MARCH 2016 - By The Way
WORSHIP SCHEDULE
SUNDAY SERVICE 9:30 AM

March 6 -- Holy Communion; One Great Hour of Sharing
Sermon: Priorities - Scripture: John 12:1-8; Isaiah 43:16-21

March 13 --  Sermon: All is Forgiven - Scripture: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
 
March 20 -- Palm Sunday
Sermon: Parade and Pain: Life Ain't Perfect
Get your palm cross for Holy Week

March 24 -- Maundy Thursday 7 pm
Experience a Jewish Seder and Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples.
Sacred dance group "Triumphal Entry" will perform

March 25 -- Good Friday 7 pm
The Seven Last Words with scripture, readings and music.

March 27 -- Easter Sunday
Celebration of Transformation with brass and Hallelujah Chorus
Sermon: Transformers
PASTOR'S MESSAGE
TRANSFORMATION

Remember the "Transformers" (toys, video games, films, comic books)? They've been around since 1984. The 2011 3D film Transformers: Age of Extinction with Mark Wahlberg had 33 million "likes" on its web page. According to Wikipedia the main theme of the whole Transformers enterprise "is an endless struggle for dominance or eventual peace".

Remember Jesus the Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, who came to us about 2013 years ago. His brand of followers currently numbers 2.1 billion. And Jesus doesn't want to dominate people, but he does want world peace. The Kingdom He ushered in is a spiritual realm of, guess what, transformation!

Yup, Jesus wanted folks to turn around and turn into believers who really walked the walk. Folks whose lives were transformed inside out into agents for change. Folks who went into the world with the good news of God's love and grace inviting others to make the switch to a life of love.

And that friends is what the Easter message means to me: Jesus came into this world to transform the world. His resurrection is the symbol of the all-encompassing transformative life that awaits any of us who follow Christ, who grow into a life in the spirit and who take the message of the transforming change of God's love to others. 

 
Pastor David


MARCH DATES

Bible Study - Wednesdays, 10 am - Currently studying the New Testament book of Luke


Choir Practice - Wednesdays, 7 pm

Playdate - Mondays, 9 to 11 am

A Book & A Prayer - Tuesday, Mar 1, 7 pm  More

One Great Hour of Sharing Special Offering - Sunday, Mar 6 More

Church Council Meeting - Tuesday, Mar 8, 7 pm

Lenten Supper & Program - Wednesday, Mar 9, 6:30 pm

Theology on Tap - Sunday, Mar 13, 11 am, Dunham Woods Riding Club  More

Friday Night at the Movies - Friday, Mar 11, 7 pm  More

Men of LHC Breakfast - Saturday, Mar 12, 8:30 am, Colonial Restaurant

April BTW Deadline - Monday, Mar 21

Palm Sunday Worship - Sunday, Mar 20, 9:30 am

Maundy Thursday Worship - Thursday, Mar 24, 7 pm

Good Friday - Friday, Mar 25, 1 pm - Immanuel UCC in Bartlett
                                                  7 pm - Little Home Church

Easter Sunday Worship - Sunday, Mar 27, 9:30 am

 

 

CHURCH CALENDAR - CHECK IT OUT...!

Larry D.
LARRY'S NOTES
TELLING STORIES

"We want only to show you something we have seen and to tell you something we have heard...that here and there in the world and now and then in ourselves is a New Creation." -- Paul Tillich, The New Being
 
At Little Home Church, in the music program, we do what Tillich describes here through our music. We tell you our stories. Stories of faith, hope, and love. Please join us through the rest of this Lenten Season and Easter.
 
We have enjoyed having cellists Richard Evans and Sara Sitzer join us in worship on our anthems. Here is what's coming up:
 
Mar 6 - "A Celtic Kyrie" with flute. Also, Sharon Jones on French Horn.
Mar 13 - "Let Us Walk The Road Together"
Mar 20 - "Entrance Into Jerusalem" with Handbells, "Blessed Are They" with flute, oboe, violin, cello
Mar 27 - Easter Sunday - Three anthems with brass choir!!!
 
On April 3rd we will sing three anthems with "the band."
 
Finally, hold May 22 for an afternoon performance of "Gospel Mass!"

On March 17, the Bartlett High School 'Hawk String Orchestra' will be here at 7 pm. They will be performing Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto featuring senior, Alex Lewandowski and junior, Leslie Widlacki and the Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten. Come out and support these talented musicians.
 
Larry Dieffenbach, Director of Music, Organist
WORSHIP & SPIRITUAL GROWTH
LENT - A TIME OF PREPARATION

As children my siblings and I were encouraged (no, as a Catholic required) to "give up" during Lent. It had to be a something we would really miss or struggle to be without, dessert or sweets, watching TV, etc. We would have meatless meals mid-week as well as on Fridays. There was daily Mass, weekly confession, and prayers at each Station of the Cross. Good Friday was a very somber day especially during the hours of noon and 3 pm. I recall all the businesses in town closed between those hours as well. There would be special chores for us to do in silence. Mom said it gave us time "to think." I thought it was all pure punishment. Looking back I know it gave meaning to and prepared us for the big event. Would Easter morning have seemed so very important without all those preparations?

Many of my childhood Lenten traditions are a thing of the past. But preparing oneself for the big event is as important as ever. There are many opportunities offered at LHC during Lent to promote reflection, sharing, questioning, responding, fellowship, feasting on The Message. Spiritual Growth. I would encourage folks to attend any or all, Sunday worship, Theology on Tap, Wednesday night Lenten study, Bible Study, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday. And Easter Sunday. Hallelujah!
EASTER FLOWERS FUNDRAISER
easterflowers
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TIME TO PLACE YOUR ORDER

Once again we are offering the sale of Lilies and Spring flowers to adorn our Sanctuary on Easter morning...and they are yours to take home after the Easter service. This gift to our church's Easter Service and yourself, is also a gift to our Outreach Ministry. So Thank You...!

Plants are $15 each. Orders are due March 20. 

Watch for Order Forms in the Sunday bulletins or get one on the web site. Click for Order Form

ALSO...
There are many opportunities available on Sunday mornings to serve as the Pulpit Associate or Usher, provide treats for Coffee Hour, or bring flowers for the altar. Please contact me or the Church office to sign up info@littlehomechurch.org. Your help is most truly appreciated. Thank you!

God bless,

Susi Winquist
movie
REVISIONING
WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THIS FRONT?

The Revisioning Team has created a list of forty-seven area organizations that include municipalities, schools, Churches, support services, veterans groups and senior services. Interviews with these groups has begun this month. The objective is to obtain their thoughts and ideas about the communities/people they serve. To discover their mission within their community.

There are four basic questions we hope to have answered. 

1. What the organization does, their focus, their purpose.
2. What resources or support assistance they might need to go about their work.
3. Their thoughts and/or ideas on what the community "needs" might be.
4. What they know about LHC.

Once the Team has gathered the information the next step will include an analysis of the needs of the community in relation to the LHC talents and gifts identified by the New Beginnings process. The ultimate goal is to discern a missional direction and implement strategies that will lead LHC into the future.

LEEAP GRANT - GREAT NEWS
UCC's Local Evangelism, Envisioning, and Planting (LEEAP) Ministry has awarded Little Home Church with a $1,000.00 grant to continue the revisioning process outlined in the New Beginning Program. The LHC New Beginnings Team applied for the grant in September, 2015 and our church will receive the quarterly installments in 2016. We are very grateful for this support.

The revisioning process is of the utmost importance if LHC is to gain sustainability. Your prayers for the Team members and the process would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully offered,

Susi Winquist, Team Leader
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FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES
'THE GOOD LIE' - MARCH 11 AT 7 PM

They were known simply as "The Lost Boys." Orphaned by the brutal Civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3,600 lost boys and girls to America. "The Good Lie" focuses on four of the children who must make a new life in Kansas City. Together, these young men adjust to an alien culture even as the emotional baggage of their past haunts them. However, these newcomers, and their new friends strive to understand each other in this new home, as they make peace with their histories in a challenge that will change their lives. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon, along with Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and Nyakuoth Weil, many of whom were also children of war. The movie is rated PG-13.

Join the group if you'd like at 5:30 pm for dinner at O'Hare's Irish Pub located at Army Trail and Rt. 59. They would love to have you! 

Any questions? Please contact Maureen O'Donnell at 630.462.0331
bookclub
A BOOK & A PRAYER BOOK CLUB
TUESDAY, APRIL 5

A Good and Perfect Gift by Amy Julia Becker
 
Amy Julia Becker, a Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary graduate, knows how to grab a reader's heartstrings as she writes about her journey as a new mom to Penny, her first child, who has Down syndrome. The author keeps a journal in her early days as a mother, a time when her faith, her expectations, and her fears ran a gamut. Becker tells how impressed she has always been with intelligence, and now her little girl will lack this gift so important to Becker. Or would she? This beautifully written text explores how Becker and her husband deal with the news of having a child with a disability and the transformation they undergo as time passes. Each journal entry opens a new chapter of Penny's growth, and with every change in Penny comes a corresponding response of grateful joy in everyone else. Becker's work is introspective and theologically inquisitive, leading readers to ask the same questions this mother asks herself as her world tilted off its axis. It is an honest and hopeful look at unexpected challenges. 

Meets 1st Tuesday of every month, 7 pm in the Parish Hall
Kathy Haben
oghs
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING
"WHERE YOU GO I WILL GO; AND WHERE YOU STAY I WILL STAY."

Sunday, March 6, 2016 As part of Our Church's Wider Mission, One Great Hour of Sharing is the special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that carries God's message of love and hope to people in crisis. The UCC works with international partners to provide sources of clean water, food, education, and health care, small business micro-credit, advocacy and resettlement for refugees and displaced persons, and emergency relief and rehabilitation. OGHS also supports domestic and international ministries for disaster response.
 
In 2014, nearly 75% of congregations participated in this special offering receiving just over $2.2 million. On average, of every dollar given to One Great Hour of Sharing, 92 cents is used directly for mission programming; 6.5 cents for interpretation materials and 1 cent for administrative costs and .5 cents for program monitoring and evaluation (accountability).
 
Through One Great Hour of Sharing, lives are literally changed daily. Sunday, March 6 is the designated day for this special offering. Look for the envelope in Sunday's bulletin. 

If you would like to make a secure online donation, visit the One Great Hour of Sharing website at www.ucc.org/oghs and click on the "Donate" button.

Thank you for your consideration and support.
THEOLOGY ON TAPTHEOLOGYONTAP
DISCUSSION WITH FOOD & DRINK

Join us on Sunday, March 13, 11 am for brunch after worship at the Dunham Woods Riding Club on Army Trail Road. We'll begin our discussion with the morning's sermon and then go wherever the discussion leads on topics of theology, faith, religion, prayer, ethics, etc. Each person will be responsible for their own tab. Contact me if you have any questions.

Pastor David
JOURNEY OF FAITH
LENTEN SUPPER AND PROGRAM

We had a nice turnout at our first Lenten Supper and Program. We invite you to our next one which will be Wednesday, March 9, when we will again have a program featuring Henri Nouwen on DVD, one of the finest theologians and faith leaders of the 20th century. You don't have to have attended the first one to enjoy this second one.

6:30 pm - Catered supper begins 
7 pm - Inter-generational mini-Lenten worship experience 
7:15 pm - Video and discussion for adults, and childcare for children. 
8 pm - We will conclude

Please RSVP for the supper so we know how much food to cater. 
There will be a sign-up sheet in the Parish Hall or email Pastor David.

Pastor David
MEN OF LHC
UPCOMING DATES

The Men of LHC continue to meet faithfully and the new year has brought some planning and dates to share:

April 9 -- Work Day at LHC. 
May 14 -- Blessing  of the Motorcycles & Bikes
July 17 -- Kane County Cougars All Church Outing

More details to follow.

Please consider joining the group. They usually meet at Colonial Cafe in St. Charles on Rt. 64 at 8:30 am on the second Saturday of each month. 

Pastor David
ChiliCookOff
COWBOY WISDOM
'REMEMBER, EVEN A KICK IN THE CABOOSE IS A STEP FORWARD.'

THANK YOU
to everyone who attended the Chili Cook-Off event on Saturday, February 27, which raised $650 for our Outreach Ministry.

And THANK YOU THANK YOU to all
our chefs who rustled up plenty of darn delicious chili for the hungry crowd:

Barb Braulick - 'Best Chef Award' winner 
Judy Britt
Tim Haben
Kathleen Sullivan Kaska
Maureen O'Donnell
Betty Riley 
Pastor David Russell
Kristen Thornton
Jim Winquist

Congregational Life Ministry:
Barb Braulick
Connect with Barb
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ChiliCookOff
SPRING WORK DAY APRIL 9
ALL CHURCH SPRUCE-UP EFFORT

The Men of LHC and the Gardening Angels will be leading the way on Saturday, April 9, 8:30 am to conduct an all-church work day to bang out a few fix-up chores both inside and out of our fine facility. Spring cleaning, inside touch-up painting, and dumpster filling are just some of the needs. Both light weight and heavy duty fun can be had...whatever your fancy. You can even come with your own tools and TO-DO list.

Let's get going on keeping our church tight and tidy for another great year at Little Home Church...thank you...!

Facilities Ministry:
Chip Braulick
Anne Bouchard
LITTLE HOME CHURCH
NEW FALL FUNDRAISING EVENT

Save the date and join the fun to create a new annual event for LHC to raise funds in support of our 2016 budget goals for Outreach Ministry. This exciting new project involves working with other community partners in Wayne to benefit the six local service agencies we support as well as UCC's 'Our Church's Wider Mission.' 

Details and a planning meeting will be announced soon, and all are invited to participate in developing this significant all-church/all-community fundraising effort. It's a 'new beginning' with a focus on community and mission.

LHC - Church Council

Alex Kentfield, Moderator
Kathleen Sullivan Kaska, Moderator Elect
church.exterior.cropped

OUR LOVE & PRAYERS

Recently hospitalized or ill: Bob Schless

Our congratulations to:
To Carol & Doug Hancock on the birth of a new grandson. 
Ezra Hancock was born October 14 in Newport, Rhode Island to their daughter Cassandra, and her husband Montasser.

Thank you to all our service men and women.
We continue to keep SSG Greg Haben in our thoughts and thank him for his service to our country. 

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FLOWERS & FELLOWSHIP
SCHEDULE FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH

Be a part of the spirit of Sunday. Please consider providing flowers for the altar or hosting some light treats to share in the Parish Hall after Sunday worship. Email/call the church office or use the sign-up sheets hanging on a the East bulletin board in the Parish Hall. A reminder call or email will come from the office so you can note what should be listed in the Sunday service bulletin. Check the church web site for updates. Check the listing

Flowers  Mar 6/Alex; Mar 13/Hege; Mar 20/Baldwin; Mar 27/Easter Flowers
Fellowship  Mar 6/Muno; Mar 13/Hege; Mar 20/Sbarbaro; Mar 27/Baldwin

Thank you for your help in making our church look and feel beautiful on Sunday morning...!


'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' WISHES TO ALL...!

March 4 - Gianna Marchese
March 6 - Ted Schramuk
March 9 - Ann McLaughlin
March 10 - Karen Kaluzsa
March 12 - Emma Kaska
March 16 - Louise Aughnay
March 17 - Kathleen Sullivan Kaska
March 19 - Carol Hancock, Oliver Quirk
March 23 - Gail Zwemke, Phil Kentfield
March 24 - Tim Shelton
March 27 - Wendell Clancy, Lee Price
March 30 - Tom Atkins
BE CONNECTED

UCC DAILY DEVOTIONAL click

ILLINOIS CONFERENCE OF THE UCC click

LHC FACEBOOK PAGE click

LHC GARDENING ANGELS FACEBOOK PAGE click

LHC YOUTUBE CHANNEL click

LHC TWITTER click


CHURCH LEADERSHIP
THANK YOU TO OUR CHURCH STAFF AND COUNCIL VOLUNTEERS

Pastor - Reverend Dr. David Russell
Pastor Emeritus - Reverend Dr. Don Heinrich
Director of Music/Organist - Larry Dieffenbach
Office Manager - Lori Prang 
Custodian - Odie Perry 
 
Church Council
Moderator - Alex Kentfield
Moderator-elect - Kathleen Sullivan Kaska
Stewardship - Bob Kaska
Evangelism - Ann McLaughlin
Outreach - Valeri Baldwin
Congregational Life - Barbara Braulick
Christian Education - Frank Muno
Worship & Spiritual Growth - Jane Shelton/Susi Winquist
Facilities - Anne Bouchard and Chip Braulick
Members at Large - Susi Winquist and Carol Berger
Financial Treasurer - Art Zwemke
Financial Secretary - Ann McLaughlin
Clerk - Kristen Thornton
Learn more
Little Home Church by the Wayside UCC
32W128 Army Trail Road, Wayne, IL 60184
630.584.4013

Editors: Lori Prang and Kathleen Sullivan Kaska

OFFICE SCHEDULE: 
Monday - Thursday , 9 am to 3 pm
Closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday

PASTOR DAVID: Cell 847.890.2774