Holy Week 2026
At Shepherd of the Prairie
10805 Main St. Huntley, IL 60142
Easter 2026
The Courage to Stay Close
During the season of Easter we are doing a little thematic programming that we want to share with you. Below is the proposed theme for each week.
April 5 – Matthew 28:1-10 – Resurrection Sunday (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb)
Theme: The Courage to stay close to the place marked by grief, loss, and confusion
Easter begins-not with certainty, but with people who choose to stay close.
April 12 – John 20:19–31 (Doubting Thomas) – Easter 2
Theme: The Courage to Stay Close to Doubt
Even in fear, locked doors, and unanswered questions, Jesus comes near. Thomas reminds us that doubt doesn’t disqualify—it can deepen faith when we stay close long enough to encounter Christ.
April 19 – Luke 24:13–35 (Road to Emmaus) – Easter 3
Theme: The Courage to Stay Close on the Journey
Jesus walks with us even when we don’t recognize him. Staying close means continuing the journey, trusting that Christ is present in conversation, Scripture, and the breaking of bread.
April 26 – John 10:1–1 – Easter 4
Theme: The Courage to Stay Close to the Shepherd’s Voice
In a world of competing voices, staying close requires discernment. We learn to recognize, trust, and follow the voice that leads to life.
May 3 – John 14:1–14 – Easter 5
Theme: The Courage to Stay Close When the Future Feels Uncertain
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Jesus calls us to trust even when the path ahead is unclear, reminding us that closeness to him anchors us in hope.
May 10 – John 14:15–21 (Mother’s Day) – Easter 6
Theme: The Courage to Stay Close in Love That Remains
Love is not distant—it abides. This text beautifully connects to the nurturing, enduring, presence-centered love we often celebrate on Mother’s Day: a love that stays.
May 17 – John 17:1–11 (Jesus’ Prayer) LSSI Sunday – Easter 7
Theme: The Courage to Stay Close as One
Jesus prays for unity—“that they may be one.” Staying close includes remaining connected to one another, reflecting God’s love through community.
Prairie Pointe Quilters
You Are Welcome to Join Us
Here we go again – we’re starting all over again. Slow but sure, we have six quilts done. 
After we had the quilts dedicated, packed up and driven to the warehouse, we took about seven quilts to Turning Point. They were thrilled to receive them and took our picture with one as seen here.
You can have fun and join us the first and third Tuesday of each month at 9:00.
Contact: Bev Kenny at krkbjk@comcast.net
Staff & Council
Information
Confirmation Weekend at LOMC
We had a great weekend of fellowship and learning at Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center the weekend of November 22nd!
The theme of the weekend was “The World Around Us” and we discussed the natural area around LOMC and also talked about our global neighbors in faith. Saturday was filled with worship, team building games, an Eco of the Cross hike, a campfire worship with smores…and a little bit of stargazing!
Women's Coffee
& More
The woman’s coffee group meets on Fridays at 10:00 am at the Huntley McDonalds near Walmart in Huntley. 
There is no need to register or let anyone know if you are coming or not and you can come any time.
We have also been going to lunch at 12:00 on the second Tuesday of the month at a variety of local restaurants. On Nov. 11 we went to DC Cobbs. We have also gone to Papa G’s and The Village Inn and continue to try new places.
This is a picture of the group when we participated in the Trunk or Treat activity for Halloween. We all dressed up
and decorated our car—we saw lots of kids and had a couple of games for the children. It was a lot of fun.
Please join us! See you soon!
Contact: Phyllis Thomson at phyllisthomson@aol.com
Lent Offerings
Distribution
During our upcoming Lenten offering season, SOTP collections will be distributed to the following three charities evenly. Your generosity is truly appreciated.
1) Mercy Ships: Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to provide essential medical services off the coasts of West African nations. SOTP supports efforts through periodic donations.
2) Feed My Starving Children: Feed My Starving Children’s mission is feeding God’s starving children. SOTP supports efforts by periodic donations and organizing volunteer sessions to pack meals at their Schaumburg location.
3) Habitat for Humanity: SOTP is part of the New Hope Partnership which consists of churches in Elgin, Dundee and Huntley helping to build homes in the northern Fox valley for those in need. SOTP supports efforts by periodic donations and volunteering at on-site work sessions.
Contact: John Witt, Mission Team at john_witt@outlook.com
Prayer Chain
Submit requests to: www.bit.ly/SOTPpray 
Join the chain & pray for others, email your request to Donna Kelly at donna@sotpmail.com
Missionary Note
From Tanzania
The All-Africa Youth Congress gathers in Nairobi, with the theme “Africa: My home, my future.” A delegation of 11 African diaspora 
young adults from the ELCA will attend. To show what it means to bring young people together like this, I talked with a friend, Ola Mohamed (pictured), who attended the 2022 event. To read more on this, go online to: www.bit.ly/SOTPmission102025
Church Cooperation:
ELCA is not alone among Lutheran mission agencies from the global North. Several northern European countries also have them. In this era, mission agencies who are engaged in working with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania pool some of their funds for common interest in serving with the Tanzanian church. Much of those funds go to pastors’ scholarships and vehicles for dioceses. Another function is as a clearinghouse for bilateral funds so that we can know who is funding what. This transparency is like an alarm for inequitable partnerships, where a few churches would get most of the external funding.
In Tanzania, one of the biggest such meetings of the year happened Oct 2-3 in Shinyanga. It is called the Lutheran Mission Cooperation Roundtable, where the European partners, ELCA, ELCT national staff, and bishops from all 28 ELCT dioceses get together. Since 2024 I have held ELCA’s spot on the LMC board, which makes policies for fund usage and oversees the secretariat that handles the daily administrative work.
For the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, Joint Mission Cooperation Kenya has a similar function, though since KELC is a much smaller church, JMCK is a much smaller operation. Together with Kenyan and German partners, we had our annual meeting in Nairobi the last week of September.
Pray for us! Also pray for the lives and ministries of our dear companions in East Africa and beyond.
(Taken from Msseemmaa’s Mission Update as ELCA East Africa Regional Representatives)
Contact: Steve Legel at sjvet@yahoo.com
Prayer Shawl Ministry
Shawls are Free, Donations Appreciated
We hope you were able to attend the recent services where the Prayer Shawls were placed on the back of the pews. Thank you for giving them your blessing, and for keeping them from slipping & sliding! 
The shawls are knitted or crocheted in the shape of a triangle or rectangle in many different colors and textures. We make them for you to give to those who need some comfort and joy. Please help yourself to a shawl on either “shawl rack” or in the upper cabinet A at the end of the ministry hall. We don’t ask for anything in return, they are free for you to take and share.
We would like to invite you to come “Shawl” with us! If you’re a beginner, an experienced “needle meister”, or willing to learn, please join us!
We meet in the Library the 2nd Thursday each month at 9 a.m.
Contact: Elizabeth Trout etrout411@comcast.net