Board Members

Pat Caley

President (Executive Board)
St. John’s, Springfield
pattycaley7@gmail.com

Pat is a rostered deacon in the ELCA. Though technically retired, she continues to work and volunteer and is currently preaching on a regular basis at Zion Lutheran in Farmersville. She volunteers at Blackhawk School library and St. John’s Lutheran Church hospitality team. Her passion is hosting Fair Trade Fairs wherever she’s invited to share her wares and the story of Fair Trade. She loves playing games with her grandchildren, solving puzzles, and cuddling with her three cats. She’s previously served the Central/Southern Illinois Synod Women of the ELCA as vice president, president, and mission chair, and she was chaplain for the churchwide Women of the ELCA “Pivot, Don’t Panic” leadership training.

Elaine Frerichs

Secretary (Executive Board)
Trinity, Litchfield
sefrerichs@outlook.com

Elaine is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in rural Litchfield, Illinois.  She helps coordinate the weekly services and prints the bulletin.  She is active in their Trinity women of the ELCA unit where she has served as past President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and will be serving as President for the 2022 year. She also has served as a Sunday School teacher and has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

She is employed at M&M Service Company, an agriculture supply dealer, as Precision Technology Manager.  She has had two hip replacements and praises and thanks God for the new pain free life she has been given!  She has 2 grown children, a daughter graduating college in December, and a son who just received his welding certification.  She and her husband Scott will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in December.

She is a life-long Lutheran, enjoys creative projects and looks to each day as a day to grow in Christ!

Nancy Schmidt

Treasurer (Executive Board)
Zion, Gillespie
dumez57@yahoo.com

Nancy was born in Litchfield, Illinois, and raised in Wilsonville, about five miles south of Gillespie, where she now lives. She was baptized Lutheran at her mother’s home church in Granite City.

Her father was killed on Mother’s Day 1968 when I was 10. Close friends of the family, who belonged to Zion Lutheran Church in Gillespie, suggested her mom send the three older kids to Vacation Bible School at Zion to take their minds off losing their dad and keep them occupied. That’s when they joined the congregation.

It was a life altering experience after the shock of losing a parent. Terrified someone else in her family would die, Nancy found that she still had a heavenly Father who would never leave and always take care of her. That innocence and naïveté of faith has never wavered as she was steadfast in her belief of that heavenly being continually watching over her. It was the only thing that kept ger grounded and feeling safe growing up after that and throughout her life.

Nancy met her husband, Larry, and married in August 1976 a week before moving to Washington, D.C., to take jobs with the FBI. They returned to Gillespie when Larry was invited to join the Illinois Secretary of State Police, and Nancy joined transferred to the FBI office in Springfield.

Zion is a big part of their lives. Nancy and Larry have both been Sunday School teachers, and Nancy has taught and directed VBS for many years. Larry and their son have both served as council presidents, and their youngest daughter has been on church council; their oldest daughter started playing the piano in church when she was 10 and has been the pianist since she was 17 and now also plays the organ.

Nancy retired in 2023 after 25 years working as a paralegal for a local attorney. All three of their children were baptized, confirmed, and married at Zion, and they now enjoy eight grandchildren; all but one have been baptized at Zion. Nancy has been the treasurer at Zion for 13 years — Larry lovingly says it is a life sentence!

Nancy pledges to do her best as treasurer for the C/SIS WELCA and looks forward to meeting new friends in faith.

Jill Sproat

Mission Chair
St. John’s, Springfield
jill.sproat@gmail.com

Jill is originally from Chicago and has moved around the Midwest with her husband, Gary, a retired Lutheran minister. She has a degree in health services administration from the University of Illinois. She started her career as an insurance claims supervisor, then worked for 21 years with the Illinois Department of Health in the school health program. She retired in 2019.

She currently volunteers two days a week with the St. John’s preschool class of three-year-olds. She also enjoys reading, crocheting, and traveling — they have been to Canada, Africa, and Europe, and have been on several cruises.

Jill and Gary have three sons and three grandchildren, though the ones living in Nebraska they don’t get to see enough!

Jean Scherer

Board Member At Large
Grace, Springfield
j.d.scherer2@gmail.com

Jean is a life-long Lutheran, growing up in Peoria and attending Salem Lutheran Church. Over the years, she has moved to Crystal Lake and attended Bethany Lutheran Church, and for the last 30 years, she has been a disciple at Grace Lutheran Church in Springfield.

She currently serves as the chair of Grace’s Community Ministry committee, volunteers at Grace’s food pantry, serves on the Central/Southern Illinois Synod’s Global Mission Committee, is the president of Grace’s Women of the ELCA, and is a member of Ruth Circle. She previously served the C/SIS Women of the ELCA as mission chair, president, and co-editor of the newsletter.

Jean loves to read and walk her dog Jake, and she is learning tai chi. She and her husband Randy have two sons, one living in Los Angeles and the other in Iowa.