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by Diane Strzelecki
May 2006
Debra Zara, a member of Immanuel Lutheran's Open Arms Committee, shares some thoughts about the church and its Open Arms Project.
What was your reaction to the idea of starting a child care center?
I was very excited from the beginning to start a child care center. At the time that we embarked on the Open Arms Project, my oldest child was approximately 1 year old. He has been in a child care facility since he was 3 months old. When my husband and I began searching for child care facilities in the area, it became clear very quickly that there were not a lot of high quality choices. So when I had the opportunity to be involved in buildinga childcare facility from the ground up, I was very excited to help out.
Putting your child in someone else’s care is a very difficult choice. As a parent, you should not have to compromise on the environment that your child will be in. Our community is very much in need of a loving, caring, Christian atmosphere to help raise our children.
How did you come to Immanuel Lutheran? What appealed to you?
I have been a member of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod for my entire life. I was raised in a small farming community in southern Illinois, but after college I moved to Chicago. Years later my husband and I bought a house in Morton Grove.
At that time, I began searching for a church that I could start to put roots down in again. (Prior to that I was just attending church based on where I was living at the time.) There were only two LCMS churches in the immediate vicinity of my home and I attended them both until I decided upon Immanuel.
The appeal of Immanuel was the small town community that was similar to where I was raised. In this great big city/suburbs with so many different people, Immanuel members seemed to have similar background and interests. Pastor Barber played a large role in that appeal also. Pastor Barber, his wife and family are outgoing and friendly and very down-to-earth people. They made me feel welcome immediately, as did many church members.
What do you hope to accomplish with this project?
I hope to bring a high quality, loving, Christian environment to many families in the community who are searching not only for child care, but the need to belong and participate in something that is greater than themselves. I stress community more than child care, because I think a lot of parents in the area do not have extended family or a support structure easily available to them to raise their children. I think bringing Jesus to these families will only make a stronger family and a stronger community.
And personally, I would like for my children to attend this child care center because I think that it will help me to become a better parent and a better community member and help my children to learn core, caring values that will assist in building their faith also.
How has the congregation responded to this effort?
The invested interest of the congregation is growing. It has been a challenging task to show the congregation the need for this type of facility and to portray the Open Arms message. However, I think that the challenge has made us stronger as a congregation, and has been a cornerstone for us to begin this mission. It will be a difficult mission but a very rewarding one. I personally feel obstacles in life make you stronger and more committed to life in general.
Diane Strzelecki is a People Ablaze! journalist.
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