Pastor Dan Schwick

Pastor Dan Schwick (1987 - 1989)

I began my ministry at Holy Trinity in May of 1987. I was very fortunate to follow Dean Bard who had instituted significant liturgical reforms and had begun moving newer and younger members of the congregation into leadership roles. I was also fortunate to have been mentored in my first call on the far Northwest side by Pastor Sherman Hicks, who at that time was an assistant to the bishop of the Illinois Synod in the last days of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) before the merger that created the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). One of the principals of ministry that Sherman instilled in me was that location matters. No two congregations should be the same because every congregation must be engaged with its own local community. That included the notion of cooperative ministries, where possible as well as ecumenical and interfaith relationships.

Early in my tenure at Holy Trinity, I and a number of other clergy and lay leaders in Lake View attended a series of trainings in community organizing. Out of those encounters grew Lakeview Action Coalition (LAC) which eventually became an important organization in the neighborhood. Lake View at the time was experiencing rapid gentrification. Our congregation and many others experienced the displacement of numerous long-time members who could no longer afford to live in their homes. Almost monthly, we were bidding Farewell and Godspeed to long-time members retreating to a life elsewhere. From the beginning, LAC advocated for affordable housing in Lake View even in the midst of gentrification. We worked to preserve affordable housing and we even developed—with partners in the non-profit housing field and the City of Chicago—the Ruth Shriman House, an 83-unit affordable senior housing development. (The Shriman House was completed after my time at Holy Trinity; I was President or Vice President of LAC during development of and contracting for the Ruth Shriman House.)

At the beginning of my tenure at Holy Trinity, AIDS was just emerging around the world and around our community. Early on, of course, there was very little known about HIV infection—not treatments, no prevention. In our on-going conversations with other local clergy, we became aware of a need for pastoral care for people living with AIDS. Members of Holy Trinity, Resurrection (led by Assistant Pastor Craig Mueller!) and Lake View Lutheran churches connected with the AIDS Pastoral Care Network and began visits with patients at Bonaventure House, a hospice for persons dying of AIDS.

Fairly early in my ministry at Holy Trinity, I was contacted by a lesbian couple who were interested in “getting married.” I agreed to meet with them. One member of the couple was an active member of an ELCA congregation in the suburbs. Her pastor referred her to Holy Trinity. At the time I had not performed “blessed unions” as they were called before civil reunions or same sex marriage was legal. I consulted with my colleague and friend, Pastor Craig Mueller, at Resurrection where they were already celebrating same sex unions. He advised me to inform our bishop, Sherman Hicks, and he offered me some models for a meaningful celebration. After meeting with the couple several more times, I agreed to celebrate their union at Holy Trinity. Only the organist and church administrative assistant were “in on” the celebration. After the Saturday evening service, we made sure there was no “evidence” left for Sunday worshipers to find. Over time, and especially when we became a Reconciling in Christ congregation in 1990, we received more requests for unions and we became more open about them. Eventually it was routine to note the Sunday flowers were in honor of the blessed union of a same sex couple.

Late in my tenure, we entered into negotiations with Lake View Lutheran Church about the possible merger of our congregations. Those negotiations produced a proposal which, in the end, I felt obliged to oppose. It was defeated by both congregations.

In the early 1990s, with an increasing number of single professionals and couples without children, our Sunday School dwindled to two very small classes. At that time, the Night Ministry, one of the leading social service organizations in our community, was in need of affordable space for their administrative office. Holy Trinity invited the Night Ministry to make its home here.

Holy Trinity was also instrumental in creating and sustaining the Lutheran Youth Organization—NorthSide (LYONS), which combined many youth activities among as many as 10 NorthSide ELCA congregations. LYONS lasted for a generation!

In 1992 and 1993, my marriage began breaking down and ended in divorce. I was left with primary residential custody of my two sons, Peter, age six, and Andy age three. With the support of so many in the congregation—and especially of Dorothy Klefstad—I emerged from that time of difficulty. In May of 1994, I married Pastor Kathie Bender who served as an associate to Bishop Hicks. Sherman presided at our wedding and your own Pastor Mueller played trumpet! The following year, Sherman returned to serve as baptismal sponsor of our son, Jerome.

Early in 1998 I received a call from Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) to serve as their Director of Government Relations and Advocacy. I served therein various capacities for more than 18 years before returning to parish ministry.

A year after leaving Holy Trinity, when I heard that the congregation had called Pastor Craig Mueller to be its pastor, I could not have been more delighted.

Bob Buzzard (Administrative Assistant 1992- 2009)

I want to wish Holy Trinity a blessed 150th anniversary! I also want to thank Holy Trinity for its role in my life. I served as the administrative assistant for 18 years from 1992 to 2009. I was hospitalized in 1987 with optic neuritis. This left me with impaired vision and other neurological problems with my hands. I was unemployed for a number of years when Pastor Dan Schwick thought he could make a place for me to work at Holy Trinity. This was a wonderful opportunity not only because I needed employment, but because I had a lifelong desire for ministry in the church.

For the first several years I was halftime at Holy Trinity and halftime at Lakeview Lutheran. I saw the church office go from the treasurer doing hand-calculated bookkeeping to a fully automated bookkeeping system and the full automation of the congregational database. I saw the bulletin grow from a simple document with an outline of the liturgy and lessons to a full bulletin with all of the liturgy. I’ve lived through many changes in the building. I saw the change from an altar facing the wall to a freestanding altar made of the old pulpit. I saw the organ console and choir move from the east front corner to the balcony. I remember when we redecorated and fortunately had a consultant suggest that we use colors from the windows. What a difference that made, the windows became beautiful. I saw the area behind the chancel go from the church office and three large open rooms to the church office plus ten small offices with two larger office spaces.

More important than all the changes in the office and the building were the changes in the lives of people. I don’t even know where to start talking about all the individual people that I learned to know and love. Serving with Dan and then with Craig, Michelle, and David was truly a blessing.

++

Bob currently lives in a retirement community in Goshen, Indiana, and is active in both an Episcopal Parish and a Mennonite Congregation.

Pastor Dean Bard

Rememberances from January, 1981 to September, 1986 + Pastor Dean Bard

I am delighted to share a few thoughts about my first call as pastor of this historic, vibrant congregation on this August occasion. It was 15 degrees below zero the evening I was ordained at Augustana Lutheran Church in Hyde Park, Chicago, and the next week, I plunged into ministry at Holy Trinity with a warm welcome. The Lakeview community was on the cusp of regentrification. The upside: neighborhoods were being renewed and the Cubs were pressing for lights at Wrigley Field for night games, to the chagrin of the neighborhood group called “Citizens United for Baseball in Sunshine” (CUBS). The downside: many longtime residents and people of modest means were gradually forced out by “yuppies” and more prosperous folks.

In the parish, it also was time for renewal. A dedicated core of leaders was ready for change, and they gave their trust to this new pastor, for which I am grateful. Parish renewal began with worship and liturgical renewal. Weekly Eucharist was instituted, baptismal identity, preaching, lay liturgical leadership, music and choir all were freshly emphasized. At the same time, stewardship and evangelism received renewed impetus. Calling on visitors, recruiting volunteers, emphasis on community ministry—helping to launch the Lincoln-Belmont Pantry, for example—all became clear priorities. Deferred maintenance was addressed over the five subsequent years: a new roof for the church and also one for the education wing, tuckpointing, ceiling fans in the sanctuary, a wrought iron fence for the garden, new Sunday School rooms, and organ refurbishment. It was a heady time, and we were blessed. After just three short years, we could gauge solid progress: average weekly attendance moved from 70 to 100; annual giving from $34,500 to $64,000; synod benevolence from $7,500 to $13,800. Assets by the end of 1985 had grown to $401,000, even while $125,000 had been expended for capital improvements. More importantly, the spirit of the congregation was lifted by new younger members, even as longtime members opened their way. 

The most vibrant fellowship group was the “Over 50 Club” known for interesting monthly programs, luncheon outings, and an annual “Night of Games” whose proceeds supported various causes, including seminary scholarships at LSTC, given in honor of former Pastors Leas and Habig of blessed memory. The group celebrated its 20th Anniversary in the fall of 1982, recalling its beginnings with Pastor Eric Weber and five members.

Early in my tenure, it seemed a good time to celebrate the congregation’s heritage, so we picked a couple of dates from history—the 100th anniversary of the cornerstone laying of Holy Trinity on LaSalle (1882) and the 60th anniversary of the cornerstone laying of the present church (1922), not quite the nice round 150 years in existence, but these dates would do. A banquet was held on June 12, 1982 at the New Orleans Room on Damen Ave. Venerable leaders like Chester Swan, Louise Goos, and the former Pastor Paul Hegstrom brought remarks. On June 13, Bishop Paul Erickson preached and presided at the anniversary festival eucharist.

Chicago offers a wealth of educational resources. Guest preachers and teachers from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago included Philip Hefner, Joseph Sittler, Robert Conrad and Franklin Sherman. LSTC Teaching Parish Students enriched our ministry. Member Lispeth O’Dell entered seminary and became vicar at neighboring St. Luke's Church on the way to her ordination.  I remember especially an ecumenical evening upstairs in the “Ladies’ Lounge” with Bishop Erickson, Bishop Coadjutor Frank T. Griswold of the Episcopal Diocese and Father John Kevern. Griswold soon became Episcopal Bishop of Chicago and eventually Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church U.S.A. In the 1990’s, Fr. Kevern became the Dean of the (Episcopal) Bexley Hall Theological Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, located on the campus of Trinity Lutheran Seminary.

As the years went on, music remained a priority. Walt Horn was a superb organist/choir director. The Chicago Wind Quintet featuring member Gene Collerd, a professional clarinetist and music professor, offered excellent concerts at Holy Trinity. (His son Martin and family are current members of the congregation.) Most memorably, Holy Trinity, together with Resurrection Lutheran Church, held a Bach Cantata Vespers service on June 16, 1985 in honor of the 300th birthday of J. S. Bach and the 400th birthday of Heinrich Schuetz. Pastor Steve Swanson and I presided at Vespers, Larry Long of Resurrection was organist and Walt Horn directed the combined choirs in Cantata No. 172, “Erschallet, ihr Lieder!” What an evening it was! Attendance was 220 and we raised $700 for the Lincoln-Belmont Pantry, even while praising God to the rafters!

There are many people with whom I worked and prayed at Holy Trinity, a few of whom I cannot fail to mention here: Heidi Romero, an excellent church secretary and administrator; Walt Horn, organist/choir director (who also kept the grounds beautiful); Bud Stritz, property person and great all around helper; Bernice Eisentraut (who bristled when I called her a saint, but she really was an exceptional one); Louise Goos, loyal friend and a steady leader for changing times; Margaret Prafke, a true matriarch of the congregation. My final service was on September 7, 1986.

These were years of grace and blessing for Holy Trinity and those of us who served Christ through her. It is gratifying to know that Holy Trinity has continued to grow and prosper in the Lord’s service throughout these past 40 years. May God continue to bless her ministers and ministries far into God’s future. 

Dean W. Bard

October 10, 2023