UNITED BY FAITH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH Voices of Faith JULY 2016 A Reconciling in Christ Congregation Pastor s Message-Happy Summer, UBF! INSIDE THIS ISSUE: As I write this, we re in the longest, brightest days of the year. It s the season when we do lots of traveling, enjoying vacation time and spending carefree hours with family and friends. The garden is blooming with color, already yielding some of its earliest produce. Welcome to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer! It s kind of an odd time for the congregation. The program year is over now, and doesn t start again until September. It would be quite easy to just relax and savor the summer, as well we should. But don t forget to dream during these days. Start thinking about community events, places in Evergreen Park or in the surrounding area where UBF should have a presence in the coming year, or people who might be interested in coming to church when school starts up again. Pray for us as we discern who is the best candidate to be our new parish administrator. Keep your eyes open, too, for those who bring their kids to daycare here, but who might hunger for something more on the weekends, and welcome them to worship with us. Bookworms 2 Put This on Your Calendar 2 In our Prayers 3 Homebound/Retirement 3 July Birthdays 3 LSSI Back to School Backpack Drive Bishop Eaton speaks about Orlando FL 4 5 Blessings as you travel, work, rest and play during these warm summer days! Have a safe 4th of July celebration, and give thanks for all the gifts God has given to us and to all nations of the world! See you at the parade! Grace and peace, Pr. Carl
Page 2 Voices of Faith Calling All Bookworms! As part of our summer work of cleaning in the sanctuary, we are going through the library shelves in the back, opposite the sound booth. Pr. Carl has selected some books to keep and moved them to his office. Many more Bible study materials, theology texts, children s books, and much more are spread out on tables in the rear of the sanctuary. Please feel free to look through these books and help yourself to whatever you would like. At the end of the summer, books that have not found a new home will be donated to local libraries in UBF s name. July 3 Bring non perishable food for the food pantry containers. July s Mission of the Month Bookbags! Begin looking for school supply sales. August 20, at the Duh House 10-Noon Council/Team Meeting; 1:00 pm Summer gathering at the Duh house all are welcome. Bring a dish to share. October 15, 3:30 pm October Fest; Brats-everyone bring a dish to share; ENTERTRAINMENT BY Eric Carlson. October 30, Reformation Sunday wear red November 6, daylight savings time ends. November 13, 11 am Annual Congregational Meeting November 26, 9 am Decorating for Advent; brunch will be served November 30, 7:30 pm Advent Midweek Worship begins December 3, 11:30 am WELCA Christmas Luncheon December 11, 12:30 pm Haven for Tots Christmas Program
Voices of Faith Page 3 In Our Prayers Lord, we pray for those who suffer, be it suffering of body, mind or soul. Make known to us your boundless grace, mercy and healing. Pat, Patrick, Eric, Ron, Bud, Rich, Vicki, Angie, Vi, Tim, Cindy, Edward, Marilyn, Doris, Dan, Charlene, Quinton, The Furlong Family (our UBF neighbors), the victims of the Orlando shootings, and Sharon We give thanks for Leslie Riesland and her friend, Trinity s graduation from 8th grade; for the birth of Briella Holly; and for the 1st birthday of Abigail Grace. Homebound If you know of someone who has been hospitalized or admitted to a nursing home or rehabilitation center, please get permission from the person before sharing the information with the church office. Mary Bach Birthday: December 30 11020 S. Keating Avenue, #304, Oak Lawn, IL 60453 Phone 708-423-3635 LaVerne Piecuch Birthday: September 27 Smith Crossing, 10511 Emilie Lane, Unit G7, Orland Park, IL 60467 Phone 708-326-2451 Sally Cheatle Birthday: September 16 Lutheran Home for the Aged, 800 W. Oakton St., Arlington Hts, IL 60004 Rose Begeman Birthday: August 12 9829 S Central Park, Evergreen Park, IL 60805 Retirement Home Grace Larsen Birthday: June 21 Smith Village, 2320 W. 113th Place, Apt 3327, Chicago, IL 60643 Phone 773.474.7300 July Birthdays United By Faith Haven For Tots 07/05 Cynthia Russell 07/04 Haiden Bomer 07/17 Patricia Higens 07/08 Aubriana Becker 07/18 John Duh 07/10 David Bevan 07/18 Cheryl Tumaitis 07/11 Oliver Theroux 07/16 Harrison Jordan 07/26 Emmett Keating 07/28 Taylor Gomez 07/29 Clark Fruhwirth
Page 4 LSSI Back to School Drive Do you think it s too early in the year to think about school supplies and backpacks? Not for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI). Your offering toward the Mission of the Month during July will help purchase backpacks and school supplies for foster children who benefit from LSSI s ministry. You may place your monetary donation in the offering basket. Please make your check payable to United By Faith and indicate LSSI Back to School Drive on your giving envelope. Backpack List 2016 PK-K 1 12 pack pencils #2 Large Crayons 8 pack Large Markers Washable 8 pack 1 glue stick 1 pack multi-colored construction paper Scissors blunt child size Pencil box 1 2-pocket three pronged folder 1 st 5 th 2 12 pack pencils #2 Crayons 24 pack Colored pencils 12 pack Markers 12 pack 2 glue stick Scissors 5 child size Blue or black ballpoint pens 1 12 pack Red ballpoint pen 1 pack 2 highlighters Pencil sharpener 2 Erasers Pencil box 4-2-pocket three pronged folder Package of loose-leaf wide-ruled notebook paper 4 Spiral Notebooks wide ruled Ruler w/ English and Metric measurements 6 th - 8 th 2 12 pack pencils #2 Crayons 24 pack Colored pencils 24 pack 6 th - 8th continued Markers 12 pack 2 glue stick Scissors 5 child size Blue or black ballpoint pens 1 12 pack Red ballpoint pen 1 pack 2 highlighters Pencil sharpener 2 Erasers Pencil case 5-2-pocket three pronged folder Package of loose-leaf wide-ruled notebook paper 5 Spiral Notebooks college ruled 2 thick point dry erase markers Ruler w/ English and Metric measurements HS 2 12 pack pencils #2 Colored Pencils 12 pack Blue or black ballpoint pens 2 12 pack Red ballpoint pen 1 pack 2 highlighters Pencil sharpener 2 Erasers 7-2-pocket three pronged folder 2 Package of loose-leaf college notebook paper 7 Spiral Notebooks college ruled 2 thick point dry erase markers Ruler w/ English and Metric measurements
Page 5 A Message from Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton ELCA presiding bishop issues letter in response to Orlando shooting CHICAGO (ELCA) The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has issued a letter in response to the June 12 shooting that claimed the lives of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla. This is the deadliest mass shooting in U. S. history. In the letter Eaton states, We must speak peace and reconciliation into the cacophony of hatred and division. We must live the truth that all people are created in God s image. Eaton s letter follows: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them. Genesis 1:27 We are killing ourselves. We believe that all people are created in God s image. All of humanity bears a family resemblance. Those murdered in Orlando were not abstract others, they are us. But somehow, in the mind of a deeply disturbed gunman, the LGBTQ community was severed from our common humanity. This separation led to the death of 49 and the wounding of 54 of us. We live in an increasingly divided and polarized society. Too often we sort ourselves into like-minded groups and sort others out. It is a short distance from division to demonization. Yesterday, we witnessed the tragic consequences of this. There is another way. In Christ God has reconciled the world to God s self. Jesus lived among us sharing our humanity. Jesus died for us to restore our humanity. God invites us into this reconciling work. This must be our witness as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The perpetrator of this hate crime did not come out of nowhere. He was shaped by our culture of division, which itself has been misshapen by the manipulation of our fears. That is not who we are. St. Paul wrote, So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ (II Corinthians 5:17-20). Our work begins now. We need to examine ourselves, individually and as a church, to acknowledge the ways we have divided and have been divided. We must stand with people who have been othered. We must speak peace and reconciliation into the cacophony of hatred and division. We must live the truth that all people are created in God s image. This morning your churchwide staff came together to mourn and to pray. We prayed for those killed in Orlando and remembered the Charleston Nine killed only a year ago. We prayed for the family of the shooter, for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters and for our Muslim brothers and sisters who now face the threat of retaliation. And we prayed that the Prince of Peace will bring us to the day when we stop killing ourselves. Your sister in Christ, Elizabeth A. Eaton Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
United By Faith 3240 West 98th Street Evergreen Park, IL 60805 708-422-6301 email: ubfelca@sbcglobal.net web: unitedbyfaith.org SUNDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE Worship time 9:30 am Haven For Tots A daycare ministry of United By Faith 708-422-3314 email: havenfortots@sbcglobal.net web: havenfortots.org Deadline for the August issue of Voices of Faith is July 24, 2016 MISSION STATEMENT To be faithful disciples of Christ for all BY PROVIDING A PLACE OF HAVENAND HEALING AND CELEBRATING GOD S CREATION THROUGH THE ARTS A Reconciling in Christ Congregation Follow us