THE NEWSLETTER. DuPage. Pastor Miller FROM THE PASTOR S PEN:

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1 THE NEWSLETTER Spring 2018 FROM THE PASTOR S PEN: Rev. Lana & Pastor Miller Go through God's open gates with great thanksgiving; enter God's courts with praise. Give thanks to God and bless God's name." ~Psalm 100:4 TLB DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church 4300 Yackley Avenue Lisle, IL fax Praise the Lord!!! God s Mighty Men of DuPage AME are not ashamed to give thanks to God. A weekend of festivities has been planned. info@dupageamec.org Rev. Dr. James F. Miller Senior Pastor Rev. Lana Parks Miller Executive Pastor Beginning Saturday, March 10th, a Men s Conference will provide continental breakfast, great topics and workshops for discussions and great fellowship. Speakers will include Rev. James Bailey, pastor of St. Stephen AME Church, Chicago. And let s not forget, we will have a hearty lunch. Rev. Albert D. Tyson, III Presiding Elder Rt. Rev. John F. White, Sr. Presiding Prelate Dr. Jeffery B. Cooper Inside this issue: New Members 2 Lenten Season Easter Sunday 4 Missionary Day 5 Quarterly Calendar 7...and more Rev. James Bailey Sunday, March 11th is the culmination of this year s Men s Weekend. The Singing 100 Men s Chorus will lead the way. Our guest preacher is none other than the Rev. Dr. Jeffery Cooper, General Secretary of the Connectional AME Church. Dr. Cooper originally hails Georgia where he had a very successful pastoral ministry before being elected a General Officer. We are on a mission with Men s Day this year. Our smallest children and our families would love to have our mini park completed behind our REACH House. It would be great to have a serene but interactive area for our kids to play. Each man is asked to give a pledge of $100 towards this project. If we have good participation, our children will be playing in a new park this spring! Blessings and thanks to our Chairperson, Reggie Waddell, and all of his loyal committee. Men, let s gather ourselves for Jesus once again. And ladies, we always appreciate your support on our day. Dinner will be served immediately following 11:15 am service for everyone. Pastor Miller

2 PAGE 2 WEL COME TO OUR NEW MEMBER S We welcome the following New Members to our DuPage AME Church family! May each of you always be open to the ministry of the Lord s church. Remember: Active Christians create churches that are alive! Veldee Sr., Veldee Jr., Kaiyaahna, Jahel & Skylaar Banks Dillen Keller Elmhurst Clay Beard Bolingbrook Aurora Naperville Raymond King Woodridge Lizette Halka Charles Cooper & Laurie Handleman Mildred McDonald Venice Naperville Jacqueline McNeal, Devonta & Josiah Cooper Sandra Scott Geneva Lisle GRATITUDE NOW MID-YEAR WORKSHOP On Wednesday, March 14th, from 2-3 pm Pastor Miller will present his GRATITUDE NOW Stewardship Workshop at the Fourth District Spiritual Transformation Convocation II, the Double Tree Hotel in Oakbrook. Members who are able are encouraged to come out and support Pastor Miller. THE NEWSLETTER is a publication of DuPage AME Church, 4300 Yackley Avenue, Lisle, IL 60532, ,w w w. D u P a g e A M E C. o r g Editor Rev. Lana Parks Miller. Staff Rev. Morgan Dixon & Brooke Denham , info@dupageamec.org. Ted McKee, photographer. Rights reserved to edit for content and space. Our aim is to communicate with you, provide an outreach to you, and truly reflect the spirit of the congregation and it s leadership. THE NEWSLETTER is published quarterly.

3 PAGE 3 TRIAL SERMON Gospel Preacher Arrives! #PreacherNext Another soldier answered the call to the ordained Christian ministry! On Friday, March 2 nd, our own Tracey Kenny who currently serves as Coordinator of the Class Leader s Council, preached her trial sermon. Tracey has publicly acknowledged her call to the ordained ministry of the AME church. Our Steward Board has received Tracey s testimony of salvation and has gladly encouraged her to continue on the path. We can thank God for blessing our church once again with help from heaven. LENTEN SEASON Sunday, March 25 th is Palm Sunday & Visitor s Day! Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus s triumph entry into Jerusalem and begins Holy Week. Palms will be distributed! DuPage Theatre Group has prepared an original skit written by Carolyn Morris, Sis. Elexis Wilson & Linda Tyler. Join us in celebrating our visitors! Easter is coming! GOOD FRIDAY 7 LAST WORDS SERVICE FRIDAY, MARCH 30 TH 7:15 PM THE FIRST WORD Rev. Lana Parks Miller Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. ~Luke 23:33-34 THE SECOND WORD Rev. Kevin Thornton Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. ~Luke 23:39-43 THE THIRD WORD Rev. Connie Dickerson He said to His mother, Woman, behold your son! Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother! ~John 19:26-27 THE FOURTH WORD Rev. TiShaunda McPherson Elo-i, elo-i, lema sabach-thani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ~Mark 15:33-34 THE FIFTH WORD Rev. Elliott Griffin I thirst! ~John 19:28 THE SIXTH WORD Rev. Dr. Shirley Brummell It is finished! ~John 19:29-30 THE SEVENTH WORD Pastor James F. Miller Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit. ~Luke 23:46

4 Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie PAGE 4 RESURRECTION SUNDAY LIBERATION AND UNITY EASTER SUNDAY! A day to get free of the stuff and get together in the Holy Spirit! On Holy Communion, Easter Sunday, April 1st, we will experience what I Corinthians 1:18 says, To those who are lost, the preaching of the cross is foolishness, but to we who are saved, it is the power of God! We will be freed from the stuff, and the things and, yes even from the mess and we gather in his holy name. DO YOU BELIEVE IT? WE DO! Pastor Miller will preach the early services and once again, our friend and Sister in the Spirit, the Rt. Rev. Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Presiding Prelate of the 10th Episcopal AME District (Texas), will preach our 11:15 am worship service. Get the word out. The Holy Spirit of God is being manifested, right now, for our Resurrection Day celebration. Come and bring the family to honor the Lord this Easter. Peace! REBECCA SMITH-ANDOH CELEBRATION OF TALENTS I will sing and make melody to the Lord. ~Psalm 27:6b On Saturday, April 21 st, 6 pm we will be awarding the DuPage AME Church Scholarships for 2018 to our deserving graduating high school seniors. Soprano Brandi Diggs will perform as we highlight our high school scholars at our annual Rebecca Smith-Andoh Celebration of Talents. Brandi is a versatile vocalist who sings operatic and solo repertoire throughout the United States and recently appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta Symphony and recitalist at the Kennedy Center. She holds a Performance Diploma from Peabody Conservatory where she studied with Denyce Graves, a Master of Music Degree from East Carolina University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Spelman College. Brandi L. Diggs Soprano DuPage High School Seniors get your applications in by the April 2nd deadline to be considered for any awards. Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 21st and plan to join us! We thank the Missionaries for sponsoring this annual event Scholarship Winners

5 PAGE 5 Sarah Allen Missionary Society MISSIONARY SUNDAY Missionaries Abounding in the Work of the LORD Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the LORD. ~I Corinthians 15:58 Annual Missionary Day is Sunday, April 29 th. We look forward to celebrating the Sarah Allen Missionary Society for all that they do. Each year our Missionaries donate items to our Troops oversees, coordinate our scholarship program and distribute food and gifts to families in need during the Thanksgiving and CHRISTmas seasons. We thank God for them! Our preacher will be Rev. Cindy Carr Rudolph, Senior Pastor of Smith Chapel AME Church in Inkster, Michigan. Previously, Rev. Rudolph served in the 2 nd Episcopal District and has now brought her ministry to the 4 th District with her family. Rev. Rudolph is committed to offering life-transforming ministry for people from all walks of life. Rev. Cindy Carr Rudolph CLASS LEADER DAY On Sunday, May 20 th, our Class Leaders Council will celebrate the joy of our church fellowship. In faith, we are fostering positive energy and optimistic encouragement to each other. In all life s struggles, Class Leader Council we pull closer together. We have a great church family that is really, truly depending on God. Come out and worship with the Class Leaders as they lead a the service in love, peace and joy! Bishop Stafford Wicker Our preacher will be none other than the Rt. Rev. Stafford Wicker, Presiding Prelate of the 18 th Episcopal AME District (Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland & parts of Mozambique). Bishop Wicker formerly pastored the great Antioch AME Church in Stone Mountain Georgia, which ministry remains magnificent. This is going to be a great Sunday everyone so please START PRAYING NOW (Who knows, the Faith Brothers might even sing!)!

6 PAGE 6 THE PRODIGAL STEWARD BY PATRICIA WILSON BAKER The Weight of it All is Light Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Him in His words. They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. Teacher, they said, we know that You are a man of integrity and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren t swayed by others, because You pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is Your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap Me? Show Me the coin used for paying the tax. They brought Him a denarius, and He asked them, Whose image is this? And whose inscription? Caesar s, they replied. Then He said to them, So give back to Caesar what is Caesar s, and to God what is God s. When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away. ~Matthew 22:15-22 Several weeks ago the president of my company retired. In his farewell speech he shared principles he lived by and that contributed to his success. Of course, I listened to every word, but I was impressed the most when he looked around the room, speaking to the crowd said, you are all leaders, and you should feel the weight of that every day as you re preparing for work. He said that we should feel the weight of our responsibility to grow the company, serve our customers and support our employees. To me, that was quite a statement and I ve pondered it for several days. How often do we go about our days as if we don't need to examine them? What is my investment in the work? Taking it a step further, how often do we sit in church service, drop an envelope in the offering tray, and then head home without giving it much thought? As if God s only requirement is that we show up. We need to examine what we are doing and why. We need to feel the weight of our responsibility as children of God. When we give our offering or pay our tithes, is it out of duty or out of a thankful heart? If you give only because it s what you were told to do, then we are not invested in it! It s important to be obedient to the Word of God, but we have to catch the spirit of the Word. That s what Jesus did in Matthew 22: He discerned the Pharisees were trying to trap him in his words. They didn t care whether Jesus paid taxes or not. They knew his theology but they tried to catch him in a conundrum. If he said no to paying the imperial tax, then he would ve made a treasonous statement against Cesar, and if he said yes, then to them he would ve denied God s authority. His wise response was irrefutable. Likewise, we must render to God what is God s. We must follow his example and give sacrificially out of the abundance that He has given us. Remember, God sacrificed His own Son, Jesus, so that we would have eternal life (John 3:16), and He did it because He so loved the world; meaning His creation, His children. God told us in Malachi 3, to give for the building of His kingdom and the furtherance of the gospel. God loves us and He wants us to be with Him for eternity! We should feel the weight of that every day, everywhere and especially when we come to worship. I challenge you to think about this when you write your check, text, or swipe your card to give an offering or pay your tithes. As you re preparing to give think about God and why you re giving. Think about the impact it will have in bringing souls to Him for eternity, and your responsibility to it. Be in the moment. Feel the weight of it all as Jesus said, Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. ~Matthew 11:29-30.

7 R.E.A.C.H. FOOD BANK When I was hungry you fed Me ~Matthew 25:35 We thank all the many volunteers who assisted with the Food Bank this year! Upcoming dates for serving: Saturday March 10th, Noon Saturday, April 14th, Noon Saturday, May 12th, Noon Please make a contribution of your service! Assistance is also needed prior to truck days. Drivers are also needed to assist with delivery of food. Please pray about how you can be a blessing to someone in need. To volunteer please contact Loleta at Your assistance is greatly appreciated! Thank you! PAGE 7 THE CALENDAR AT A GLANCE MARCH Men s Weekend 25 Palm Sunday & Visitor s Day 30 Good Friday 7 Last Words Service APRIL 1 Resurrection Easter Sunday 21 Rebecca Smith Andoh-Celebration of Talents Scholarship Recital 29 Missionary Day MAY 13 Mother s Day 20 Pentecost Sunday & Class Leader Day HAPPY MOTHER S DAY, DUPAGE!

8 DuPage AME Church 4300 Yackley Avenue Lisle, IL Blessed To Be A Blessing