Mike Lelm

2016 Congregational Chairman

Mike is married to Kathy (a teacher at Christ Lutheran) since 1974…He was baptized the night of their wedding rehearsalat Christ.

Mike was raised in public housing by his divorced mom,who worked as alaundress to support the fami y. She sow the need to send her chi dren to Sunday School. He gives credit to Kathy and the Roth family for coming to faith at Christ Lutheran.

Mike has just begun his retirement from Caterpillar and plans to spend his time with family and friends as well as serving in various capacities here at church. Ask him about his special ‘road trip’.

When asked where he sees our church in 5 years and beyond,he responds that he thinks that we willbe able to mainta n our membership,mostly through family generations,continuing to be a beacon to others on Peoria’s South Side.

Favorite hymn…..HOW GREAT THOU ART (always brings a tear) Favorite Bible passage….Isaiah 41:10 FEAR NOT

RaeAnne Laylock

RaeAnn is our “go to” lady at Christ Lutheran..she has chaired MANY boards over the years and currently is on the Anniversary Committee,plays MANY bells in the Bell Choir and serves our neighborhood on the Adopt A Block group.

Walt & RaeAnn were married in 1977. His family were members at CLC & that’s how she came to be a member,bringing her parents, Darlene & Ray Marvel here. Ray was baptized at Christ in 1984,after granddaughter Cassie was baptized in 1982.

RaeAnn & Walt lived in Switzerland 3 years & Decatur, L another 14 yrs. before moving back. She taught dance for 30 years. (Ask to see some of her moves!!) She keeps busy these days with her 2 daughters and their 6 children.

A treasured memory is hearing her grandmother playing “What A Friend We Have n Jesus” on the piano (but not too well}, which is now one of her favorite hymns.

Kathy & Jeff Otten

Kathy ‘s Great Grandparents were founding members of Christ Lutheran!! Their grandsons are 6th generation family members. Jeff was raised Pentecostal & became a member with Kathy in 1994. There is hardly a board or activity that one or the other hasn ‘t been involved with. Currently you can see Jef f playing guitar in the Praise Band…however,ask him about playing w ith the Samaritans some years ago…. They met whi le riding up and dow n Main Street….the hangout f or high school kids back in the day!!! A nd here they are together after 38 years of marriage, 3 kids and 2 grandsons.

Bucket list for Kathy…riding a horse! Jeff was a “cowboy” at 9 yrs. old and had several horses at a young age. Then he sw itc hed to motor­cycles for a while. Now they enjoy camping in their “house on wheels”.

Both have a great interest in studying the Bible f rom the Jewish per­spective…an interest sparked by a study with Pastor Schudde of Ray Vander Loan DVD’s. They took a f ield tr ip w ith about 10 others f rom CLC to see RVL in perso n, which sparked an even greater interest.

They both feel our church needs to f ollow God’s plan to grow whether it be in our present location or another.

Favor ite Bible passage: K – Deut. 3 1:8 J – Mat. 6 :33-34 Favor ite Hymn:K-Holy, Holy, Holy J -The Lamb

Dustin & Stephanie Rewinkel

Dustin, the oldest of 4 kids hails from Nebraska. Stephanie, also the oldest with 1 brother, is a woman of the world, coming from an Air Force family that moved several times, currently living in Delaware. They married 7 years ago right before graduating from pharmacy school. They both currently work nights for Walgreens.

They became aware of Christ Lutheran through Matthew Schneider. Our traditional look and rites appealed to them, although they enjoy the contemporary services and praise band. Most recently they have init iated a Young Adult Sunday School class held on the 3 1/2 f loor of the Parish Hall. Subject is “How We Got The Bible” with 2 – 7 attending classes. They usually attend second service, sometimes coming right from work!!

A few years ago, they were involved in the “Couples Dinners” held at rotating homes w ith 3 couples, and wou ld like to see a reprise of that activity. In travels around the US & visiting various churches, they have experienced various ways of provid ing a welcoming atmosphere & look forward to includ ing newcomers in worship& SS classes by personal invitation. They have a refreshing attitude and way of looking at old issues in a new way!

Stephanie enjoys how Bible verses always f it her changing needs as lif e progresses. Dustin finds Proverbs has words of wi0sdom in all circumstances. Both enjoy Praise Band especially “10,000 Reasons”. Also the old favorite “Rock of Ages” and the stories of how the traditional hymns came to be written.

Charlotte Sparks

Charlotte is the third generation in the Marx family to be members of Christ Lutheran. She is the oldest, with 3 brothers. She was baptized here & conf irmed in 1960. She walked to school at CLS f rom 1st to 8th grade, living on the south side unti l high school. As a young child, she attended Camp Cilca, and was very homesick that week! More recent ly she went to a hog roast there and had a much more enjoyable time. Her uncle Herbert Gregor made the original storm windows for the church, which may still be hidden behind walls!

Quilting is one of Charlotte’ s passions, both at home and with others at LWML. She and husband of 29 years, Don, have helped with VBS and are both active in Senior Club, Charlotte serving as secretary.

Her time serving on the School Board was interrupted when she suf fered a broken bock several years ago. Although Don is not a member, he had started attending Sunday school with Charlotte 10 years ago when she was unable to drive because of illness and continues to this day. They both enjoy the smaller group and more in depth study that Su nday school af fords. Lif elight Bible Study with Pastor Frazell has also been a pleasure.
Helping with LWML’s Annual Cookie Walk and doing Braille work at Trin ity Lutheran Church are some of her regu lar activities as well.

Although changi ng to a Method ist Church with her mom in earlier years, Charlotte has always felt that Christ Lutheran is her “home” and was happy to return nearly 25 years ago. One of her favorite hymns is Amazing Grace. Favorite Bible verses are Psalm 23.

Jana & Luke Grebe

Jana became a member of Christ Lutheran about 2 1/ 2 years ago. She met Luke as a 1st grader in Germantown Hills Elementary School…he tried to ignore her for a few years. But, as teenagers, Luke invited Jana to go rock climbing with the youth group in Bloomi ngton, which prompted some curiosity about Luke’ s church on her part. Luke came to Christ Lutheran as an inf ant with his family.

They were married recently at our altar, and if you were there, you know Luke was unable to keep the joy f rom his face as he waited for his bride to come down the aisletl Jana graduated from SU in December with a degree in Interpersonal Communications. She hopes to someday further her education with seminary training and become a deaconess in the Lutheran Church. Luke will graduate f rom Bradley in May with a degree in Game Design,minor in Computer Science.He has already designed some small games and enjoys using his imagination to engage others in alternate realities.

Jana has come to appreciate the theology of Lutherans and likes being involved at church.She would like to be involved in more community outings….church picnic ,perhaps a concert in the park…Luke has been singing bass in the choir,and Jana has recently been comi ng to practice on Wednesdays too. Both are encouraged to become active in many facets of our church lif e and service.They enjoy the outdoors, spending time exploring many area parks.

Creativity is a big part of their lif e together; telling stories, making drawings, creating poetry.
Favorite hymns: Luke “‘ Am Jesus ‘ Little Lamb…Jana “‘ Thy Strong Word. Bible Verse: Luke “‘ Gospel of John…Jana “‘ Psalm 51:10