|
|
News from The Episcopal Church of St. Paul  October 2012 |
|
Dear Friends,
As October draws near I am thoroughly enjoying the cooler mornings running with my faithful friend, Copper. Copper and I have a special bond. I feed him, discipline him, cuddle him, push him away, walk him, throw balls for him, get tired of throwing the ball for him, and occasionally find him to be a little needy and annoying. But Copper always loves me, unconditionally, doesn't matter if I'm having a good day or not. We have a great little community of love going on between the two of us, and while I can't speak for Copper, I do find in our relationship a reflection of the unconditional love God has for both of us.
 As you might have guessed, Copper is my dog. And while I can always count on him to be utterly devoted to me (particularly if I'm holding that aforementioned tennis ball) he isn't much of a conversation partner. I am certain that in his own doggie way Copper knows our Creator, but he doesn't offer much in the way of spiritual conversation and prayer.
Rev. Stacy's letter continues below... |
|
|
|
|
As much as we may adore our pets, people need people. We need the friendship and companionship of other people. We need the encouragement of our friends. And from time to time we need our friends to lovingly and bravely tell us when we are wrong. Encouragement and accountability are hallmarks of the lived spirituality of a Christian community.
On the first Sunday of October we will gather for our 4th Annual Pet Blessing bringing along our faithful animal friends. We will ask God's blessing on our pets. The dogs will have a good time as always, the cats-not so much. But really the ones who will have the most fun will be the people who come together to celebrate the community of love and friendship we find here at St. Paul's. And for that act of hospitality and Christ-like love I give thanks to God for each and every one of you.
The Peace of Christ be with you always,
Rev. Stacy+ |
 From the Senior Warden, Michael Duffy
Last month, I wrote about a phenomenon that struck me about this fall: the start of school and our concern for children. This month, I will expand on the idea of our concern for children. Children in our community and world are born into the conditions of their parents. Some children are born into safe and secure conditions, and some are born into the conditions of poverty and insecurity. In both cases, these situations are accidental - at least for the children born into them. We were all once children too, and our circumstances were no less accidental.
The Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer identifies lay persons as first among the ministers of the Church, followed by bishops, priests, and deacons (p. 855). Since there are far more of us than there are our ordained brothers and sisters, it is crucial that we live our ministry. Our ministry, as outlined in the Catechism, is "to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever [we] may be; and, according to the gifts given [us], to carry on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and to take [our] place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church" (p. 855).
To me, this means we are called to speak up when we see problems with the conditions in which children live. Safety and security are precious, and when they are compromised, the humanity of our children is diminished. If you see something wrong, please point it out. Contact the authorities who can make a difference, whether they are local or school officials, state representatives, or your congressperson or senator, and advocate for our children. Together we can make a difference by carrying on Christ's work of reconciliation.
Yours in Christian fellowship,
Michael Duffy |
|
 Treasurer's Summary, Pat Brown
Receipts through August 31, 2012
We have received about 68% of the pledged amount and about 58% of the total budgeted receipts by the end of this eight month period. Total operating receipts through August were $118,867.
Disbursements through August 31, 2012
Total operating disbursements for the first eight months were $136,324. That is 66% of the total allocated. The difference of disbursements over receipts is a negative ($16,456.)
In June we transferred $30,000 from the Endowment Fund to the Operating checking account. The total budgeted amount to come from the Endowment Fund for the year is $74,397. The plan is to transfer $30,000 more from the Endowment Fund in the next week to our new account at American Midwest Bank. We will then begin using that account for operating receipts and disbursements.
We paid out $7,500 of the $25,000 in insurance funds by the end of August. The pew refinishing will take $6,500 for a total of $14,000. The remaining $11,000 will be returned to the insurance company once we complete the damage repairs in September.
Building Fund
We withdrew $5,000 from the Edw Jones Building fund to pay for the retaining wall repair which cost $4,800 and was paid in May and June to Flores Construction. That is the extent of Capital Spending projects so far this year. A $10,000 CD came due in August. After consulting with Matt Myer at Edward Jones we purchased a $10,000 CD with a 30 month maturity which will give us a better interest rate than leaving it in the Money Market. There is one $10,000 CD due in December and three due in 2013 if funds are needed for improvements. We can also sell the CD at any time if we need the funds.
Endowment Fund
The value of the Endowment Fund at the end of August was $1,846,083.66. Change in value for the first eight months was a positive $113,704.20. While we cannot project what the stock market will do in the coming months, we did not observe a late summer meltdown as occurred in the previous two years.
Apache Stock was worth $18,379.14 on August 31, 2012. We now have 214.334 shares.
Value on September 14, 2012 was $19,821.61.
On August 31, 2012 the balance in the Flower Fund was $168.43. The balance in the Discretionary Fund was $1,385.80.
Endowment Committee Meeting with Terri Mathes from the Episcopal Church Foundation:
On August 24, 2012 the Endowment Committee - Doug Roberts, Pat McMahon, George Nenonen, Brad Cripe, Pat Brown and Rev. Stacy met with Terri Mathes. We discussed what an Endowment fund is, what it can and should be for St Paul's. We considered how it could be promoted as a planned giving fund for St Paul's. Our discussion evolved into a strategy for promoting giving in general at St Paul's and the annual fund and capital campaign relationship. A suggestion was made to investigate making a strategic plan for our church and looking into resources available to assist us in that endeavor.
Ms Mathes was very helpful in directing our discussion and giving us suggestions about giving now and in the future. Stay tuned for Committees and ideas arising from this productive meeting.
|
Join us for our 4th Annual Pet Blessing!
Sunday, October 7
Join us for the 4th Annual Pet Blessing on Sunday, October 7th, 2012 at St. Paul's! The Pet Blessing is traditionally celebrated the first Sunday in October near the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, who was known for his affection toward animals of all kinds.
All pets and pet owners are welcome to attend. We ask that all pets be on a leash, in a crate, or in a carrier. Also, pet owners are welcome to bring photographs of pets that are unable to attend this event. We will also be collecting animal toys and paper towels in collaboration with TAILS Humane Society.
Sign-up to volunteer to hang flyers up around the community in the Parish Hall. |
|
Music Program
Joy! Exultation! The Children's Choir begins their 2012-13 year, with rehearsals on Sunday mornings, in the lower-level of the sanctuary (undercroft), about 10:40 AM. In the spirit of exploring the best and most opportune times for both the children and families, the rehearsals will begin shortly after the start of the 10:30 AM worship service. We anticipate having adequate adult supervision (Director of Music, Pianist, and Nursery & Child Care Attendees, Close-By). Parents are always welcome, but their presence is not required. All children are welcome, at any time. Come and join the Adult/Youth Choir for our Thursday evening rehearsals from 7-9 PM and Sunday morning rehearsals from 10:15 to 10:25 AM. All ages and abilities are welcome! We get to learn some new music, brush up on old favorites, laugh together at the weeks challenges and share good chocolate & fellowship. For more information contact the Director of Music. |
Grace Place Interfaith Lecture Series
Wednesdays, October 3rd to November 6th
 Grace Place, at 401 Normal Road, will be holding an interfaith lecture series entitled "What it Means to Be..." starting Wednesday nights this October beginning at 7pm. Speakers from various faiths will relate what it means to be a believer of their respective faith. The series is open to the entire community. Each session will begin with a lecture, followed by a discussion, food and worship. See the article in the Northern Star, the Grace Place website, or the flyer in the Parish Hall for more information.
Bishop Lee will be visiting Grace Place on Wednesday, October 31st and giving a lecture at 7pm on "What it means to be an Episcopalian." Please note that this is a date change from the flyer. Dinner at 8pm will be provided by St. Paul's. All Hallows Eve liturgy and Holy Communion at 9pm. You are invited to come as you are for any or all of these festivities, which may include being in costume! Children and youth are also welcome. |
Centering Prayer Workshop
Saturday, October 6th
 Contemplative Outreach Chicago is offering "An Introduction to Centering Prayer" Saturday, October 6 from 9:30AM to 3:00PM, at St. Anskar Episcopal Church, 4801 Spring Creek Road, Rockford. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about silent, contemplative prayer and to share this prayer in an ecumenical setting. The presenter, Ted Curtis, is the rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Chicago. The Introduction is $45 (scholarships available) and includes six follow up sessions to be scheduled in DeKalb.
Brochures are available in the Parish Hall. To sign up, contract Molly Lovelock, lovelock3@gmail.com or 815-520-0811.
Contemplative Outreach is a spiritual network of individuals and small faith communities committed to living the contemplative dimension of the Gospel. It is an international, interdenominational community, which teaches over 15,000 people annually, as well as publishing and distributing the teachings of Fr. Thomas Keating and other resources that support the contemplative life. |
Episcopal Church Women Fall "Craft-ernoon"
Saturday, October 20th
Join ECW for a fall "Craft-ernoon" on Saturday, October 20th1 from 12:00-2:30pm in the Parish hall. We will enjoy a soup and salad lunch, then help create lesson materials for the Godly Play program. All members of the parish (and their guests!) are welcome. Please RSVP using the sign up sheet in the Parish Hall so that we know how much food to prepare. Any questions? Please contact Rochelle Cripe at 815-901-0047. Thank you in advance for your help! |
CROP Walk
Sunday, October 21
This years CROP WALK will be on Sunday, October 21. The CROP Hunger Walks are community-wide events sponsored by Church World Service to end hunger at home and around the world. Learn more about the CROP Hunger Walk here . The route will be the same as last year, and there will be a rest stop at St. Paul's. If you would like to walk, or simply to collect funds, please see Henry or Eva Leonard. |
Pumpkin Decorating!
Sunday, October 21st
 Family fun for all this fall is planned for Sunday, October 21st following the 10:30AM service. Children of all ages are invited to decorate pumpkins in preparation for Halloween!
This year we will be using pumpkins that we grew in the St Paul's Neighborhood garden!
Contact Terry Dickow (815) 562-2336 with any questions. We look forward to seeing the final products!
|
Diocesan Convention
Saturday and Sunday, November 16-17, 2012
The 175th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Chicago will take place on Friday, November 16th and Saturday, November 17th at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard. The theme of this year's convention is "Fierce Conversations for the Future Church." Anyone can attend as a general attendee and childcare is available.
Advanced registration is $65/person September 30th through November 5th. On-site registration will be $80/person. Learn more about online registration or contact Crystal Plummer or Patricia Alamanza with any registration questions. The diocesan convention rate at the Westin, Lombard is $119 per night plus tax (available through October 31)- book online or contact Reservations at 1-888-627-9031. Additional information regarding the schedule, volunteer opportunities and worship will be available at the Diocese of Chicago website soon. |
Blessing and Dedication of the Lower Level of Christian Education Center
Sunday, November 4th
Mark your calendars! The blessing and dedication of the lower level of the Christian Education Center will occur on All Saints Sunday in between services. Look for an invitation to arrive in your mailbox soon!
|
All Saints Sunday
Sunday, November 4th
All Saints Sunday Remembrance of Everyday Saints to be prayed for in the prayers of the people will be observed on Sunday, November 4. A very meaningful part of this service is the remembrance of the saints in our lives who have gone before us. This year, we will be setting aside a space in the parish hall where pictures can be placed of those whom we remember as teaching and inspiring us in our faith. Cards will be provided in which parishioners may write a short remembrance or share a saintly quality embodied by a loved one.
We will have the cards available in the parish hall by the beginning of October and will set up the area on October 28. All parishioners are invited to participate. Sing up names of the beloved everyday saints in your life who have gone on to glory (who are deceased) by October 28th on the list in the Parish Hall or via email to the Parish Office. Contact Sue Ouellette at 815/758-0024 or souellet@niu.edu with any questions. |
A Food Pantry Volunteer's Reflection
This is the second year I've served as a volunteer at the Salvation Army Food Pantry. Volunteering is an opportunity to "lighten the load" for people, who, due to unemployment or other misfortune, need assistance obtaining food for themselves and/or their families. In addition to groceries, personal care items, some clothing, and miscellaneous household products are offered at the Pantry.
Volunteers extend a friendly greeting and a smile to each person they serve. Clients are from all walks of life, all ages, and often with families. Typically, they are very polite and somewhat reserved, but express gratification for the food available to them. Volunteer and client take a shopping cart and proceed to walk through the aisles of soups, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and rice products, cereal and bread, meat, eggs, and fresh produce. Each food category has a predetermined quantity that the client is offered, based on family size. Volunteers bag the chosen items and place them in the cart. Selections are varied. Volunteers can often provide information to help clients make their choices. "What is Gouda cheese?" "Are brown eggs any different than white eggs?" "How does this coat look on me?"
The shopping trip ends on a sweet note with a stop at the shelves of baked goods and pastries. Clients top off their carts with a cake, brownies, or doughnuts. And then they're on their way...but not without a very sincere "Thank You" to the volunteer. Now it's time to get a new shopping cart, call the next number, and help "lighten the load" for another client.
~Sharon Dowen
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks to all parishioners who contributed to Food Pantry Sunday in September. Donations received totaled 140 items, bringing the year's total to 1315.
Items that we have noticed to be in short supply at the pantry include: ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, jelly, diapers size 4 and 5, bar soap, toothpaste, dry dog food, coffee, coffee filters, cake and other dessert mixes, canned fruit (not applesauce please)
**Reminder: Please NO GLASS JARS! Jelly is available in plastic containers**
The next food pantry collection will be on Sunday, October 14th. Thanks. |
Fall 2012 Fellowship Dinner Groups
The Fall 21012 fellowship dinner groups have been formed and we hope they have kick off gatherings in October! There are two groups that are dining in individual homes and a dining out group. At any time if you are interested in joining, please let Freyja or Ellen know. These groups are in addition to the Thursday night group that is going strong!!
Group 1 Group 2
Freya and Rick Johns Ellen and David Anderson
Rosemarie Ostberg Henry and Eva Leonard
Marilyn Sjoholm Sue and Glenn Ouellette
Mary Lincoln Julie and Jamie Stubblefield
Brian and Trisha Wagner Janie and Jim Torma
Marilyn and Cliff Cleland
Dining out
Luke and Christine Kruger
Bill and Jennie Cummings
Bree Nation
Linda Lorbach
Jan Bach
Gretchen Schlabach and Lorraine Langer
Thea Beard
Pat Brown
Avril Schreiber
Beverly Smith
**Peg Newby is happy to substitute so be sure to include her in your plans! |
United Thank Offering (UTO) Chair, Eva Leonard, Retiring
The United Thank Offering starts a circle of thanks: Our thoughts of Thanks accompanied by a donation into the Blue Box add up to Grants to outreach projects in other congregations, and the recipients of these grants are Thankful. UTO is a very meaningful devotion for some members of St. Paul's.
It is time for me to retire as UTO Chair. If we in St. Paul's are to continue our participation in Diocesan UTO Ingatherings, then new energetic leadership will be needed. Please let me know your wishes. Eva Leonard |
Social Committee Opportunities
Here is your chance to plan a party!! We are eager to share the wealth and recruit individuals or teams to coordinate our many St. Paul's activities. These activities include:
- St. Nicholas Party (Adults Only), Sat. December 1st or 8th
- Epiphany Celebration, Sunday, January 6th
- Ash Wednesday Soup Supper, Wed. February 13th
- Chili Cook-Off, a Sunday in March
- Easter Eve Vigil Celebration, Sat. March 30th
- Low Sunday Brunch, Sun. April 7th
- Game Night, April
- The St. Peter and St. Paul Celebration, Thurs. June 27th
- Parish Picnic, August
It is fun to be part of the Social Committee team!! Coordinator responsibilities vary for these events and Freyja or Ellen will help you with your planning. There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the Parish Hall. We appreciate your interest! Please see Freyja or Ellen with questions.
|
Strengthening our Interfaith Relationships through Interfaith Kindness
Last year on Christmas Eve, The Islamic Society of Northern Illinois University sent our congregation a beautiful fruit basket. This year St. Paul's reciprocated their act of kindness and around Eid ul Fitr, the celebration at the end of the month of fasting for Ramadan, sent the ISNIU a gift basket with dates to break the fast. Here is the text from the thank you letter from the ISNIU that is also posted on the bulletin board in the Parish Hall: Dear Stacy Walker-Frontjes, On the behalf of DeKalb Muslim Community and the ISNIU board, we sincerely appreciate the beautiful flowers basket gift from the St. Paul's Church on the Eid ul Fitr occasion that occurred at the end of the month of Ramadan. We hope that our interfaith relationship will get stronger and everlasting in future for the benefit of our communities. Best Wishes, ISNIU Board |
 The Rochelle Rotary Club is selling 2013 calendars with a twist. Each day has a prize, ranging from $25 to $1,000. Each buyer of a calendar gets a number. Numbers are drawn every day through 2013. If your number is picked, you win the prize for that day. Plus your number goes back into the hopper and can be drawn again. The proceeds are used to fund programs such as Hub City Seniors Center, CASA for Lee and Ogle County, Rochelle Christian Food Pantry and other not for profit groups serving people in need. Terry Dickow is selling the calendars for $20. Contact him if you are interested in buying one.
|
October 2 through November 6
If you regularly take time to help a loved one with errands, personal care, living arrangements, financial and legal concerns or activities, you are a caregiver. Care giving can be stressful-- physically, emotionally and financially.
DeKalb County Hospice is sponsoring a six week class, entitled Powerful Tools for Caregivers. Classes will be held Tuesdays, October 2 through November 6 from 11:30am to 1pm at the DeKalb County Hospice office, DeKalb. This educational program is designed to help you, the caregiver, with the tools needed to take care of yourself. There is no cost for class participation. Each participant receives a copy of The Caregiver Helpbook.
For more information or to register, contact Helen Maurer, LCSW, or Val Heintz at DeKalb County Hospice, 815-756-3000. Class size is limited, advance registration needed. |
|
Anniversaries, Birthdays & Events
Anniversaries:
Adam & Kim Petty (10/10/09)
Doug & Lynn Roberts (10/11/03)
David & Ellen Anderson (10/21/78)
Birthdays:
Richard Dowen (10/3)
Dan Guiborat (10/3)
Mason Guiborat (10/4)
Lonnie Piper (10/10)
Henry Leonard (10/12)
Linda Lorbach (10/19)
Rhys Prall (10/21)
Amanda Mitchell (10/25)
Upcoming Events:
10/6: Centering Prayer Workshop
10/7: Rectors Discretionary Fund Collection, Pet Blessing
10/13: Love INC Board Retreat, Parish Hall
10/14: Food Pantry Sunday
10/17: Love INC Fundraiser, Panda Express
10/21: Vestry Meeting, CROP Walk, Pumpkin Decorating Event
10/31: Bishop Lee lecture at Grace Place 7pm
11/4: All Saints Sunday, Celebration & Dedication of the lower level Christian Ed. Center
11/20: Thanksgiving Service 7pm |
|
Finding God in the Everyday
|
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul Contact Information
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul
900 Normal Rd., DeKalb, Illinois 60115
Parish Office: (815) 756-4888
Parish Fax: (815) 758-6140
The Rev. Stacy A. Walker-Frontjes, Rector
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
