Holy Week and Easter Services at St. Paul's, April 13-20

Palm Sunday, April 13th

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday liturgies at both the 8:00 A.M. and 10:30 A.M. services. We will being with the blessing of the palms in the parish hall and proceed outdoors (weather permitting) into the sanctuary. The passion narrative read as a play in parts will also be part of this service.

Maundy Thursday, April 17th, 6:00pm

We will gather in the parish hall for the service of the Word (first half of the Eucharist) with a family style Mediterranean meal in the spirit of the last supper Jesus ate with his disciples. There is a sign-up sheet in the Parish Hall for food as well as to set up and clean up.  Holy Communion will follow in the second half of the service with procession to the altar of repose with the reserved sacrament (bread from Communion) to set in a garden to remind us of Gethsemane in the Sanctuary.

Good Friday, April 18th, 12:00pm and 6:00pm

At noon we will pray the stations of the cross and read the passion narrative. At 6pm, there will be a reading of the passion narrative from the Gospel of John. Music will be a part of the 6pm service. The nursery will be open during the 6pm service.

 The Great Vigil of Easter, April 19th, 6:00pm

On Saturday night, we will light the Paschal (Easter) fire at 6 P.M., outside the west entrance to the Sanctuary. The Easter Vigil liturgy begins in darkness with song and story reminding us of our journey from Creation to Easter. Creativity in storytelling and singing will abound this year. We will also renew our baptismal vows along with a glorious celebration of the first Eucharist of Easter. There will be a social hour after the Easter Vigil with champagne and sparkling grape juice. Please bring your favorite appetizer or munchie to share. No need to sign up, just bring whatever sounds good (and easy). If you aren't able to bring something, please come anyway - there will be more than enough for everyone!

Children are welcome at all services, and encouraged to attend and participate. Too close to bedtime? Bring them out in their pj's. Bedtime snacks, blankies, and stuffed animals in the pews are also welcome.

Easter Sunday, April 20th, 8:00am and 10:30am

At 8:00am we will celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection with a traditional Rite I Holy Eucharist with contemplative organ music. Our 10:30am service will be a full festival Eucharist featuring music led by the Adult/Youth Choir and the Children's Choir. An Easter egg hunt will follow outdoors (weather permitting), please dress for the weather. In case of inclement weather, the egg hunt will be in the St. Timothy Center.  

Treasurer's Summary, Pat Brown

February 2014

Baking Up Nice Suprises (B.U.N.S) Spring Delivery!

Drop off all goods by Sunday, April 6th

The spring B.U.N.S. (Baking Up Nice Surprises) delivery is 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 typically delivers 115 to 145 bags each time, and the gifts are greatly appreciated by the people who receive them. To meet the next delivery, baked goods may be dropped off at the parish hall kitchen on Sunday, April 6, 2014. If possible, please wrap your items in small zip-lock plastic bags. This really helps the volunteers who pack the gifts. If you have any questions, or if you'd like more information, contact Sharon Dowen at (815) 758-1278. She will deliver all the baked goods, fruit, and other items from St. Paul's to the DeKalb County Hospice office, on Monday, April 7, 2014.                             

Mark Your Calendars for the 2014 St. Paul's Chili Cook-Off

Sunday, April 6th

Do you think you have the best chili recipe ever, or do you just like to enjoy great chili? Following the 10:30AM service on April 6, we will hold the St. Paul's Annual Chili Cook-off. There is a sign up sheet in the fellowship hall. If cooking chili isn't your thing, then you can always sign up to bring bread or a salad. Regardless of the weather outside, this Sunday is bound to involve some warm bellies and great fellowship. If you have any questions then feel free to contact Luke or Chris Krueger.

Reconciliation of a Penitent

Saturday, April 12

Children's Waiting Room Fundraiser

Wednesday, April 16th from 4-7pm

A fundraiser for the Children's Waiting Room will be held at Potbelly's, 1013 W. Lincoln Highway, on Wednesday, April 16 from 4-7 p.m.  The Children's Waiting Room is a non-profit organization that provides free, secure care for children whose parents are involved in court proceedings at the DeKalb County Courthouse.  Visit their website or facebook page for more information. Potbelly will donate 25% of the sales during the above 3-hour period on April 16 to the CWR.  Four St. Paul's parishioners are members of the CWR board.  Please contact Pat McMahon for more information.                         

United Thank Offering Spring Ingathering

"Cultivate an attitude of gratitude for all of God's blessings".

It's never too late to give thanks for our blessings - and it's not too late to make your donation to the 2014 Diocesan United Thank Offering (UTO). "Blue boxes" can be used all year long, but our ingathering is now! Our official ingathering was in late March, but you may contribute through Palm Sunday. While attending the Episcopal Church Women's meeting in Chicago on April 26th with other parishioners, I will be presenting St. Paul's offerings. These offerings are used to support grants for mission and ministry. If you'd like more information about UTO, please go to www.episcopalchurch.org/page/united-thank-offering.

(If you are converting your coins into a check, please make it payable to St. Paul's, and put UTO in the memo line. Special envelopes are available for you to use. Envelopes and blue boxes may be placed in the collection plate on Sunday, or given right to me.)

 Thank you!

Peg Newby                             

Join Us for Low Sunday Brunch

Sunday, April 27      

Mmm, brunch!  Plan to join in the fun as we take another opportunity to all get together for delicious food and good fellowship on Sunday, April 27th.  Our annual Low Sunday Brunch will take place between services at 9:15, so be sure to join us for this celebratory meal.  There's a sign-up sheet on the table in the parish hall.  Please sign up to bring a brunch casserole, a side dish, or dessert.  If you don't want to bring food, you can sign up to help with clean up afterward.  Or just come and eat! Questions? Contact Sue Ouellette                      

Thrive Prayers2Pass Returns for Finals Week

Tuesday, April 29, Wednesday, April 30th  

After the success of our Prayers2Pass prayers in hospitality during the 2013 Spring Finals week and Welcome Week, the Thrive Team is happy to announce a Prayers2Pass event during finals week this month. We will be collecting bottles of water throughout the month in the Parish Hall to hand out during Prayers2Pass. The event will be held from 10AM to 1PM on Tuesday April 29th and Wednesday April 30th. Check out the coverage of the Prayers2Pass events from 2013 in the Northern Star, the Daily Chronicle, and the Episcopal Cafe.

For more information about this event, please contact Reverend Stacy.

Thrive Community Garden and Farmer's Market Update

It may not feel like it yet, but Spring is fast approaching!  The Thrive/Garden Team is excited to announce the dates for the Farmer's Markets we will be hosting here at St. Paul's this Summer: June 28th, July 26th, August 23rd, an September 27th. WE NEED YOUR HELP!  We will be asking for volunteers in June to come out each Tuesday afternoon/evening to help weed and tend the garden.  There will be a sign up sheet, of course!

Also, we will need as many hands as possible on APRIL 12th on spring clean up day because not only will we be prepping the garden for planting but we will be heading out on foot to spread the word into the community about the market.  

Please be thinking about how you might like to contribute on market days.  We will be in search of volunteers to help coordinate children's activities/crafts, possibly some baked goods, folks to provide musical entertainment, etc.  We want these events to be a good time and since we know you all know how to have fun, we want you to help us make it happen!  See any member of the Thrive or Garden team if you have questions or ideas: Christina Krueger, Julie Kostrey, Freyja Rasmussen-Johns, Jocelyn Prall, Jamie Stubblefield, Terry Dickow.                       

Lobster Boil Reception

Wednesday, April 9th, 3pm

Since 1969 Episcopal Church Women of St. Paul's has held the Lobster Boil, an annual fundraising event that supports both the church and the surrounding community. As a part of our tradition, half of the proceeds of the Lobster Boil are donated to local social service organizations.On Wednesday, April 9th at 3pm there will be a reception at St. Paul's to award these proceeds to local service organizations. For more information, contact Rosemarie Ostberg.

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The Lobsters are Coming!

Saturday, May 17

Things are gearing up for the ECW's 45th annual Lobster Boil on May 17. This event raises money for many local charities and for programs at St. Paul's-it's our biggest fundraiser of the year. And, it's a wonderful and fun community building event for our parish family!

We will be kicking the event off on Palm Sunday April 13. We will have posters and order forms for you to distribute to co-workers, friends, neighbors, and friendly strangers walking down the street, and post them at your favorite stores and public places. And, we will ask you to sign up to help with the various tasks needed on the day of the Lobster Boil. Last year we sold over 1500 lobsters-let's beat that this year!

Lobster Boil basics:

• Lobsters are ordered with a printed form or on-line - orders are due by Monday May 12th
• Live lobsters are trucked on ice from Boston to DeKalb
• From 4 - 8 pm we work: cooking the lobsters and filling the orders. It's hectic and fun!
• At 8 pm we have celebratory dinner together (buy a lobster or bring an entrée of your choice!)

We need everyone's help, children included! Childcare will be provided for our younger members.   Mark your calendars now! More details to come...

Questions? Contact a member of the Lobster Team:  Rick Johns, Pat Brown, Jennie Cummings, Rhys Prall, Rosemarie Ostberg, or Betsy Pool.

Update from the Capital Needs Discernment Team

At the Annual Meeting in January of this year we announced that the Vestry would appoint a team to discern with the congregation the future capital (physical plant and program) needs of St. Paul's and plan a subsequent capital campaign. At the Annual Meeting those present discussed potential capital improvement needs. The Capital Needs Discernment team (Rev. Stacy Walker-Frontjes, Lorraine Langer, Luke Krueger, and Bill Cummings) began meeting in February. Doug Roberts was invited to be the fifth member of our team in March. Since then we have had conversations with many parishioners. We have also investigated the feasibility of certain desired capital improvements. We have discovered in consultation with a building inspector from the City of DeKalb that it is not feasible to install a chair lift due to make the St. Timothy Center (lower level) handicap accessible due to the physical limitations of the building. Those who were present over fourteen years ago will recall that handicap accessibility of the lower level has been a persistent challenge at St. Paul's. The response at that time was to add the parish hall to the physical plant. Rest assured that the Rector, Capital Needs Discernment team, and the Vestry do take seriously the concerns for accessibility at St. Paul's. We are looking at other ways we can address this concern in various areas of the physical plant.   We have identified four primary areas of concern: 1. Accessibility, 2. Visibility of St. Paul's in the Community (including improved signage on the property), 3. Function of the Sanctuary for worship services, and 4. Deferred Maintenance (specifically the parking lot, rectory roof, rectory kitchen windows, and the St. Timothy Center kitchen). In April we will begin assessing which projects to address in 2014. We remain open to personal conversations with you, so please contact one of us today and tell us what your hopes and dreams are for the continuing and future mission and ministry of St. Paul's.

Thank You from Safe Passage!

St. Paul's received several thank you cards from the teens at Safe Passage for the gifts they received over the holidays. The cards can be viewed in the Parish Hall, with messages such as "I wanted to thank you for the gift I got. It was a really nice thing to do. I appreciate the thought put into it. I especially love the book, it will help me to distract myself once again. Thank you." and "This is just to let you know how special your gift made me feel. It shows me how very thoughtful you are, your gift to me was ideal!"                             

Our Friends from TAILS Humane Society Announce their Spring Fundraiser: Tropical TAILS

Saturday, April 12th

Join TAILS Humane Society at Faranda's at 302 Grove Street, DeKalb for the 13th Annual Tropical TAILS fundraising event! Tropical TAILS 2014 will be bigger and better than ever! TAILS is seeking donations of gift cards (any value, any retailer). Did you receive a gift card this holiday season that you are not going to use? Consider giving it to TAILS. Questions? Contact Tom at (815) 758-2457 x111 or tom@tailshumanesociety.org .

TAILS Humane Society have been our guests at our Pet Blessing for the past four years. Two members of St. Paul's are on their Board of Directors, Sharon Dowen and Rev. Stacy Walker-Frontjes. Please contact them for more information about Tropical Tails.                            

Earth Day Celebration

Sunday, April 27th, 1-5pm

The Midwest Institute for Environmental Spirituality is sponsoring an Earth Day celebration on Sunday, April 27 from 1-5 p.m. in Joliet at Christ Campus, located at 206 N. Midland Ave, Joliet IL 60435. There will be discussions, meditations, and stations of creation liturgy. For more information and to RSVP, contact Father John Crist, mjcrist@crtelco.com or call 815-257-7011.

Voluntary Action Center Annual Meals for Moms Luncheon

Monday, May 5th

Voluntary Action Center invites you to their Seventh Annual Meals for Moms Luncheon to benefit Meals on Wheels on Monday, May 5th at St. Mary's Memorial Hall in Sycamore (located at 322 Waterman Street). Tickets are $30, or you can reserve at table for 8 for $200. The served lunch, benefiting Meals on Wheels, will feature our own "Celebrity Wait Staff" of DeKalb County. Mark you calendar for this fun-filled afternoon! Call 815-758-3932 or email Ellen Rogers at erogers@vacdk.com for tickets and/or sponsorship opportunities.                           

Shelter Care Annual Spring Luncheon

Thursday, May 8th

Shelter Care Ministries Annual Spring Luncheon will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2014, at an exciting new location! Join us from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, at Prairie Street Brewhouse, 200 Prairie St, Rockford, IL 61107. Brian Leaf, keynote speaker, will be sharing his thoughts "Poor town, Your Town". Brian is a reporter for the Rockford Register Star who for the past 18 months has been reporting on people who have been affected by a doubling of poverty in the region between 2000 and 2010. Shelter Care will unveil what has been dreamed about for the past year. Board members, staff and volunteers are excited about the project that is forming and developing because we have big dreams for our families and members.

The luncheon festivities will include a program to inspire and entertain and a Marketplace featuring handmade soaps, jams, spring décor and a myriad of other handcrafted items.Tickets are $35 for individuals and $280 for a tables of 8. To purchase tickets, check out http://shelter-care.org/organizer/spring-luncheon/.

  What's New at Love In the Name of Christ?

Did you know there are 41 churches using Love In the Name of Christ including St. Paul's in our area? We are changing lives through the love of Christ every day! Thanks for everything you do to support this ministry.

Love INC is looking for volunteers! Can you volunteer once a week from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Thursday, or Friday?  The Intake phone line has a spot for you.  You can provide the first sign of hope for those who call for help.  A great way to serve people in need is by delivering needed items to them.  The Moving Team could use you and others from your congregation working together 2-3 hours a month.   You can make a huge difference in people's lives! For more details contact Nathan Scott, director, at 815-217-0082.

Appliances, bikes, and lamps in good condition can always be put to good use.  If you have some to get rid of, please remember that Love INC will deliver them to people who need them. You can also donate online now.  Visit our website:   www.loveincdeksyc.org and you will see the "Donate" button on the main page (left side, about half way down).

May 10^th will be our 5^th Annual Banquet from 6-8:30.  RSVP is needed. More information to be announced at a future date.