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Dear Friends in Christ,
I remember that when I was a child I did not give the idea of living in the present moment a second thought-I just lived in the moment. But as I began to grow older and took on more responsibilities through school, work, friendships, and eventually my own family (including a small herd of four-legged friends)-it became much harder to live in the present moment. There is just so much to do as an adult! There is so much to plan for, so much to worry about, so much to accomplish, and it can be all rather exhausting.
I was reminded this past weekend of how important it is to live in the present moment. At the convention of the Diocese of Chicago my family and I attended the gala event on Friday evening for the first time. This party not only has great food and drinks, there is a wide open dance floor. The kids got the party started-living in the present moment as always-and danced with wild abandon. Pretty soon the grown-ups joined in too. Have you ever seen several dozen Episcopalians cut a rug? It's quite an event to experience! And experience it we did. We danced the night away (until 830PM, since two of us are only five years old) and we didn't worry about a thing. We were fully embodied and living in the joy of the moment-the music, the movement, the smiles, the laughter, the awkwardness, the grace, the beauty of the dance.
On November 27, 2011 we will again enter the cycle of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with the celebration of the first Sunday of Advent-new year's day in the liturgical life of the Church. We enter Advent with anticipation for the arrival of our fully embodied God in the face of the Christ child on Christmas. We will carry the holy child-God incarnate, fully human and fully divine-with us into Epiphany. There we will come to know this wondrous gift of new life in Christ through the stories of his life among us, as one of us, sharing our human nature and granting us his divine Love. In Jesus we have received the precious gift of life, forever; a life that shines brightly with his light for all the world to see.
And yet for many this time of year is one in which it can be painful to live in the present moment. Although spiritually we are remembering the gift of peace and joy in Christ, emotionally we are weighed down by the concerns of everyday life multiplied by the stresses of holiday gatherings, the pressures around gift buying, eating too much, and the unpleasant reminder of the reality of winter in Northern Illinois. We place high expectations on ourselves and on those we love to make this Christmas perfect, and that often makes us feel perfectly awful.
The thing is, we don't have to make Christmas perfect-God has already made it perfect through the incarnation-through the gift of Jesus the Son. And as painful as it may be to live in the present moment from time to time, this is never a journey that we make alone-Jesus, the fully embodied Son of God walks beside us. His Spirit abides with our spirit. His love abides in our love. Our Blue Christmas service on Wednesday evening December 7th is a quiet space St. Paul's is providing in the midst of the "holiday season" for us to reconnect to this perfect Love. (If you are stressed in December, this designated time and space of quietness and contemplation is for you!)
This "holiday season" I'm going to live in the present moment. I'm going to remember the joy of the dance, and improvise a few new moves along the way. I know I will not be able to avoid some of the lesser joys of the seasons-family drama, sticker shock at the local shops, and general fatigue at the thought of trudging through three months of snow. But I also know that God is with me, with you, and with everyone I encounter through the miraculous grace of the incarnation. Jesus is coming, again. And I don't want to waste another moment following distractions; I want to dance in this moment with the Christ child today.
Peace, Joy, and Blessings,
Rev. Stacy+
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Kids, mark your calendars! St. Nicholas Sunday is coming soon!
 We will be celebrating the feast of St.
Nicholas at our 10:30 A.M. service on
Sunday, December 4, 2011, with a
children's sermon and a celebration of Holy Baptism. Come and hear the story about the original Santa Claus. Everyone is invited to bring a new unwrapped toy to fill St. Nicholas' sack--which will be delivered to the Toys for Tots collection at the Salvation Army in DeKalb. "Mighty" boxes for collecting coins to benefit children's ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem will also be distributed. A coin a day in the "Mighty" Box reminds us of the true reason for the season--the arrival of the Christ child for the healing of the world. We will gather in the Mighty Boxes on Thursday, January 5th at another family friendly worship event on the feast of the Epiphany. Discover more about St. Nicholas at The St. Nicholas Center.
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2010 St. Nicholas Sunday sermon
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It's Party Time!
St. Nicholas Party: Social Event for Adults
The annual St.Nicholas party is coming up on Saturday, December 3rd, 6:00-10:00 PM. Jane and George Nenonen have generously offered to host this festive adult gathering once again at their clubhouse. They will provide hot cider, coffee, and water. Please bring along your favorite holiday nosh or nibble to share, and if you wish, you may bring another beverage of choice, and join in the fun. The address of the clubhouse is 2129 Waterbury Lane.
Directions:
Coming from DeKalb, head east on Bethany Road past Peace Road. The entrance to the complex is not very well marked; it's dark, no street light, but it is just past the big white farm house on the south side of Bethany.
Coming from Sycamore, take Somonauk to Bethany and then west on Bethany. The entrance is on the south side of Bethany, just past a row of houses on the north. |
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B.U.N.S. (Baking Up Nice Surprises)
 The winter B.U.N.S. (Baking Up Nice Surprises) delivery in coming up soon, and DeKalb County Hospice (DCH) would appreciate your help. Three times a year, many of you prepare baked goods for hospice patients and bereaved families. When DCH receives your cookies, fresh fruit, candies, breads, etc., a group of volunteers makes up gift bags filled with a variety of the goodies for hospice families. DCH usually delivers around 140 bags each time, and the gifts are much appreciated by the people who receive them. To meet the next delivery, your items may be dropped off at the church kitchen on Sunday, December 4,2011. If possible, please wrap baked goods in small zip-lock plastic bags. This really helps the volunteers who pack the gifts. If you have any questions or you'd like more information, contact Sharon Dowen at (815) 759-1278. She will deliver all the baked goods, fruit, and other items from St Paul's to the DeKalb County Hospice office on Monday, December 5th.
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St. Paul's Offers a service for a "Blue Christmas" on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 7 P.M.
Sometimes we tend to forget that the holidays are not so "happy" for everyone. We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything and forget that many are grieving the loss of someone special. This year, St. Paul's will host our Blue Christmas service on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. Everyone is welcome to stay afterwards for light refreshments and conversation. All parishioners and friends are invited to attend!
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Don't Forget, Sunday, December 11th is our last Food Pantry Sunday of 2011!
 Let's go out with a bang! Our last Food Pantry Sunday for 2011 will be on Sunday, December 11, 2011.
St. Paul's has been generous with its donations in the past. However, we encourage parishioners to consider making more consistent contributions. If you forget to bring your offering on Food Pantry Sunday (Second Sunday of each month), just bring your food any time and place it in one of the baskets. This is a ministry that St. Paul's can grow and it really does not have to cost anyone a lot of money. Please consider bringing some contribution, no matter how small. If you don't have time to shop, drop a designated donation for the Food Pantry by the parish office or in the collection plate and we will shop for you.
Remember, a big part of our Christian action in living into the mission or the Church is to help those less fortunate than we are.
The Second Sunday of each month we offer our donations to the food pantry before the altar at the Holy Eucharist. Non-perishable food items (no glass jars, please) and monetary donations can be dropped off on any Sunday, or at the parish office Monday through Thursday, 9AM-2PM. For further information please contact Pat and Vince at (815) 758-1575. |
Salvation Army Community Wide Thanksgiving Meal Program Update
St. Paul's made a major impact in this years' Community-Wide Thanksgiving Meal Program. Maureen Gerrity delivered 13 baskets to the Salvation Army and submitted a $50 donation from a member of the congregation (toward a complete basket), last week. The gentleman at the Salvation Army that helped Maureen unload the baskets had high praise for St. Paul's for our food donations throughout the year and for the volunteer hours our members have been serving each week. We would like to say a great big thank you to everyone for your abundant generosity!
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Adopt a Family at Safe Passage this Christmas!
 You may not have known this but one of our very own parishioners, Janie Torma, founded the Safe Passage shelter here in DeKalb. For several years, at Christmastime, St. Paul's have adopted individuals and families who reside at the Safe Passage shelter. We purchase what the adopted individual and/or family needs. Whether it is clothing and shoes or health and hygiene products, we meet their particular need. Stay tuned for more news and information about this special opportunity to give back to those who are less fortunate than ourselves. |
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Christmas Flower Donations
 Send your Christmas flower memorials and thanksgivings in today! The flowers that are on the altar each week are provided by the generous donations of our parishioners. You can sign up, for any Sunday, to dedicate flowers in memory of someone or in thanksgiving of someone or something. We are accepting donations for Christmas flowers now through Sunday, December 18, 2011. Please write "Christmas Flowers" in the memo of your check. You may place these in the collection plate. For other Sundays stop by the parish hall and sign up on the flower sign up sheet, if you would like to give flowers. Please send your Christmas flower memorials to Satomi in the parish office or call her at (815) 756-4888. |
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Christmas Party for Children and Friends
Sunday, December 18th
 Kids, it is your turn to have some fun! Our children's Christmas party is scheduled for Sunday, December 18, 2011. It will be held in the parish hall immediately following the 10:30 A.M. Eucharist and Children's Choir Rehearsal. For
more information, please contact the parish office at (815) 756-4888.
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Adult Christian Education: Dec. 2011/Jan. 2012
Our Adult Sunday School has been engaged in a numerous topics of faith so far this year. Our upcoming studies for the month's of December and January include: December 4: "Reclaiming Christmas" December 11: "Accounts of Jesus Birth" Part 1 December 18: "Accounts of Jesus Birth" Part 2 January 1: "New Year's Resolutions" January 8: "What Happens When We Sin?" January 15: "What Happens When We Pray?" January 22: "Celtic Christianity" Look for more news of our upcoming Sunday morning studies in 2012! |
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St. Paul's Stewardship Season of Thanksgiving Report
St. Paul's official Season of Thanksgiving is now complete however the work of the ministry continues. We had 32 individuals and families make pledge commitments to the annual fund for the 2012 year. We also had a few individuals and families who turned in their time/talent cards. We would like to thank all of our parishioners for making this Season of Thanksgiving a success! If you have not turned in your pledge card yet, please do so at your earliest convenience as we make our plans for mission and ministry in 2012. Questions? Please contact Rev. Stacy or our treasurer, Pat Brown. |
Advent Open House at the Rectory
Sunday, December 11, 2011 Parishioners and friends of all ages are invited to visit Reverend Stacy and Reverend Rich, Rowan & Oscar at the Rectory (located directly behind St. Paul's) from 4 - 6 P.M. on Sunday, December 11th. You don't need to bring anything except yourselves! Stop in for a chat and a snack. |
Christmas Eve Services:
Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 4:00 & 6:00 P.M.
 Mark your calendars and be sure to join us on Christmas Eve! St. Paul's will celebrate Christmas Eve with two services on Saturday, December 24, 2011 at 4:00 & 6:00 P.M. The earlier service is a child centered, family friendly service that is shorter than a typical Sunday service. Our later service will feature the St. Paul's Adult and Youth Choir and may be more to the liking of some adults. There will be light refreshments served following both services. Join us, and bring your friends! |
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Christmas Day Celebration
Sunday, December 25, 2011 at 10:30 A.M.
 Come out and join us as we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ!There will only be one service on Christmas Day at 10:30 A.M. on Sunday, December 25, 2011. Everyone is invited to dress casually (children are welcome in their pajamas). Children are also invited to bring a new toy or gift for a blessing. A festive coffee hour will follow in the parish hall. Questions? Contact the parish office or Rev. Stacy for more information. |
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St. Paul's Music Ministry Notes
The Children's Choir will lead the singing of We Three Kings for both the Christmas Eve (12-24-2011) 4:00 PM and the Epiphany (01-05-2012) 5:30 PM services. Learning materials for We Three Kings can be found on our websites Children's Choir page. Also, the combined talents of the Adult/Youth & Children's Choirs will lead the singing for the Epiphany service.
In addition to songs for the Christmas season, the Children's Choir is also working on several songs using sign language. We are very appreciative to haveSue Ouellette teaching us sign language and sharing her incredible spirit. The kids love her! Thank You, Ms. Sue
The Adult/Youth Choir is preparing for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Some of the beautiful music these awesome volunteers are rehearsing for the Sunday 10:30 AM services include: Becki Slago Mayo's Light An Advent Candle along with a new St. Nicholas hymn for 12-4, Franz Schubert's Ave Maria for 12-18, and several others. For Christmas Eve's 6:00 PM service, we will sing some seasonal favorites that include: Carol of the Bells, Lo how a Rose e'er blooming and Silent Night. We are also excited about sharing some beautiful new music by composers: Michael Praetorius, Philip Gordon and Johannes Brahms, during the Epiphany season.
Visit our church websites Art-Music-Theatre page to see how some of our parishioner's engage in the arts, share their talents and the spirit of St. Paul's in the surrounding communities. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from all the Artists and Musicians at St. Paul's!
Music in the Community:
Check for concerts in the community on our church website. We often have several links to music organizations websites that are giving concerts. One of these is the Northern Illinois University music departments live webcast page.
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Volunteers Needed for our Sunday School Ministry!
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We need the following volunteers
for our Sunday School ministry.
Please let us know if you can help!
Door Person: This person helps
the children "get ready to learn"
before they enter the Godly Play
classroom and during the lesson, if
needed. They also assist the
children in getting and putting
away their "work" and prepare the
"feast" (a snack and drink) for the
group. 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. on the
Sunday mornings you choose to serve. If you are interested or would like more information, contact Julie Stubblefield at (815) 793-4585. A brief training is provided.
Artists / Crafters / Woodworkers / Knitters / Quilters: The cost of one Godly Play weekly lesson for two classrooms ranges from $40 - $600 if purchased from the website. In order to conserve our resources, we choose to make as many of the materials that we can ourselves for a fraction of the cost. By volunteering your talents, you are helping to create memorable stories for the children and allowing more stories to be told. Materials are provided. If you are interested or would like more information, contact Maureen Gerrity at (815) 895-8084. |
Epiphany Celebration and Dinner
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 5:30PM
Mark your calendars to join us for our Epiphany service and dinner! St. Paul's will hold an Epiphany service on Thursday, January 5, 2012. This service will be kid and family friendly, much like our 4:00 P.M. Christmas Eve service. There will be a dinner following the service. Please contact the parish office at (815) 756-4888, for more information.
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The Great Awakening: A Different Road Home
Epiphany 2012
On January 6th 2012 we will be celebrating Epiphany as the larger Diocese of Chicago at an event co-sponsored by Seabury Next (formerly Seabury Western Theological Seminary). From 7-9:30PM on Friday, January 6th will be a worship event to inspire us to imagine the church of the future. The conversation will continue on Saturday morning (January 7) with conversations led by keynote speakers Bishop Jeff Lee, notable emergent church author and pastor Brian McLaren, and Church historian Diana Butler Bass. More information can be found at the Seabury Next website. A group from St. Paul's is being organized to attend this event being held at the Crown Plaza Hotel O'Hare in Rosemont. Contact Rev. Stacy as soon as possible if you would like to attend.
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Diocesan Convention Highlights
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Prayer List Changes
We will be refreshing the prayer list for the Sunday worship bulletins starting on December 25th. Please contact Satomi at the parish office (815) 756-4888, to inform her of any changes that you would like to make (i.e. adding or removing people from the list).
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October Vestry Meeting Highlights
The Vestry Meeting for the month of October was held on Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 12:00 P.M. Appreciations were given to the basement committee for all their hard work; to the parish members; to all who worked on the basement and the roof; to the members of the building & grounds committee; to God for no water coming in to the church; and to the Roberts family for their gift to the endowment fund.
Buldings & Grounds Updates: After receiving a high bid from a contractor the buildings & grounds committee regarding the roof leak near the pulpit the committee decided to do the repairs themselves.
Treaurer Update: Pat Brown discussed the percentage of the 2011 operating budget spent. There have been 74% of budgeted receipts taken in with 3/4 of the year complete. We also received the final installment from the Roberts family to the St. Paul's Endowment Fund. There was concern expressed that pledges were a little lower than expected at this time of year.
Outreach & Mission Update: St. Paul's has adopted the first Thursday of every month to serves as volunteers at the Salvation Army food pantry.
Music Ministries Updates: Music Director, Lorraine Langer, continues to invite musicians in the parish to participate in leading worship with the choir. The children's choir has many young children singing. Rochelle Cripe and Sue Ouellette have assisted in teaching new music and movement. Lorraine will also be meeting with a specialist from NIU regading assisted hearing devices for the sanctuary. Sermons have been recorded successfully and are being made available on cd and through our website.
Stewardship Update: A draft of the stewardship letter was submitted to the vestry and discussion followed. Letter to be sent the following week.
Rector's Report: We will be having 2 baptisms before the end of 2011. One new family has transfered their membership from another parish and diocese. Rev. Stacy will be meeting with the children and youth Sunday school teachers to discuss liturgies and events coming up in December and January. Godly Play classes are going very well.
St. Paul's Endowment Fund Committee met on November 1, 2011.
Vestry meetings are held on every third Sunday. The next Vestry meetings to be held will be on Sunday, December 18, 2011 and Sunday, January 15, 2012.
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Birthdays and Anniversaries
December Birthdays January Birthdays
3- Ava Stubblefield 6-Luke Stubblefield
4- Ken Waltzek 6-Joseph Newport
4- Katie Ubik 10- Lynn Roberts
6- Ellen Anderson 12- Nora Lindvall
7- Betsy Pool 15- Janice Larson
18- Larry Retherford 27- Michael Duffy
18- Rev. Rich Frontjes 28- Jane DeGolier
22- Michael Ouellette
27- Andrew Cripe
30- Robert Brown
December Anniversaries
13- Terry & Jackie Dickow
16- Scott & Victoria Newport
22- Rob & Peggy Russell
23- Robert & Marguerite Harkness
30- Larry & Hazel Retherford
January Anniversaries
21- George & Jane Nenonen
26- Dan & Janice Guiborat
28- Al & Peggy Newby
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Other Happenings at the Church of St. Paul
St. Nicholas Party: Saturday, December 3, 2011 from 6-10 PM
St. Nicholas Sunday: Sunday, December 4, 2011: 8AM Holy Eucharist, 1030AM Holy Baptism and Children's Sermon
Blue Christmas: Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Advent Open House at the Rectory:
Sunday, Dec. 11 from 4-6 PM
Children's Christmas Party: Sunday, December 18, 2011 at 12:00PM (after Children's Choir rehearsal)
December Vestry Meeting: Sunday, December 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Christmas Eve Services: Saturday, December 24 at 4:00 & 6:00 PM
Christmas Day Service: Sunday, December 25, 2011 at 10:30 AM
St. Paul's Endowment Committee Meeting: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Annual Meeting: Sunday, January 29, 2012 Time: TBA
Sundays: Holy Eucharist Rite I 8:00 AM, Holy Eucharist Rite II (with music) 10:30 AM. Sunday School (All ages) 9:30AM. Childcare 9:15AM-11:45AM.
Rector's Discretionary Fund Collection: First Sunday of every month.
Food Pantry Offering: Second Sunday of every month.
Holy Eucharist with Healing Prayers: Wednesdays at 9:30 AM (Meets in the Parish Hall in during the winter).
Adult Choir Rehearsal: Thursdays from 7:00-8:30 PM.
Children's Choir Rehearsal: Sundays from 11:45AM-12:00PM
Parish Office Hours: Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM-2:00 PM.
Note to all of our Readers: Please remember that you can prepare ahead for all Sunday morning and special services by visiting http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/ We are in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary Cycle.
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The Episcopal Church of St. Paul Contact Information
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