorneys decided to file her asylum case. The interview was this summer and we are hoping to hear any day now whether she has been approved for asylum. This would give her a path to legal permanent residency (a green card) and eventually US citizenship. We have also helped multiple Afghan men apply for asylum due to their assistance with the US Military and Special Forces in Afghanistan. We are still awaiting results from Immigration post their interviews. 

Good Friday Gift

Each year, Savior takes up a special offering on Good Friday to support our neighbors in need. This year, our Good Friday gift will help provide stable housing for recent refugees and immigrants, through World Relief Chicagoland. Newcomers need help with security deposits of first and last months’ rent; and the need for housing is great, as asylum seekers are bussed here. Learn more from the flyer at the Info Table in the lobby at PHCC. You can give any time during Lent: write “Good Friday” in the memo line of your check or select “Good Friday Gift” as the fund on Savior’s online giving page.

Connect with the stories below of those World Relief helps:


Farzana is an Afghan Paralympian who was forced to flee Kabul in August of 2021. As a leader and advocate for women in her country, she was no longer safe. She found herself living in temporary quarters at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. After several months, she was sent to Chicagoland for a better living situation. Because of partners like you, World Relief was able to find a place for her to live that accommodates her mobility devices.


Yomardy left her home in Venezuela to come to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship. Fully intending to return to Venezuela and use her status as National Teacher of the Year, she soon discovered that she was declared an enemy of the state in Venezuela. Her honesty about the conditions in her country meant that she could no longer return to her home. Thanks to partners like you, Yomardy was able to find support and a place to call home here in Chicagoland. Her new dream is to buy a house to be able to welcome others like
her who need a place to call home.

Jerome lived in a refugee camp for 19 years. Can you imagine that? During his time in the camp, Jerome was already working to make a difference and that made him a target. Thankfully, he was selected to be resettled and came to the United States. When he arrived at his first apartment, he was finally able to live in a secure and safe place. He was able to find peace again thanks to people of peace who supported the finding and filling of his new apartment.

A Conversation with Rochelle & Barrett Scheuermann

Photo Credit: Kristin Page

How did you two meet?

We met much later in life than most. We were paired on eHarmony, and after the obligatory question phase, we quickly moved to emailing. There were no pulled punches. Rochelle’s first email to Barrett said, “So today I preached at my church… what are your thoughts on women in ministry?” Barrett’s answer was supportive, and the way was opened for meeting in person.

It was in December when we had our first date, and Rochelle decided to bring a plate of ginger molasses cookies with her. Her thinking was simple: “If the date goes well, Barrett gets the cookies. If the date goes poorly, Rochelle will eat the cookies on her way home.” We got kicked out of the restaurant at closing time, and Barrett was presented the cookies. We were married 8 months later.

You’ve had the recent adventure of adopting 2 children. What has that been like?

We always wanted to have a family and thought two children would be a good number. But at our ages, that proved more challenging than we had anticipated. We struggled with fertility and embraced that adoption was God’s way of adding kids to our lives. Never did we imagine how great or crazy this would be! There were times in this process where it was really challenging. Dealing with the disappointments of miscarriage and the unrealized hopes of adoption as we waited meant there were tears, questions, and many prayers.

When we first heard about Isaac, he was 2 weeks old. Without sharing the sacred details of his birth, we were presented with the profile of a baby boy with Down syndrome and other medical concerns and were cautioned to seek medical advice before allowing the match consideration to go forward. We had 18 hours to say yes or no to moving forward. It would have been hard to turn Isaac down because his profile came with pictures (and as many of you know, he’s adorable!), but we talked with a doctor friend to hear projections about the future. Her biggest suggestion was that if we proceeded, we would need to consider moving to a bigger town to allow for greater access to the care he would need. We talked with our parents and prayed and decided that we did want to proceed with the match and see where God took it. We didn’t know that in saying yes, we were the only family out of over a hundred who did. In a miraculous move that can only be ascribed to God, two days later Rochelle was unexpectedly contacted by Wheaton College about a job possibility. With our heads spinning, we realized God was up to something. Exactly two weeks after being presented with Isaac’s profile, we were walking home with him, and two months later Rochelle was hired at Wheaton. While the journey has included a ton of doctor’s visits (one year alone included 3 surgeries and over 50 medical and therapy visits!) we are exceedingly grateful for the bundle of energy (!) and joy that Isaac brings to the world.

How did you happen to adopt again?

We had always been told that 2 weeks (from initial contact to holding the baby) was a fast adoption. Isaac’s adoption finalization, however, was slow. It took us a couple years, and so we were delayed in seeking a second adoption. When we did, we were a little unsure. We wanted a second child and thought Isaac would be a great big brother, but our ages made us doubt. Friends we grew up with were becoming empty nesters and grandparents. Were we really wanting to take on another infant? We prayed and felt led to at least keep our home study active. Our adoption agency was tiny and encouraged us to connect with other agencies in order to broaden our reach, but our fleece before the Lord was that we wouldn’t do more than keeping our home study active with our present agency. If God wanted to add a second child, he would. If our home study expired first, we would take that as God’s direction that we were to be a family of three.

As our home study neared expiration, we both had mentally started to move on. But unexpectedly we got a call. On a Tuesday night in March, our agency called to say we were being considered with several other profiles for an adoption. While this excited and terrified us, we anticipated a usual timeline, giving us time to prepare. How wrong we were! With the birth mom in active labor, we were informed that we were the top pick. We had until the morning to give a yes or no (less than 12 hours). We were literally left speechless. It took us several minutes to even find words. It was clear very quickly that God had a new kiddo to add to our family and that he had an incredible sense of humor. Less than 22 hours after we were first contacted by our adoption agency, we were holding our baby girl. We had no clothes, no formula, no crib. We had to borrow our social worker’s car seat to get Annelise home! It took us a good 6 weeks to really get our heads around what just happened, but we have never once regretted the speed. Adding Annelise to our lives has been a joy beyond anything we could have anticipated, and we are so grateful for her calm and joyful spirit. (Nursery workers, she really doesn’t cry all the time!).

Where do you see God at work as you raise these children?

Even though we get called Isaac and Annelise’s grandma and grandpa from time to time, we don’t regret adoption in our “older” age. God knew this was our time. and he is sufficient for this unusual journey we have all undertaken.

Perhaps the thing that amazes us most is how we see God already using our children. Isaac endears himself wherever he goes, and we find that the joy and togetherness he brings with his presence is truly sacred. Isaac loves to sing and lights up with the liturgy at church (as many of you know). He once mentioned Father Kevin at home and immediately put his hands out announcing, “For the people for God.” His love of God--and the ways he shines this--pulls others around him into joy and worship. Annelise is a bright, smiley girl who brings calm and joy to others.

Raising a special needs kiddo has challenges, and there are areas where we are exhausted and times when we feel utterly defeated. It takes us longer to get to certain stages and even longer to get through them. And at our ages, when most of our peers are moving to the empty nest stage of life, we sometimes feel a little on the edges because we’re just starting out. But then we realize that God knew this all along and we not only feel blessed with how God has equipped us to parent now, but we also look at the amazing community God has gifted us: our family, Church of the Savior, Early Childhood, and a great team of medical professionals. We know that we are not alone in the burdens we carry, and we get the great privilege of sharing the overwhelming joys that we experience, too. So don’t mind the extra gray hairs that you see us sporting these days. We are exceedingly blessed to have walked an unusual path. Some may say we’re late bloomers, but in God’s plan, we’re just on time.