October 2021 Vineyard

“getting to know you”
Matt and Faith Greising
I am Matt Greising. My wife, Faith, and I have been
members at St. Marks since 2003, and I now serve on
Church Council. From my very first visit to this day, I
have always been grateful to the people I have met
here.
I was born and raised in Chicago. Faith and I have
been married for 39 years. We moved from Chicago to
Aurora in 1988 and raised three daughters. Adrianna
lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, James,
and their children, Carl and Ada. Marika lives in Oak
Park with her husband,
Whitney, and their son, Axel.
Our youngest, Selena, lives in
Tokyo and works a few jobs,
including teaching English in
a two-year college, singing
songs to children, and leading
guided bike tours of Tokyo
(well, not since COVID).
My formative years were
spent in the far Northwest
corner of Chicago. Much
of my time during the high
school years was spent sailing
Lake Michigan with my Sea Scout unit, Privateer. We
were fortunate to have a 40-foot ketch rig that had
been donated to scouting. A typical weekend was
spent sailing across Lake Michigan to Benton Harbor
or Michigan City. On a clear night, the sky over Lake
Michigan is amazing. There are stars all the way down
to the horizon. Of course, on a stormy night you
shivered through your midnight to four a.m. watch,
wrapped in soggy foul-weather gear and trying to hold
a steady course in five-foot seas.
I graduated from Lane Tech and, after a less than stellar
year in college, entered an apprenticeship program
and became a machinist. I have worked in a variety of
industrial settings, including steel mills, fastener plants,
electronics assembly and plastic molding.
Faith and I met in my parents’ basement on
Thanksgiving. Fact: I rearranged the name cards at
the Thanksgiving cinner table so Faith and I would sit
together. I returned to school for a degree in electrical
engineering. While at school, I ran a video-editing suite
and did tech support for professors in the College
of Education. The experience I gained working in the
College of Education led to a job in a large accounting
firm, where I developed
computer-based training for
the company. During my 20+
year career there, I moved
through many different jobs.
Faith was teaching when I met
her and, when our oldest was
born, stepped away from the
classroom to stay home and
be mom. When our youngest
began school, Faith went
back to school with her… as
a teacher. Though Faith has
now retired as a fifth-grade
teacher, she goes back once in a while to substitute and
still loves working with kids.
I manage to keep busy with a variety of interests. You’ll
see me around church in the handbell choir or at the
sound desk. I have been house captain for Rebuilding
Together Aurora. I volunteer as a set builder for the Fox
Valley Park District. I have been an avid cyclist for many
years and still enjoy getting out on the road or on the
single track. Faith and I have a tandem and frequently
hit the trails. We recently acquired a small camper and
have really enjoyed exploring the surrounding area. We
take our tandem camping with us when we know there
are interesting trail systems nearby.
St. Mark’s
Lutheran Church
Aurora, Illinois
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