Click here to see the April calendar.Click here to see the Worship Teams Schedule.
NEW MEMBERS AT RCLPCWe are happy to welcome the following new members into the life of our church. In the coming weeks we will be sharing more information about each of them with you. Their pictures are posted by the name tags, so we hope you'll take the opportunity to welcome them and get to know them better.
Julie Welbourne |
YOUTH SUNDAY 2005
The Senior High and Middle School youth of RCLPC invite you to come celebrate in worship on April 24. The youth have planned the service for the day and through Scripture, skit and song will share their thoughts about the struggles of being a follower of Jesus. Please join with us. (Note: There will not be an 8:15 service this Sunday.) |
DIRECTORY UPDATE
Have you moved, got a new phone number, changed email addresses or are you a new member since our last directory came out in January 2004? We are in the process of updating our directory information to get a new directory out. If you have changes, please UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION HERE or call the church office at 815-459-1132.
MEN'S BREAKFAST
Join together with other men in the church and enjoy a breakfast together while you study the following Sunday's scripture. We will meet in Fellowship Hall on Saturday May 7th at 9 am. Join us!
Questions? contact Karl Dencker. |
 LIBRARY NEWSMany new titles to Check-Out, see the list posted on the Connecting Link, also browse the new titles on the Share-Cart in the Hallway. Many thanks to Marge Hansen and Judy Garrety for the cookies for the Library celebration on April 10th. SPRING into the Library and read a new book. ~ Joyce |
HELP WANTED
Do you like to plan parties?
The Fellowship team is looking for someone to coordinate the Mother and Child Banquet that is scheduled for May 7th. No previous experience is necessary. Please contact Tina Stipati or Karen Leuchtmann if you are interested or would like more information.CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
Formerly known as the “Twenties and Thirties Group”, Circle of Friends meets the first Saturday evening of each month. Now that some of us are moving on up, we changed our name to reflect who we currently are. Most of us have young families (elementary aged children through infants) and some of us are 20’s/30’s singles. We meet in each others’ homes and usually have family-friendly kind of gatherings. This is an opportunity for church members, visitors, and friends of the church to get to know one another better.We hope to see some new faces in May as our Circle of Friends is ever growing! For more information about Circle of Friends, contact Heidi and Buddy Pride.
NEWS FLASH!!!
I would like to introduce to you the new project being initiated by the Caring Crafters. We call it THE CARING CART. Often during a worship service we hear requests to pray for illness, to remember a family who has lost a loved one or even a birth or anniversary to celebrate. We have good intentions of sending a card, but very often when we get home we forget. The Caring Crafters’ stamping group has stamped a variety of cards that will be accessible on Sunday mornings for your use. You may wish to send a Get Well card, a card of Sympathy, Congratulations, or Happy Birthday to one of our members. We have a large variety of these cards and others on our Caring Cart. You may select a card, write the message, address the envelope and put it in a box. The Caring Crafters will put a stamp on it and mail it for you. All we ask is a donation if you are able so we can purchase the stamps and the materials for the cards. This service will begin on May 1st in Fellowship Hall. We will be there to welcome you.BUILDING & GROUNDS CORNER: Trash Talk
Sometimes the trash really piles up after a church function, where is the custodian to haul all this out?Are you looking in a mirror? We rely on each other to clean up after church functions. Our custodian, who is very good at her job, is only part time and as good stewards of our resources we rely on our members to help keep things neat and orderly (the Presbyterian way). Our custodian is very busy with the normal cleaning requirements of such a large building and can’t take on additional chores every time we have an extra function. We have a small dumpster for trash out back Extra trash bags are in the custodian closet next to the elevator. Thanks so much for pitching in!
FOOD PANTRY UPDATE: CRYSTAL LAKE FOOD PANTRY TURNED DOWN BY CITY COUNCIL
At the April 5th meeting the city Council turned down the food pantry’s request to rent the old police station. The city council wants to consider other uses, recreational, etc. The pantry board spent hundreds of hours preparing renovation plans, budget, landscaping. So we need to find another location close to the center of town. Any ideas would be appreciated, our space problems make it difficult to stock enough food. Call Nancy Vazzano for more information.
Thank you to Tina Kay for providing a wonderful dinner during the Youth Sunday Rehearsal on April 3rd.
 |
For the past year, you, our friends at RCLPC, have been a wonderful support for our family. While I was sick, I received meals, cards, phone calls, visits, hugs, and many, many prayers. Today was my six-month checkup and I passed with flying colors. When Jack’s daughter Laurie had her heart valve replacement, we again received many heart felt wishes and prayers. She is doing very well in her recovery. And, in an entirely different way, you were also there to help celebrate the joy of Jack’s 80th birthday with emails, birthday cards, and warm thoughts. We thank you for everything and are very glad to be part of this wonderful church family! Joan and Jack Black |
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
The worship experiences offered to us during Holy Week were wonderful. The Palm Sunday parade of palms, the Maundy Thursday communion service and agape meal, the Tennebrae service on Good Friday, and the Easter celebration of Christ’s resurrection reminded each one of us of God’s gift to us. There were so many people that praised God during Holy Week by helping with the work of these services. The worship team would like to thank:- The children’s choirs, the adult choir, the soloists, and the instrumentalists that filled our hearts with beautiful music
- The ushers and the liturgists
- The communion preparers and servers
- The folks who beautified the Sanctuary for all the services and also fellowship hall on Maundy Thursday
- The Caring Crafters for making the meal and the placemats on Maundy Thursday
- All those who helped set up, serve, and clean up on Maundy Thursday
- Everyone who helped welcome the many visitors to our service
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
WHEN: July 18-22 |
 VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL -
Howdy Partners!!! Debi Keyzer here! Yeeee-Hawwwww!!! |
Registration info. will be available April 24th.
Mark your calendars, attend,
NURSERY NEWSOur nursery’s renovation is almost complete! After some discussion this fall, the nursery committee evaluated our facility and determined that we needed to do some work to accommodate our vast age range of children. Our hope was to create two zones: one for babies/toddlers and the other for preschoolers.We began with a fresh coat of paint and an adorable wallpaper border, which made our theme of “all creatures great and small” come to life. The room is now a wonderland of bugs and trees. Thanks to Mark & Raechel Sowa and Circle of Friends for painting and wallpapering. Cheryl Lilly made some outstanding window treatments that coordinate perfectly. We ordered furniture: rocking chairs, changing table, toy storage, and play equipment. Thanks to Wayne Prindiville for assembling it all for us. Debi Keyzer has researched our carpet options, and is having the carpet cleaned and repaired. Much thought, research, and time went into this project. We hope you will come down to the nursery and see our children in action. RCLPC is a church that values children, and our goal is for them to be comfortable, stimulated, and happy while in the nursery. We think that we now have a facility that supports that type of atmosphere. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the leadership of Laura Middaugh. Thanks to her for years of service to the nursery committee. |
LITTLE LAMBS
The Little Lambs Sunday School class now has 20 members! We are thrilled that our class is growing. We are using the BibleQuest curriculum, and bible stories are coming to life as learn using all of our senses. |
MISSION NEWS
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1985, RCLPC was one of seven churches that formed the McHenry County Interfaith Shelter Program, now known as Home of the Sparrow.Doors to the first shelter opened in December of 1986 in a building rented for $790 a month in McHenry on Lincoln Avenue across the bridge.
Many months during those early years, our Treasurer would notify the Board that there wasn't enough money to pay the utilities and rent on the due dates. We would gather together and pray. Donations to just cover our expenses arrived just in time to pay our bills.
Answers to our prayers made us all realize the power of prayer and that God was directing our efforts.
More in the next Spirit. Joy Martin
OPERATION Prayers and Cookie Lift Update
I mailed two boxes to Blake Curtis (nephew of Melanie and Phil Wesa) in March. Thanks to all of you who sent colorful greetings on the banner, and thanks to: Juanita Miller for the cookies that looked and smelled delicious; George and Judy Garrety for the beef jerky; Karen Leuchtmann for the sox; Val and Ed Krukiewicz for the ramen noodles; Patti Hill for the cocoa; Tom and Cheryl Lilly for the Gatorade; Ann Legg for the chapstick, baby powder, crossword puzzles, and Readers Digest; Joan Jensema and Linda Peel for the Girl Scout cookies; Barb Turley for the chex mix and Girl Scout cookies; to anonymous donors of potato chips and macaroni and cheese; and to Gerry Lyons and Barb Turley for donating money for postage. Please keep Blake and all of our soldiers in your prayers.If you have a loved one serving in the Middle East, please contact me through the church office at 815-459-1132.
Mary Moltmann
THE FUTURE of Muslim/Christian Relations in the Middle East
Friday, April 15 7:30 PM
A fascinating panel of scholars and clerics will discuss the realities of living in the midst of current events which have become our nightly television viewing. Each will give a short presentation and then they will answer questions from the audience. The Panel includes:
Vivian Fouad (Egyptian, Christian) is the director of the Coptic Center for Social Studies at The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt.
Abbas al- Halabi (Lebanese, Druze) is the president of the Arab Group of Muslim/Christian Dialogue. He is also the legal advisor to the board of the Bank of Beirut & The Arab Countries and former Supreme Court Judge.
Muhammad Sammak (Lebanese, Muslim) was an advisor to the late Prime Minister Mr. Rafic Hariri and advisor to the Grand Mufti of Lebanon.
Riad Jarjour (Syrian, Christian) is the former general secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches. He received his Master of Divinity and Masters in Sacred Theology degrees from the Near East School of Theology in Beirut and his Doctorate in Ministry at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.
This will follow but is a separate event from the conference on Christian Zionism which will be Thursday PM and all day Friday. Location: Anderson Chapel, North Park University, 3225 W Foster Ave, Chicago Contact: www.northpark.edu/centers/middle, click on calendar Ask Alice Haznedl for more information.
NATIVE AMERICAN CONNECTION
RED LAKE, yesterday and tomorrowSince the tragedy in Red Lake, Minnesota, some of you have asked us if it would have an effect on other Reservations and Indians in general. The Lakota Journal, a newspaper published by Native Americans in Rapid City, South Dakota had a front page, seven-column story of the events of that day as well as an editorial and artist's rendering, which shows in a simple and powerful way the feeling of Indians everywhere. I hope you will stop and look at it in the Connecting Link.
The editorial concludes, "This is a time for strength and a time for pride. Tomorrow when the sun rises on Red Lake, a community whose name now resonates with a gruesome irony, it will be another cold morning. Nothing more. One tragic day can seem somehow bigger than all others, casting its dark shadow. This tragedy will be with us, as Indians, forever."
With sympathy - Joy Martin, Alice Haznedl, Ann Legg, Janet Pearce, Ginger Robinson, Rod Russell, TJ Towne, Gloria Thorson.
Some of you will remember the revered Buffalo nickel of yesteryear. Well you can go back to collecting them again - or at least the four new nickels being circulated now. Do you remember what the 1938 coin looked like?????? (see below for the answer).
With the 2,000 pound Cody the bison standing as a silent witness, the U.S. Mint marked the return of the buffalo nickel after a 67-year absence. Accompanied by Indian dancing, drum-beating and chanting, the U.S. Mint Director, Henrietta Holsman Fore displayed the new nickels during a ceremony on the snowy grounds of Capitol Hill with Cody - from a Minnesota ranch - standing patiently next to her, occasionally snorting in the cold air.
So start looking in your change for some of the 97 million five-cent coins being shipped to the 12 regional banks and then on to the local banks around the country. "The 2005 American Bison nickels will look significantly different from any nickels you have ever seen" Fore told the crowd at the ceremony. The new one features a jazzed up profile of Thomas Jefferson on one side and a bison standing on a clump of grass on the other side. The bison nickel is the third in a series of four that are being introduced to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark expedition.
Emil Her Many Horses, an associate curator of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., told the audience that the selection of the buffalo was particularly appropriate. "Not only did the buffalo sustain us spiritually, but physically as well," he said.
Answer to question: The 1938 coin had an American Indian on one side and the Buffalo on the other.
Joy Martin, Alice Haznedl, Ann Legg, Janet Pearce, Ginger Robinson, Rod Russell, MJ Towne, Gloria Thorson
A REPORT on the Ecumenical Advocacy Days
Washington D.C.March 11-14, 2005
From John T. and Dorothy K. Fankhauser
An alliance of 800 Christian persons descended upon the nation’s capitol on the above days to lobby our representatives and senators regarding the concerns of Christians on social issues as they are impacted by the Federal budget. In its latest newsletter the Washington office of the PCUSA reported 100% budget cuts in 11 of the governmental departments including Education, Health and Human Services as well as Justice. The newsletter also reported more than 50 other programs have been given major cuts.
There were eight different tracks (seminar subjects) at which each participant could attend. I chose Global Security and the Nuclear Weapons Danger. Dorothy chose the Domestic Issues track. The presenters were very expert in their respective field and had tons of material to hand out. In addition to listening to the presenters for two solid days, we were then required to contact our representative/senator to discuss the concerns of our particular track. In most cases, we met with the senior legislative assistant in each office on lobby day which was March 14th.
We did have a worship service on Sunday morning with 600 to 700 in attendance with our Presbyterian Moderator, Elder Rick Ufford-Chase, doing the preaching. He made three major points: we need to speak about what we really know and understand, we can only act as a community, and we will be inspiring if we offer a new vision. The Moderator has been traveling about the United States meeting with all age groups and numerous venues just to listen and offer his response. We had one such meeting at the conference. The Moderator commented on how deeply divided the church is but he didn’t think it is going to split. The music at the service was provided by the St. Camillus Multicultural Choir and I can tell you they were really hot! At the end of the service we anointed one another and finally broke into small discussion groups to deal with some of the things we heard.
We did have a rally on the Mall side of the Capitol building during which a number of our leaders spoke regarding the Federal Budget. The most notable of these persons was Lynne Woolsey who represents California’s 6th Congressional District (Marin and Sonoma Counties). These are two wealthy counties that voted in the last election to return her to office with 78% margin. She is very much against making permanent the very large tax cuts provided for the wealthy 1% of our population and very much in favor of restoring many of the proposed budget cuts affecting those persons most vulnerable. She once was a welfare mother with 3 children to raise. She freely admits that without help from Federal and State social programs she would have never been able to keep her family together. In the 109th congress, she will once again, as she did in the 108th congress offer her smart security platform for the 21st Century. In that platform she emphasizes greater use of international diplomacy, an end to nuclear weapons, and a renunciation of preemptive war. Incidentally, there is a proposal in the Federal Budget funding for an earth penetrating bomb that will have a destructive force 70 times greater than the bomb that fell on Hiroshima!
If there are 3000 references in the Bible suggesting a preferential option for the poor will our budget priorities speak to those issues? Will I be ever mindful of the needs of others?
John T. and Dorothy K. Fankhauser
IN AND AROUND RCLPC WITH BARB
A happy good morning to each of you. The sun is out (but so is the wind.) I don’t know about you, but I am sooo ready for Spring to come and stay. Maybe setting the clocks ahead will help that to happen. I hope so.* As you are reading this copy of The Spirit do you wonder who did all of the work getting it to you? Probably not, as we seem to take so much for granted. It didn’t just happen, but took many hands to get to fruition. TRICIA FRERMAN puts all of the articles together, which isn’t a simple task to make them fit on the pages, then she runs them off. Now come the volunteers! Wednesday afternoons, if you look in the lounge, you will find ESTHER and ERV HUECKSTAEDT, PAT and BILL MOLL, and LEANNA MILLER all very busy. They put the pages in order, fold and staple them and put on the labels. Then Esther and Erv take them to the Post Office to be mailed. It is a busy job, but the work is made a little easier because Leanna always brings THE COFFEE! Thank you for this work you do for all of us.
* Many of you know that LORI THOMPSON is an artist, but did you know about her daughter? NORMA THOMPSON (daughter of LORI and RICK, sister of FRED) is also an artist. Two pieces of Norma’s art work were selected to be part of District 47’s Art Show. The show is being held at MCC and opening night is April the 7th. Norma is in the 6th grade at Bernotas Middle School in Crystal Lake. I know she would love to have you stop by to see her work. We are all very proud of you, Norma.
* Another of our “young ‘uns” making us proud is CARL WESA (son of MELANIE and PHIL, brother of DALE and ELLIOTT). Carl was chosen to attend the Fine Arts School of Music Camp held in Interlochen, Michigan. In order to be selected Carl had to send in an audition tape showing his ability to play the marimba, tympani, and snare drums. This is a three week camp - July 18th - Aug. 8th. Carl not only was accepted but he received a scholarship based on his artistic ability. As you can imagine, this is very expensive. There will be a fund raiser held on May 19th at Nick’s Pizza in Crystal Lake. 15% of their proceeds will go towards this cause . Pizza anyone? Carl is in the 7th grade at Hannah Beardsley in Crystal Lake. Congratulations on this achievement, Carl. We are mighty proud of you.
* I am sorry to tell you that our good friend ERNIE DUNN (husband of HAZEL) has been ill again. Please keep them in your prayers. “We should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.” (unknown)
Well, my space is gone so I will say goodbye. Thank you for spending time with me. I am Barb Turley.