The Good News. Faith-Full Music LYONSVILLE CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. Inside this issue:

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1 The Good News LYONSVILLE CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST "A Home for The Spiritual Journey" Rev. Dr. Thom Bower, Interim Minister February 2017 Gary Boxell, Editor Faith-Full Music Inside this issue: Worship Opportunities Birthdays and Anniversaries Remember in Your Prayers Mark Your Calendars Join Us 5 4, 5 General News 6, 7 Thank You Notes 7 Mission Board News Help Wanted I ve never been able to get music to my fingertips an essential part of making music with an instrument! I am thankful for church musicians who help my soul dance in ways I did not know it could move. A member recently told me Over the years Lyonsville has had so many musicians. Each brought a different style of music, and we ve learned a bit from every one of them. I have observed you appreciate good music of many genres: in my time with you I have heard classical, jazz standards, Dixieland, contemporary, folk. Music in worship works in ways I do not comprehend. So in the next month (and maybe into Lent) I ll be relying on our music leaders to help explain the important role of music in worship and to teach us all how to participate in worship music better. There s two main reasons for this focus. First, I am planning for Lyonsville to sing through Lent so on Easter that day when the most worship visitors can be expected we will sing our faith boldly, loudly, and meaningfully. Beginning in February helps us prepare for Lent. Second, I am hoping this helps the Pastoral Search Team. Their first major effort is to complete a Congregational Profile. Part of that Profile relates to worship styles and expectations of pastoral worship leadership. By talking about worship music, I am hoping Lyonsville will also begin conversing about other expectations of worship especially those related to the pastor s role. (Continued)

2 Page 2 The Good News (Continued) Ultimately, this fits with my call to help the church be deliberate in expressing its faith through worship and the arts, through social justice and study, through prayer and community. This is part of the way we live as people of the resurrection faith. Date 5 Feb 5 th of Epiphany 12 Feb 6 th of Epiphany Focus Scriptures Sermon Matt 5:13-20 Jots and Tittles Communion (in the Pews) Matthew 5:21-37 Discerning priorities 19 Feb 7 th of Epiphany Thom Absent 26 Feb Transfiguration Sunday Matthew 17:1-9 On the Mountaintop and In the Clouds 1 March Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday Service at Burr Ridge UCC

3 The Good News Page 3 Happy Birthday (click here for birthday wishes) Jane Kuhn 2/04 Gary Cihak 2/06 Jorja Hegner 2/08 Don Pondelick 2/12 Bill Wallace 2/12 Dee Wallace 2/13 Mark Richel 2/14 Joseph Wierdak 2/14 Catherine Salvatori 2/18 Kaila Baker 2/20 Natalie Mikat-Stevens 2/23 Renee Richel 2/23 Stephanie Corlett 3/01 Gwyneth Hegner 3/05 Seth Hegner 3/05 Laura Cady 3/06 Ian Miller 3/07 Judy Holloway 3/10 Marsha Smith 3/10 Gene Martin 3/11 Sherry Suomi 3/12 Maddy Cihak 3/13 Steven Smith 3/15 Evan Brocken 3/20 Eric Woods 3/29 Happy Anniversary Steven and Andrea Brocken 3/21 Please contact the church office if any information is missing or incorrect. Remember in Your Prayers Gladys Clendenin Marvin Davis Jean Dawe Jamie Hankus Chuck Helms 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 Calling all bakers... Please bake some goodies (cookies, brownies, bars or cupcakes) for our Annual Pancake Breakfast and Bake Sale on Saturday, February 11. Drop off your donation on Friday, the 10th, between 12:00 and 3:00. VALENTINE S PANCAKE BREAKFAST Saturday, February 11 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. Tickets are $8 for adults; $5 for children age 5-12; children age 4 and under are free. Leadership Retreat Members of Leadership Council, Transition Team, and Search Team are invited to a retreat on Saturday, February 11. Noon -2 (we ll start earlier if clean up from the pancake breakfast is completed earlier). This will replace or February Council meeting. Family Game Night Friday, February 24th 7-9pm Come and join us at our next family game night on Friday, February 24th from 7 to 9 PM. Bring your favorite game and a snack. Or just pull up a chair and join in any of the other games. It's sure to be a fun time with plenty of laughs. All are welcome, invite friends, family, and neighbors. If you need more info, or need a ride, see or call Laurie Tsukuno.

5 The Good News Page 5 THE MASCOUTIN SOCIETY invites you to our Winter Social Dance held at the Lyonsville Congregational Church on February 25, at 4:00 pm. We have a fun evening planned with some great singers coming. Dinner will be at 5:00 (donations welcome) and dancing will start at 6:00 that will include intertribal dancing, cake walks, and surprises. We will also be having a 50/50 raffle, and raffles with some very nice quality items. Hope you can make it, and bring a friend! The Mascoutin Society of Chicagoland is a non-profit organization with the purpose of promoting Native Cultures. The Mascoutin Society aids Native American students with scholarships and families with its family aid program. The Society also contributes to local and national Native American organizations. Each summer the Society sponsors the O-Sa-Wan Pow Wow in the Chicagoland area. If interested, please come to one of our meetings held every 2 nd Tuesday of each month in the West Fellowship hall at 7:30 p.m. ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING is one of the five special offerings we receive each year. This offering provides support for health, education, refugee, agricultural and emergency relief initiatives in 138 countries by working with local, national, and global partners. We will receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering on March 26 this year, and we encourage you to give generously. 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! For more information contact Gene Martin. 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, February 4. They will also meet Saturday, March 4. All boomers and their friends are invited. Contact Judy Birmingham for more information.

6 Page 6 The Good News News from The Pews Ministry Boards & Ministry Teams When Pastor Bob resigned, he left a work in progress that is now being picked up: combining ministry boards. The goal in these new combinations is to be more efficient and effective in using our people resources. The first of these combinations is being tried. The Worship and Spiritual Growth and Pastoral Care Ministry Boards are being united. Initially, you will see no change to the way ministry is being done: the same people are doing the same ministry tasks. We are slowly living our way into this change to see how it works. Within this work, Bob suggested Lyonsville move to ministry teams. We are going to try this. A Ministry Team is called for a specific purpose; some teams will be short-term, others to complete a task. One example is the Pastoral Search team: they are called to the tasks of calling a pastor for as long as that task requires; when a pastor is called, that team will dissolve. Ministry Team members are not elected to the board: they may come on and off as they wish and (hopefully!) have fewer meetings. Worship & Spiritual Growth / Pastoral Care (we re working on a new name) already has two teams. The Cards & Letters Team (Jan, Hazel, and Gail) send an assortment of notes marking special events and extending healing prayers. The Communion Preparation Team (Doris, Jean, and Wilma) will continue to recruit communion stewards, set-up communion, and clean-up afterwards. We re looking to start another team: Visitation. Actually, this is a restart with a new focus. This team will go to hospitals and homes to visit those who are unable to come to church. We are hoping for 6-8 people who will work in pairs. We ll work on coordinating our visits and offer some training on how to visit well on behalf of Lyonsville. HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT THE CURRENT PASTORAL CARE MINISTRY BOARD DOES? CAN IT HELP YOU IN SOME WAY? Are you unable to attend church? Would you love to receive a card, phone call, or note from Lyonsville? Or a visit? Or be added to the Remember in your prayers list in The Good News? (Or feel you can now be taken off it?) Do you have a special need? Will you be celebrating a special birthday, anniversary, graduation?... If so, you may contact Jan Peters directly (her phone number is in the church directory) or through the church office. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!

7 The Good News Page 7 UPDATED CHURCH DIRECTORIES are available in the church office. We have stopped placing them in the back of the sanctuary. Have You Tried The UCC s Daily Devotional? Written by the Stillspeaking Writer s Group Delivered every day to your Free! To sign up, go to A Message from General Minister and President Rev. John Dorhauer Into the Mystic is a podcast modeling the art and practice of spiritual reflection. Episodes can be found at or subscribe on itunes. Thank you to our volunteers: Judy Birmingham, Doug Adams, Karen Oberg, Gary and Kim Boxell, Bruce and Laura Cady, Marianne Johnson, Mike Johnson, Anna Reis, Cindi Fiandaca and Laurie Tsukuno for helping out on Saturday, January 21st at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. They sorted, boxed, labeled, and palletized 14,724 pounds of bread for distribution.

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 Judy Birmingham or anyone on the Mission Ministry Board for February and March dates. The Mission Board is collecting aluminum cans. The money raised will be used to support Mission projects. Please crush your cans before bringing them to church. Pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House We are collecting pop tabs to take to the Ronald McDonald House. We will have a collection container located in the fellowship hall. If you have any questions please see Cindi Fiandaca. Box Tops for Education We are also collecting Box Tops for Education to give to Byrne School. Collecting Box Tops is an easy way for schools to earn cash. It s easy to find Box Tops (a list will be by the collection box). In fact, you may have some in your home right now. All you have to do is clip the Box Tops from your favorite products and put them in the collection container located in the fellowship hall. If you have any questions please see a member of the Mission Board. Donations to the Food Pantry - Linda Hankus brought an idea to the Mission board recently which we have adopted. In addition to providing food for our guests, we have set up a few shelves where we are displaying items that our guests can take if they need them. These include shoes, boots, household items (pots and pans are always needed), and warm clothing. If you have items you would like to donate, please bring them to the church and give them to a member of the Missions Board. The items MUST BE clean. In order to control the inventory, if an item does not get taken within two months, that item will be donated to Goodwill. If you have any questions, please contact Judy Birmingham.

9 The Good News Page 9 GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY Please come join us to help volunteer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) on Saturday, February 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45. 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. 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! In the month of February, the Mission Board will be collecting white paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, napkins) for the Lyonsville food pantry. Thank you for your support of this mission.

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