I am choosing to share with you some thoughts that I wrote for my Facebook page:

Listening to the news about Robin Williams brings back tons of memories for me and possibly others in my extended family. In 1988, a relative died from hanging. In my relative's case it was from autoerotic asphyxiation. Many people are afraid to talk about it this form of death. For some it is embarrassing or a taboo kind of conversation. I have always talked about the type of death that it was. It is the reality of his death and life. For me, secrets are dangerous. Privacy is an entirely different matter and some of my family members have stayed quite private. That is what is best for them.

Was our family member's death one addiction traded for another? Perhaps. None of us really knew of the brokenness that he felt. We were taken by surprise. Do any of us really know what others are thinking, feeling, living with? Do we want to? I believe that it is important to tell the story of his death because it will help others know that it does happen. Telling the story can help people understand more about many aspects of life.

People are also more than the addictions and mental illnesses that are parts of their lives. Please, let us remember my relative and Robin for more than all of that.

My relative looked a lot like Robin and you might say that he had a similar personality. Made you laugh, cared about others. And was broken. He was human. He conquered some addictions. He died way too young. His death taught me to work towards health and wholeness. I believe that his death was probably the early stages of my wrestling with my sexuality. I knew that I had not figured out something about myself. I knew that there were other things in my life that needed some attention. I vowed to work on myself. To work on being fully the person God intended/intends for me to be. Still working on living fully into myself as a beloved child of God. How about you?

Do you like working with children and young people? Are you invested in the spiritual development of people from age 3-18? If you answered "yes" to either of those questions, please read on!

Our children and youth programs are always in need of participation from the adults in our community, and as we approach the beginning of the '14-'15 program year we are still in search of additional volunteers to help out as assistants, leaders, or even simply as extra pairs of hands at special events or projects. This help is vital to the success of our programs, and the adults who get involved are some of our greatest assets. This is a great way to be involved in the life of Grace Church, and to help raise up and empower the church's future leaders! If you or someone you know may be interested in helping out, please contact Nick Currie at nick@graceoakpark.org.  

The village-owned parking garage adjacent to our parking lot has closed in preparation for the new development at that site. Those who used to park in the Lake & Forest garage have been directed to the Holley Court Garage a few blocks to the west, and accessible from both Marion and Ontario streets. The Avenue Garage at Oak Park Avenue and North Boulevard also is a nearby parking option. Please note that Grace will continue to maintain exclusive parking rights on Sunday mornings in the open lot we lease to the village. More information about the development project is on the Village of Oak Park website at this link.  

We are interested in learning how many of you used to park in the garage on Sunday mornings.  Would you give us two minutes of your time and complete the very brief survey at this link?  Thanks! 

Dear friends,

As most of you have now heard, Caroline and I are moving to England. We hope to see our friends and family before we leave.

Therefore, we invite you to join us for a Going Away Bash, so that we can hang out together before we blow the Western Hemisphere. We are returning to the scene of our wedding reception and many other memorable events: Grace Church. Heavy hors d' oeuvres and drinks are being prepared by our friends Chuck, Sam and Jane.

Please join us if you can!

Saturday, August 23rd
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Grace Episcopal Church Parish Hall
924 Lake Street
Oak Park, IL 60301

Please click here to RSVP to Tim.

Peace and blessings to you all!

Love,

Caroline Moores and Tim Yeager 

MC/LEMS: Cherryl Holt; Lascelles Anderson, Tony Dobrowolski, Barbara Larsen, Sam Love, Natalia Reniszewski

LECTORS: Jen Cantrell, Sam Love

INTERCESSORS: Grace Coberly, Cyndy Reynolds

ALTAR GUILD: Joan Anderson, Heather Bovell, Flora Green, Kathy Onayemi, Al Papillon, Willie Polite, Sally Prescott, Natalie Ratz, Marie Rock, Jane Shirley, Chuck Tupta; Mary Ann Urbashich

BREAD BAKER: The Lucé Family

USHERS: Flora Green, Stan Kaderbek, Linda Francis, Alex Lippitt

GREETERS: Donna Anderson, Adrienne Gervais, Cyndy Reynolds

COFFEE HOUR HOSTS AFTER 9:00 SERVICE: Sue Wells, beverages; the Woodworth family, treats

COFFEE HOUR HOSTS AFTER 10:30 SERVICE: Sue Wells, beverages; the Woodworth & Griffin-Thomason families, treats