All Ages Advent Wreath Activity 
Happy New Year!  That is what we say on the first Sunday of Advent as the church begins her new year. Advent is the Church's season of active expectation.

The first week of Advent says over and over: Jesus is coming. Prepare the path: Jesus is coming. To help us do that, Grace is offering a couple of exciting activities.  As you will see in another article in this issue, on December 1, our own Suzanne Haraburd is offering a morning reflection time on Advent.

A favorite tradition of many is to have an Advent Wreath in their homes where individuals or more can take a moment for daily or weekly reflection to prepare one's heart for the coming of Jesus.

On Sunday, December 2 after both the 9:00 and 10:30 services, you too can make one.  The Catechists (leaders of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) and I will gather with all of you to make Advent Wreaths for our homes.

There are so many ways to make wreaths and we want to give you options as to how yours will look. Kathy Garness, one of our Catechists, encourages us to check this site out for ideas:

http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2011/12/simple-natural-advent-wreath-ideas.html

As you can see just about anything will work for presentation... silver trays to mason jars, bundt pans to clay pots. Be creative with what you have and build from there.

Here is how you can help:

• Let us know that you might come so we have enough materials (it's okay to just come as well)
• Go on a scavenger hunt around your house for items like: royal blue or cobalt blue ribbons, white ribbons, blue or white candles, styrofoam circles, evergreen branches, sheet moss, artificial greens (for those with allergies), white pillar candles and holders, other earthy items that you think would look good on a wreath, etc.
• Let Shawn know if you have any of these kinds of materials so that we can decrease the cost of needed items as well as be good stewards of resources that are already out there.
• Volunteer to help at a station

Come one! Come all! This will be a great way to build community.

-Shawn

shawnschreiner@sbcglobal.net

Our worship together is one of the most important aspects of our life as a community of God.  Through worship, we celebrate the love of God as a community, lift our voices together in prayer, remind one another that true discipleship consists mostly in what we do outside these doors, and nurture the spiritual lives of all of our members-sharing and receiving spiritual food to nourish us for the work each of us does in the world.

This new Church year marks the formation of a new committee at Grace devoted to worship.  As Rector, Shawn will be the chair of the committee, and she has asked Charles Wells and Linda Coberly to serve as vice-chairs.  We plan to keep this committee small, to ensure its productivity-no more than 10 people (including chair and vice-chairs)-and it will include parishioners from both services, as well as Dennis Northway in his role as Parish Musician.  Shawn, Charles, and Linda have already had several discussions about the mission and role of the Worship Committee, to create a tentative framework for the work that will soon begin.   

In the beginning, the Worship Committee will meet roughly twice a month (starting in January) to study the role of worship, our Episcopal heritage of common prayer, the ancient rituals on which our liturgy is built, and ways to refine, renew, and enrich our worship services today, within the framework of our rich liturgical tradition.  The Committee's mission will be three-fold:

• To provide consultation and input to Shawn, Jon, Dennis and Douglas as they plan services with the goal of richly capturing and celebrating each of the traditional seasons of the church year. 
• More broadly, to engage in conversation about how to renew and deepen our worship life and serve the needs of our present and future diverse congregants-including potentially by supplementing our current services with additional gatherings on Sundays or during the week.
• To promote formation activities relating to liturgy and worship-which may include committee members leading study or discussion sessions, sharing reading materials, and writing regular pieces in Items about specific aspects of the services, liturgical choices, music choices, and so on.

Regular meetings will begin in January.  Please let Shawn, Charles, or Linda know if you are interested in serving on the committee.  The wardens, Shawn, Linda, and Charles will be meeting in December to decide on the committee's initial membership and to make sure that it reflects a cross-section of our parish.

Thank you for your care and devotion to Grace Church!

Shawn Schreiner, Chair

Linda Coberly, Vice-Chair

Charles Wells, Vice-Chair

The UTO Ingathering at Grace last Sunday yielded $354.

Thank you for your generosity! 

A big thank you to all of you who have already volunteered to participate in the Cathedral Shelter Christmas Basket Program (more info. at this link) - we've had a great response the last two Sundays!  

We still have 7 names available.  If you are interested in participating and you haven't done so already, please e-mail Heidi Lukas (lukash@cso.org) or Emily Costello (eacostell@gmail.com) to sign-up, or sign up this Sunday at church.  Thank you in advance!

If for any reason you didn't get a copy of your family member's information/requests, please email one of us and we can get that information to you.  As a reminder, gifts are due in the Parish Hall on Sunday, December 2.  

-Heidi & Emily  

Mystick Krewe of LAFF's
Fourth Annual PADS Fundraiser

To Benefit PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) at Grace Episcopal Church

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!

Please mark your calendar for this fun, family-friendly event.

Saturday,December 8th

4:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall

924 Lake Street, Oak Park

At the door, donations of $5.00 per person, with a cap of $20 per family

Food and Beverages (wine and beer)

Great Raffle Prizes!!!!!!!!!

Face painting and Children's Costume Corner

Live music by
BS Brass Band - bsbrass.com

Sponsored by the Mystick Krewe of Laff Social Aid and Pleasure Club   (Facebook - Mystick Krewe of Laff or www.mystickkreweoflaff.org)

For more information about West Suburban PADS - www.westsuburbanpads.org

Please bring donations large men's coats and men's socks, gloves, scarves and new underwear

For more information: rbtaxman@hotmail.com or kjmensch@yahoo.com

[November 19, 2012] "Pray for an end to the conflict, an end to violence and the atrocities, that the needs of the suffering may be supplied, and that peace may prevail," Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in calling for a week of prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo from November 26 - December 2.

The following is Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori's call to action:

Our fellow Anglicans in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to experience violence and displacement.  Since April, there has been a significant rise in violence promulgated by a new rebel group, M23, and several existing ones.  The violence has caused the displacement of 320,000 within DR Congo, and 60,000 into Uganda and Rwanda.

The work of the Anglican Church in Congo continues to be of the highest quality and responsiveness, rooted in the love of Christian for neighbor.  During a visit there in July of 2011, we saw firsthand evidence of the work done by Mothers Union and other groups on behalf of the least of these - women, children, and orphans, all victims of the violence of war.  The internal displacement of hundreds of thousands since then, and the flight of still others into neighboring countries, has made the situation much worse.  Many thousands are living with fear and insecurity, hunger, sickness, and poverty, while they yearn to return home and live in peace.

Archbishop Henri Isingoma of the Anglican Church of Congo asks us to join in a week of prayer for peace in DR Congo, from 26 November through 2 December, initiated by the Congo Church Association.  Pray for an end to the conflict, an end to violence and the atrocities, that the needs of the suffering may be supplied, and that peace may prevail.

I can think of no better way for the Christian world to prepare for the Advent of the Prince of Peace, and I hope and pray that you will join me in praying during the week leading up to Advent.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church