The Good News LYONSVILLE CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. Inside this issue:

Transcription

1 The Good News LYONSVILLE CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST "A Home for The Spiritual Journey" Rev. Dr. Thom Bower, Interim Minister June 2016 Gary Boxell, Editor Done and Doing Inside this issue: Birthdays and Anniversaries Remember in Your Prayers Mark Your Calendars 3 3 Thank You Notes 5 Sympathies & Prayers 4, 5 6 Join Us 6 General News 6, 7 Mission Board News 8 Congratulations 8 Worship Opportunities 9 June already?! You mean I ve been with Lyonsville for nine months already?! Wow, we could have had a baby in that time! What have we done instead? Well, we have mourned: since I began in October we have averaged a funeral or memorial every six weeks. That could be a heavy weight on our spirit, except We ve also celebrated: Christmas and Easter, Holy Humor and Pentecost, birthdays and weddings, a baptism, and recognizing ministry activities as leadership roles have changed. We ve had congregational meetings and congregational gatherings. Leadership Council and Ministry Boards have had lots of meetings monthly plus things like the Leadership Retreat. This has been a combination of sustaining the congregation as it has been and visioning what the congregation can be. And we ve taken some beginning steps towards change. We ve held Boundary Awareness Experience. Some of those changes in leadership roles are resulting in changing some of our processes. The Transition Team has been helping me understand the congregation and has been making small changes like reinstituting Craft Sundays. More changes are yet to come. Some are temporary, some are longer-lasting. Some are experiments so you can better articulate what is essential for Lyonsville s identity and ministry; others are necessary because of shifts affecting available resources (personnel, financial, and cultural). All of these changes are carefully considered with two questions before us: What helps Lyonsville Be The Church? and How does this help Lyonsville move toward calling a new pastor and a new generation of members? (continued on pg. 2)

2 Page 2 The Good News I know change is difficult. My physician is telling me I need to change some of my daily habits to improve my health. When I began with you in October I needed to lose 15 pounds; now I have only 20 more to go! So as I write this, I am beginning a new exercise regimen and starting a new diet (church potlucks are going to be so difficult!) My medical care team keeps telling me being better informed helps me make the changes. Following their advice, let me share with you what I am expecting to be doing this summer. First, I am excited to be offering a bible study. I chose 1 Thessalonians, because it is chronologically the first Christian scripture. We ll look at how the issues raised by the early church inform Lyonsville to Be The Church. This will be held on Thursday evenings 7-8:30. If there is interest, I am willing to offer a weekday morning bible study (Tuesday 10-11:30?). To make the second session go, I am seeking 6 people who will commit to being at 8 of the 10 sessions. This bible study will follow an inductive method I learned in seminary; it is different than going verse by verse. The homework for the first session is to read the entire book in one sitting and come up with three single-word themes. Second, worship is going to be different in three significant ways. We ll be worshipping downstairs, so there s no second-guessing if it is too hot to worship in the sanctuary. Instead of following the lectionary, we ll be following the story of Abraham & Sarah. And worship will be more experiential. You ve had other experiential worship services with me: the Christmas pageant; Good Friday; Holy Humor; Pentecost. There will be less time on the sermon and more time responding to the scripture and praying together. These temporary changes to worship are at Leadership Council s directive to demonstrate to the congregation a variety of worship styles. We ll return to the sanctuary and more familiar worship on Gathering Sunday, September 11 th. Third, much more of my work is going to be administrative. Again, these priorities have been named by Leadership Council as necessary tasks in anticipation of the Search Process. I will be in the church building on Sundays, most Tuesday mornings, and Thursday evenings. Otherwise I expect to do a lot of work from home, where I can easily be reached by phone and . As always, if there is an emergency I will come as needed. Fourth, I am taking some time away. In the summer Ronda and I both block Saturdays mornings as Sabbath time together: that s when we visit a couple of farmer s markets. I have 19 days of vacation to take. I am splitting them between a June trip to see grandchildren in Florida and a span in August when my mother will be visiting. I am also taking the last week of July for continuing education: I will be attending the Mooseburger Clown Camp (more on that next month). I am also aware that I have accrued some surplus hours (remember: I am only ¾ time!) and plan to be claiming those with some weeks of less work. It s not too early To start thinking about our Harvest Home Turkey raffle. If you have any new or like new items that you could donate, we would greatly appreciate it. You can drop things off in the church office.

3 The Good News Page 3 Happy Birthday (click here for birthday wishes) Justin Skweres 6/3 Jean Hegner 6/5 Rob Mueller 6/6 Chloe Cihak 6/7 Ellen Corlett 6/9 Justin Hegner 6/16 Pricie Rogan 6/16 Lauren Castner 6/20 Kelsey Byers 6/23 Chuck Helms 6/30 Christy Smith 6/30 Sanna Bashor 7/1 Nick Guglielmi 7/2 Michael Baker 7/3 Marion Randolph 7/4 Peter Schuch 7/6 Adeline Brocken 7/7 Beth Doria 7/8 Dawn Snell 7/11 Penny Taylor 7/11 Jean Dawe 7/14 Melissa Hendricks 7/18 Charlotte Mikat-Stevens 7/24 Bob von Trebra 7/31 Happy Anniversary Aleta & Michael Belletete 6/1 Nicole & Art Helms 6/5 Maria & Chris Korber 6/5 Jean & Robert Hegner 6/10 Marianna Mikat-Stevens & Rom Stevens 6/13 Erika & Joe Wierdak 6/19 Susan & Rob Mueller 6/25 Beth & Larry Doria 6/26 Sanna & Darrel Bashor 6/30 Carrie & Michael Molloy 7/3 Laura & Bruce Cady 7/12 Lauren & Thomas McSweeney 7/29 Sherry & Bob Mueller 7/31 Please contact the church office if any information is missing or incorrect. Remember in Your Prayers Garnett Adams Jerry Cihak Gladys Clendenin Marvin Davis Jean Dawe Jamie Hankus Chuck Holloway Judy Holloway Mike Kelly Jane Kuhn Barbara Loehman Kathy Loehman Hazel Mulcahy Jeanne Pierson Marion Randolph Beth Smidt Dee Wallace

4 Page 4 The Good News Mark Your Calendars Manna gift card program: Forms are available in the Narthex. The forms will be due on June 5 and the orders will be distributed on June 12. Please see Cindi Fiandaca for more information. MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE: The American Legion will be commemorating Memorial Day with a brief ceremony at the flagpole in the northwest corner of the Lyonsville Cemetery on Monday, May 30th at approximately 10:00 am (though we know from previous years they have arrived as early as 9:30 and as late as 10:30). Lyonsville Cemetery Board members will have complimentary snacks and beverages available while you wait. Lyonsville Cemetery holds special interest to the Legion as it is the resting place of more than 90 veterans with service ranging from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. Join the American Legion for this tribute to those who served our country in the armed forces! Feed My Starving Children - We will be going to FMSC on Wednesday, June 8th for the morning packing session (9:30-11:30) in Aurora, IL. Please let Judy Birmingham know if you would like to go and we can arrange car pools. Please Note: The Pet Blessing scheduled for Saturday, June 11th has been cancelled. There is still a presence of the dog influenza, therefore, due to the concern of the health of our furry friends we have decided to cancel this year's pet blessing. We look forward to seeing you and your pet companions at Lyonsville's Pet Blessing next year. Lyonsville Book Club Sunday, June 12th Everyone is invited to our next book club discussion on Sunday, June 12th 11:30-1:00pm. We will be discussing the book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. It is a heartwarming story of fathers and sons, first loves, fate and the resilient human heart. It is a historical fiction novel set during the period of WWII and the Japanese American internment. Kay Tsukuno will be joining us with her memories of life in the camp! June 24th - pot luck and game night for Feed My Starving Children. Card making on June 26th after coffee hour. Patrick Ferguson once mentioned when Stephen was in the hospital that a lot of people don't get cards or visitors. So we wanted to do a card making project. These cards can be for shut ins, friends, or anyone in need of card or cheering up. Lots of them will be stamped with a butterfly, then can be colored in, and they will be beautiful. We will have colored pencils for you to take home and do some on your own at your leisure. There will be stamps if you wish to stamp something inside, or leave blank for your own personal message. A light lunch will be served. Please join us for this fun, easy project and fellowship time. - Barbara and Byron Loehman, the Transition Team, and Laurie Tsukuno

5 The Good News Page 5 The Memorial Celebration for Ruth Chvosta will be Saturday, June 25, 2016 at 11:00 am at Lyonsville Congregational Church. A reception will follow in the church Fellowship Hall. Gifts in memory of Ruth can be made to Lyonsville Congregational Church. Dear Friends, Mom was a wonderful letter writer and loved to keep-in-touch with so many people throughout her life. Now we would like to touch her memory through letters to her from the people who love her. Her Memorial Celebration in June is called As Ever, Ruthie. Your memory letter to her would be a special part of honoring her. Join Us If you would allow, it could be shared during the celebration in June. That would be a special gift. If you would prefer it not be shared, we will cherish it privately if you indicate. Thank you for all the ways you touched Mom s life. We are so grateful for 91 wonderful years. As ever, Her daughters RuthAnn, Jeanne & Cindy 7010 Hillsdale Road, Countryside, IL A very big thank you to Penny Duke for her years of service on the organ and piano! Thank you to everyone who participated in our May 22 Craft Sunday. The pet toys we made were donated to the Hinsdale Humane Society. Thank you from Marion Randolph to everyone who helped with Bob s memorial service. My sincere thank you to all who helped to have a very wonderful Church Women United May luncheon. The luncheon would not happen if not for the help cleaning, organizing, shopping, setting up, arranging center pieces, plating dessert, food serving, cleaning up, financial support, and Bible Study Leadership. Thanks to everyone! Also, thank you to all whom have contributed to, and continue to support CWU with the collection of baby items for Community Nurse. And, thank you to those who participated in the Baker s Square 20% back program. This support makes possible the continuing mission work of CWU. - Wilma Mrazek

6 Page 6 The Good News OUR SYMPATHIES AND PRAYERS Our sympathies and prayers go out to the family and friends of Ben Adams, who passed away April 21. Ben was a good friend of the church. Join Us MEN S BREAKFAST GROUP meets on the second Saturday of each month at 9:00 a.m. at Willow Hills Restaurant, next to Walgreens at Joliet Rd. and Willow Springs Rd. in Indian Head Park. All men are welcome to join us for this chance to eat and talk! WOMEN S BABY BOOMER BUNCH (WBBB) will meet for breakfast at Willow Hills Restaurant at 6678 S. Joliet Rd. in Indian Head Park at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 4. They will also meet Saturday, July 2. All boomers and their friends are invited. Contact Judy Birmingham for more information. News from The Pews ON LINE GIVING You can now make donations to the church on line! Click on the Face Book post about making donations, Or Click on the Donate tab at the top of our website. Choose from one of the suggested amounts, or click the Amount button to enter your own. Make a one-time donation, or a recurring one (e.g. pledges). There is a Note field if you would like to have your donation used for a special purpose, such as a memorial, a fund raiser, an Easter gift, etc. SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE E-Newsletter of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ by visiting their website at

7 The Good News Page 7 LABYRINTH WALKS Lyonsville is planning to schedule labyrinth walks on a regular basis every other month. Dates scheduled are June 18 and August 20. We would like to encourage our congregation to participate in these very meaningful events. Labyrinth walks are also a wonderful outreach to the community and various other groups. However, we cannot have the labyrinth walks without volunteers from our congregation to oversee them. This is a excellent opportunity to open our doors and let people see what Lyonsville Church is all about. Recently Laurie Tsukuno put together information regarding the history and meaning of the labyrinth walks. Also, thanks to Laurie, we have information available to the volunteers as to setting up and assisting our guests. This type of community involvement is very important to the life and growth of Lyonsville. Please contact the Worship and Spiritual Growth Board to volunteer. When you volunteer you receive all necessary information and help from members of Lyonsville. Without the help and cooperation of Lyonsville these walks cannot continue on a regular schedule. Watch for a sign-up sheet. Wilma Mrazek WSGMB Summer Bible Study Ten sessions, beginning 23 June, will be held on Thursday evenings 7-8:30. (If there is interest, I am willing to offer a weekday morning bible study. To make the second session go, I am seeking 6 people who will commit to being at 8 of the 10 sessions.) I selected 1 Thessalonians, because it is chronologically the first Christian scripture. We ll look at how the issues raised by the early church inform Lyonsville to Be The Church. This bible study will follow an inductive method I learned in seminary; it is different than going verse by verse. The homework for the first session is to read the entire book in one sitting and come up with three single-word themes. Penny Duke, Lyonsville s organist, is retiring from her position. Her final Sunday will be June 5 th. Our worship that Sunday will have a special choir anthem, and the morning reflection will be on the importance of music for our spirits. Penny will be presented with a gift from the congregation. After the postlude has concluded that morning, you are invited to a reception in the Fellowship Hall honoring Penny (there will be chocolate!).

8 Page 8 The Good News News From Your Mission Board LYONSVILLE CHURCH FOOD PANTRY Come and help out at our own food pantry for just 45 minutes. It is on Sundays from 11:30am to 12:15pm. We would like to have two people there to help assist our guests/visitors during this time. You just need to help restock any food dropped off, check expiration dates, and help bag food. Please contact Karen Oberg or anyone on the Mission Ministry Board for June and July dates. NOTE NEW TIME GOOD SAMARITAN FUND On Communion Sundays, donations are invited to the Good Samaritan Fund, which is used to provide assistance locally to persons in need. You may use the white offering envelopes in the pews, and indicate that the gift is for the Good Samaritan Fund. Thank you for your generosity! GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Please come join us to help volunteer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) on Saturday, June 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30. We will meet at church to carpool at 8:15. We also go every Wednesday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. (meet to carpool at 5:15). The GCFD, Chicago s food bank, is a non-profit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people. The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 678,000 adults and children in Cook County every year. They rely heavily on their volunteers to help repack bulk products, assemble boxes with assorted food, check expiration dates, glean produce, etc. Participants must be at least 14 years old. For more information go to or see/call Cindi Fiandaca or Judy Birmingham to sign up. The depository would like all volunteers to register in advance. Please see our website (Volunteer Opportunities post) or contact the church office for a link to their website where you can easily do this. Our special collection for the food pantry this month is peanut butter and jelly. Please drop off your donation in the box at the top of the stairs going down to the fellowship hall. CONGRATULATIONS TO: Congratulations to the Wierdak family on the baptism of their son, Daniel.

9 5 June 10 th Sunday of Ordinary Time Scripture Sermon Comments Lay Reader Announceme nt / Joys & Psalm 150 Colossians 3: June Romans 4:13-25 Songs of Praise Communion (by intinction) Communion Servers: Michael Baker, Kaila Baker, Nayna Byers, Trinity Byers The Reckoning" What does it mean if faith is a gift? 19 June Gen 12:1-9 Abraham s 26 June Gen 13: July Romans 8:1-11 Call, God s promise Penny s Last Sunday Welcome Kevin Thom Absent: Kerry Waller Dueholm preaching Father s Day including the men s hymnsing selection Chuck Helms Doug Adams Tom McSweene y Land promised Jean Hegner "The Law and the Lord" God sets us free to choose to do right Communion (intinction) Thom Absent: Kerry Waller Dueholm preaching Judy Birmingham Jan Peters Sherry Suomi Karen Oberg Greeters Fellowship Hosts Food Pantry The Good News Page 9

10 Contact Lyonsville The Good News is produced monthly, except for a combined July/ August edition. Please submit your articles to lyonsville@sbcglobal.net. The deadline for the next issue is June 19. Phone Fax Lyonsville@sbcglobal.net Please return this form to update your contact information. Please correct the information on the mailing label. No thanks. Please remove from mailing list. Visit us on the web at I prefer delivery. Here s my address: LYONSVILLE CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 6871 Joliet Road Indian Head Park, IL 60525