Northbrook United Methodist Church Messenger april 2017 Holy Week Worship This is what it s all about. Holy Week celebrates the central mystery of our faith: From death God brings life. Jesus death and resurrection changed everything. Palm Sunday, April 9 at 10:00 AM Jesus entry into Jerusalem sets up the contrast between his kingdom of love and our kingdoms of tyranny. We will wave palms to greet the morning. Pastor Melissa will conclude the sermon series on Breathing Under Water. Maundy Thursday, April 13 at 7:00-8:00 PM Maundy comes from the Latin word for commandment. This holy day is called Maundy Thursday because it is the day when we remember Jesus commandment to love one another. He showed us what this love looks like through servanthood. During this traditional worship service we will share in Holy Communion and have the opportunity to serve one another through washing feet or washing hands. Good Friday, April 14 at 6:30 PM On Good Friday we remember Jesus death. This year we will gather as those who knew him in the flesh for a meal, much like we gather for a meal following a funeral. We will hear from people who knew him and reflect together on the meaning of his life and the gap left by his death. To help us plan for the meal please RSVP to Christine at 847-272-2442 or Christine@northbrookumc.org Easter Sunday Easter Breakfast, April 16 at 9:00 AM, Worship at 10:00 AM God breaks in with new life and restored hope. We make a sharp shift from the grief of Good Friday to the joy of Easter Sunday. The sanctuary will be festooned with flowers, the choir will overwhelm us with songs from Handel s Messiah, and we will remember together the central mystery of our faith: Christ is risen! Egg Casseroles being provided by volunteer cooks, families are asked to bring fruit or sweet breads. Easter Egg Hunt 11:00 AM
Hats and Horses May 6, 2017 5:30 pm Enjoy dinner, drinks and entertainment while supporting NUMC through a live and silent auction. Tickets will go on sale soon. Covenant Village 2155 Pfingsten Rd. Northbrook Spectator and Boutonniere Making Party You can t go to the Derby without a hat or a boutonniere. Stay after worship on April 23 and April 30 and for $5 you can make your very own spectator hat or boutonniere for our big event! We re Looking for Great Stuff Do you have season tickets to a Chicago sports team? Do you make a mean chocolate cheese cake? Does your family have a cottage on a lake? Are you willing to share? For our Hats and Horses Gala on May 6 we are looking for items for the silent and live auction. Donation forms and solicitation letters are on the cabinet in the narthex. Please take letters and forms to businesses you frequent and ask for donations to help support the ministry of our church.
AN EARLY CHRISTIAN MEAL: A GOOD FRIDAY EXPERIENCE April 14th time TBD Join NUMC s youth as we recreate a gathering of the followers of Jesus in the hours following his death. You are invited to come and share this night with others who have followed him, who grieve at his death, and who wonder what his life has meant to the world and to you. We hope you will save the date and join us. Much help is needed in order to make this experience a success. If you are open to finding out more about how to serve in this way, please get in touch with Christine Hides, christine@northbrookumc.org Welcome Spring! Make a Joyful Noise Mission Offering To counter the din of the bad news, we have started to make a joyful noise with coin offerings for missions. We began the first Sunday during Lent, and then each Sunday following Lent. We will take a special offering of coins for an organization or special church project that shares the love of God in concrete ways. Organizations don t have to call themselves Christian to receive the offering, just do the work that Jesus would have us do. During Lent our Joyful Noise Offering will go to Justice For Our Neighbors, an organization that provides free legal assistance to undocumented immigrants who are seeking legal status. You can learn more about Justice For Our Neighbors on their website http://nijfon.org/
AGAPE Friends In Faith will meet on April 23 at 11:15 am in room 9. CHURCH COUNCIL The Church Council meets on April 4th at 7:00 pm. Going forward, each time we meet, someone in AGAPE will share something of interest, an article, a presentation recently attended, etc. TAIZÉ PRAYER April 20 6:45-7:15PM Taizé is a form of prayer that includes using simple, repetitive songs in many languages, silence and scripture readings. This 30-minute prayer service is a wonderful way to renew your spirit midweek. Our current instruments are piano and viola. This is a wonderful opportunity for other musicians (include vocal) to participate. You could play in one song or in several. Please contact Pastor Melissa or Michael Gail if you would like to add your instrument or your voice, or simply arrive at 6:30 to rehearse. Won t You Be My Neighbor? Sermon Series: April 23, 30 and May 7 Jesus said many times, Love your neighbor as yourself. Easy to say, sometimes hard to do. Sometimes it s easier to love our neighbors across the city or across the world than our neighbors across the street or right next door. How do we love our neighbors we barely know? How do we love our neighbors whose views of the world are so different from our own? We ll get practical about how to love our neighbors in anxious times.
BOOK CLUB Chris Greulich and Nancy Metzler have pulled together an interesting array of books for 2017. If you have other suggestions or wish to host a Book Club, please call Chris at 847-272-5857 or Nancy at 847-272-8461. April 19 th : Host is Gretchen Boyer; book is Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. A Best Book of the Year The Boston Globe, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Denver Post In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf's inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis's wife. His daughter lives hours away, her son even farther, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in empty houses, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with. But maybe that could change? As Addie and Louis come to know each other better--their pleasures and their difficulties--a beautiful story of second chances unfolds, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer's enduring contribution to American literature. May 17th: Host is Alice Lonoff; book is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Sept. 20 th : Host is TBD; book is Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult Inter-Faith Spiritual Books Discussion Group Northbrook Public Library, Thursday, April 6 at 1:00 PM Would you like to explore spiritual topics with people from diverse spiritual traditions? Join Pastor Melissa for the Spiritual Books Discussion group at Northbrook Public Library, Thursday, April 6 at 1:00 PM. Our next book is, Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change, by Pema Chodron. In this concise book, Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition, teaches the Three Commitments, which provide wisdom for living in an ever-changing world.
DIAPER DRIVE Thanks again to all those who helped make last year's diaper drive such a success! This years drive began March 12th and runs through the end of April, for delivery on Mother's Day. We will be collecting baby wipes and diapers (especially larger sizes) for Mary Lou's Place, a domestic violence shelter for survivors and their children. They are so in need and so very grateful for our support. If you have any questions you can reach Mary Pat at mpmpmpk@aol.com. OUR RECONCILING STAINED GLASS WINDOW As many of you know, being a Reconciling United Methodist Church means we openly and sincerely welcome LGBTQ folks into the life of our church. After we voted overwhelmingly to become Reconciling, I approached artist Paul Holzman, Lyndl Schuster s good friend, and asked him if I could commission him to create simple stained glass window with the symbol of the Reconciling movement. He agreed, but then he took it several beautiful steps beyond what I dreamed possible. Please take a few moments to really look at the window that hangs by the door to our garden, and read Paul s reflection on creating the window (which is on the wall near the window). He steeply discounted the normal fee for the time spent creating a work of this intricacy and beauty. A photo of the window now graces the back of our photo directory. Alice Lonoff
NUMC Closed the Budget Gap Thank You Recently, NUMC asked folks to make additional pledges or one-time gifts to make up an unforeseen loss of $13,000 in contributions to Northbrook UMC. We received additional donations and/or pledges from sixteen families and individuals. We also received a reduction in our apportionments (NUMC s contribution to the work of the Annual Conference and denomination). These gifts, pledges, and savings on our apportionments are enough to close our budget shortfall and balance our operating budget for 2017. Thank you to all of you who increased your pledges or made one-time donations. We are truly grateful for your support. Endowment Funds Available There is $19,255 available for distribution from the Endowment Fund. Funds may be used for missions, training and special projects. Proposals are due to the church office by April 16, 2017. Guidelines and grant proposal forms are available in the church office. The Endowment Fund was established in 1992 when the church received a large bequest as a permanent way of providing for the church s ongoing financial needs. By using a small portion of the fund value annually, we can ensure that NUMC will be able to fund the ministries of the church today and in the future. If you would like to give to the endowment fund or put the church in your will, please see Pastor Melissa Earley or Brad Uhlig, Endowment Fund Chair. NORTHBROOK PUBLIC LIBRARY CELEBRATION OF CULTURES FAIRE After the success of last year's inaugural Celebration of Cultures, the Northbrook Community Relations Commission is once again sponsoring a free Celebration of Cultures Faire for Northbrook residents and their friends to experience and appreciate the variety of cultural backgrounds of people living and working in the North Shore. This free, family-friendly faire will be held on Sunday, April 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the North Suburban YMCA, 2705 Techny Road, Northbrook. The Faire will include dancing, singing, cultural art, artifacts and traditional costumes, as well as an opportunity to taste traditional foods and talk to representatives of our diverse cultures. Residents are also encouraged to share their family s immigration story by visiting www.nsymca.org/immigration-stories. To enhance the celebration, the Northbrook Public Library is hosting a Celebration of Cultures Film Series featuring a free Foreign Film Festival, which will screen every Wednesday at 1pm and 7:30pm, from April 5 through April 26 in the Northbrook Library Auditorium. Join us and participate in this inspiring family faire!
CHOIR FOOD PANTRY DONATION The Northfield Food Pantry is asking for pasta products during the month of April. Please bring all donations to Penberthy. Love to sing? Love making new friends? Love being part of a group? Join the church choir. Rehearsals are on Thursday evenings. Please see Shirley Mosteller for more information. Martha Circle will meet again on April 13 at 10:00 am.. All are welcome. This is a great time to see people you may not have seen in a while. Please join us. Please call Linda Reed with any questions or should you need a ride. MINDFUL MEDITATION Mindfulness is the ability to know what is happening in your mind without being carried by it, Dan Harris, ABC News Anchor Mindfulness Experience with Paige Brooks meets again on April 24 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm Whether you have meditated before or not, this is a great way to spend an hour learning to relax your whole being.
SOPHIA CIRCLE If you have any questions, contact Karen Wells at brucea1341@aol.com. Hi Ladies, LOOKING AHEAD Monday, April 3 meeting will be held at Penberthy Hall at 7:00 p.m. We will pack 24 Easter baskets for the Northfield Food Pantry. Baskets, grass and wrapping will be supplied. Members are invited to bring candy and small toys for the baskets. Monday, May 1 meeting will be held at Feed Our Starving Children in Libertyville from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. We will meet at the church parking lot at 5:15 and drive up together. You can sign up at the Libertyville FMSC website. It is under Sophia Circle/NUMC or let us know. We will have dinner together locally in Libertyville. Hope you are all enjoying this magnificent weather! Take care, Suzy and Karen E-Giving is here!
Ditching School School! Yuck! It is Sunday! Since coming to Northbrook I have heard multiple children give this reply when asked if they would like to join us for Sunday school. To be fair, these are children who haven t been to our classes before. They don t know that what we do here looks very different than school. The improvements we ve made to our classrooms this year build upon the foundation laid by my predecessors. Like them, I continue to implement best practices and research about how people grow in faith into our ministry. We are doing some things very well. There are also things we need to reevaluate because we are serious about nurturing the faith of our children and youth. I am suggesting that we rebrand and refocus for next fall. I ve already had some wonderful discussions with leaders on our youth and children s ministry teams. I am looking for a few more people who are curious, creative, and excited to join me in imagining how we can improve what is working and incorporate new strategies that better match our church s vision. The group will meet three times between the end of April and June. Here are a few things we will be considering: School models have often relied on learning facts and rote memorization. Faith, on the other hand, is multi-sensory, creative, and about a relationship with God. How can we offer more opportunities to experience God through prayer, worship, communion, Bible study and service to others? School models rely on regular attendance in a physical classroom. How can we enhance learning opportunities outside of our walls (online, in the community, and at home) while being mindful of our attendance patterns and the importance of gathering as a community? School models have historically relied on the teacher as expert and treat students as empty vessels to fill up with information. Thankfully this is changing. Now we seek to nurture meaningful connections between what we know and what we experience. We want faith to help us to live our everyday lives. Collaboration and relationship nurture these kinds of connections. School implies age-based groupings and a graduation date. How do our ministries reflect the value we place on inter-generational relationships and the lifelong journey of faith? I hope that we are able to convene a group of adults and youth in all ages and stages of life to work together to envision new ways to nurture faith. The first thing I propose we do is to ditch the word school.
NORTHBROOK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 1190 Western Avenue Northbrook, IL 60062 Phone: 847-272-2442 Email: office@northbrookumc.org Mailing Label