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July 15, 2009
The Spirit
of Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church
Food Pantry Reverse Offering
Summer is the most difficult time for the pantry; people are on vacation and there are no food drives. So we are having a reverse offering to help those in need. Our church leaders have come up with some creative assistance; we will have two reverse offerings. On July 19th, when the food pantry basket is passed, you can take out a slip of paper with a needed food item listed on it. On the following two weeks, July 26th and August 2nd, you will have the opportunity to bring the food forward and take another slip if you so choose. Please help if you can. Times continue to be very difficult for the unemployed, those with little skill, and for seniors. We also need food and cereal for children (treats, juice, crackers, etc.). Thanks to everyone for all you do. If you have any questions, please call Nancy Vazzano.
Faith in Action of McHenry County
DID YOU KNOW: Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church has TWENTY-THREE Volunteers who share their time and talents with July's MISSION OF THE MONTH!
Please take a few minutes and look at the Display Board for this month's Mission which RCLPC has been involved with since it's inception in 1998. FIAMC is an interfaith nonprofit organization whose mission is to assist seniors 60 years of age and older, through volunteer (no-cost non-medical) services.
These services make it possible for our care receivers to remain independently in their homes, thereby enhancing their quality of life, dignity and independence, rather than placing them prematurely into nursing home environments that can hasten their physical and mental deterioration and dependence on others.
FIAMC notes a 17% increase in the number of seniors served in the current Fiscal Year. 549 seniors were provided with 7,949 services through 353 volunteers. 109,524 miles were driven and over 19,000 hours of service were given by caring Volunteers.
To find out more about being a Faith in Action volunteer, thank the following special volunteers: Karen Hutchings, Kathy Rabe, Laurie Sabol, Diane Sherwood, Joy Martin, Kim & Kayla Stewart, MJ Towne, the Blakelys, Jon Gealow, the Wesas, Ken Zoerner, the Brincks, Andrea Pracht, Sheila Mohler, Ann Legg, Joan Jensema, Tricia and Amanda Schieler.
Happy July! Just a reminder to visit our “Share the Bounty” table located in the connecting link. It’s the perfect place to pick up some fresh produce for your Sunday dinner, and save yourself a trip to the store. If you need help unloading your produce from the car, please let us know. We’ll be glad to give you a hand. (call Marie Randall if you need help) And don’t forget – All proceeds from the “Share the Bounty Mission” will help support our local PADS program. Thank you for your support! ~ Mission Outreach
The amounts collected in 2007 and 2008 were combined for a total of $346. That amount was spent on "Build a Dream" scholarship support (food, clothing, school supplies) for middle school students and high school students in El Vaquero, Mexico.
For those of you who participate in "Spare Change for a Big Change", even the smallest parts of your life -- pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters -- can transform the lives of others.
How is "Spare Change" doing this year?...
So far, $113.83 has been collected.
Here's a friendly reminder....Please check your bedroom dresser top, kitchen drawers, and assorted places around your home for loose change. If you discover any coins, please pick up one of the "Spare Change for a Big Change" cardboard boxes stored at the entrances to the sanctuary. Then, add your spare change to the box. Do not worry about whether the box is full. Partially filled boxes are more than welcome. Thanks so much for your support! |
$8100 was pledged for allocation by your Mission Outreach Ministry for the current year by RCLPC members. Distribution was made on June 10, 2009 to the following organizations:
The Good Samaritan
76 W. Crystal Lake Avenue, Crystal Lake, IL. 60014
| $2,000.00 |
Build a Dream
(Restricted Funds: For HS student scholarship)
110 S. Johnson St. Suite 212, Woodstock, IL 60098
| 600.00 |
Faith in Action of McHenry County
7105 Virginia Road, Suite 21, Crystal Lake, IL 60014 | 1,000.00 |
Home of the Sparrow
6213A Factory Road, Crystal Lake, IL 60014 | 2,000.00 |
Turning Point
P. O. Box 723, Woodstock, IL 60098 | 500.00 |
Illinois Migrant Council
(Restricted: for student scholarships)
62 N. Ayer, Harvard, IL 60033 | 500.00 |
Family Health Partnership Clinic
13707 W. Jackson, Woodstock, IL 60098 | 500.00 |
Youth Service Bureau
(note: $298 also went to them as 40% of Pentecost Offering)
101 S. Jefferson, Woodstock, IL 60098 | 300.00 |
Disbursement will be made as funds become available during the year.
Mission Outreach Ministry Deacons: Rick Johnson, Ann Legg, Joy Martin and the mission team members: Dawn Condill, Alice Haznedl, Wayne Prindiville, Gloria Thorson, MJ Towne |
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Hailey (Patti Gibson’s granddaughter) just got back from World Team try-outs in Colorado Springs and after 5 days of racing, Hailey has secured her spot among 5 other girls on the Jr. Women's Team USA. She skated awesome and they were very proud of her for everything she put into training for this. She now has to go to residency at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs August 23-September 6 and then on September 9-27 she will be in China for the World Championships. Now Haily and her mom, Jenny, just have to go talk to the school about missing the first month of school! Here are just a few shots of many that we have of all the days of racing: Enjoy!
This past winter was brutal on our brick front steps. Thankfully, we have a team of skilled craftsmen who were willing to dedicate their time and talents to rebuilding the steps. In case you haven’t noticed, the steps leading to the connecting link now match the rebuilt steps leading to the front entrance. Deep appreciation and thank you to: Wayne Prindiville, Dan Gilman, Jeff Klaus, Joe Rickard, and Rod Russell. Thanks also to Chuck Rasmussen for arranging for the supplies.
I just wanted to send a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE who participated and helped in any way with VBS. It was because of you that VBS was so successful again this year!!
If you donated anything, you can pick your "stuff" up in the 4th and 5th grade Sunday School classroom; everything is laid out on tables for you to pick up. If you had any receipts please turn them in to Kim and please let me know how much they were for.
Any questions, please let me know, but Thank You again for everything!!!! We all had a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. Please enjoy your summer!!!
Denise
You know how much we Presbyterians like good food and conversation, so last year we combined those two activities into “The RCLPC Café”. After our first successful season, we asked for comments on how we might improve our Café and have decided to expand the Café to the following events:
 September 12, 2009 - Large group opening event at the church at 7:00pm
November 14, 2009 - Small groups in homes
January 16, 2010 - Small groups in homes
March 13, 2010 - Small groups in homes
May 15, 2010 - Small groups in homes
Everyone will be asked to bring an appetizer or dessert and your own beverage (and yes, it can be wine and beer) to our opening large group event at church. The other events will be small groups of about eight folks meeting in members homes to share a meal. The host will provide the main dish and attendees will be asked to bring a side dish. Anyone who signs up as a member of the RCLPC Café will be responsible for either hosting a small group dinner in their home or co hosting the large group event at the church on Sept. 12.
The main focus for the RCLPC Café is to have fun and get to know each other. If you are already a member of the Café, we will be sending you an email to sign up to either host a small group dinner in your home or to co host the large group event on Sept. 12th at church. If you would like to become a member, we will be in the Connecting Link on August 2nd for sign ups.
And finally if you aren’t quite sure how this all works, but think you might like to join the fun, please call Dale Prindiville or Kathy Rabe and we would be happy to talk to you. Bon Appétit!
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Dear Mary & Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church:
I hope this letter finds you well. I have very selfishly not sent this letter sooner because I was so overwhelmed with my own health, my husband’s absence while he served in Afghanistan and the day to day tasks of raising our four kids and taking care of our household alone … and for that I do apologize. I don’t want the tardiness of this letter to imply that you were not appreciated or thought of every single day because you were and still are! Although this letter is arriving late, I still felt it so necessary to express my own and my family’s appreciation for your generosity. Thank you not only for being so generous and supportive, but also for touching our lives through your thoughts and prayers. It is unbelievable to us how people came forward to assist in so many different ways … some of these people were family, old friends, new friends, friends we haven’t talked to in years, neighbors, teachers, doctors, nurses and perfect strangers who just felt compelled to help. Whichever category you fall into, you touched our lives just the same. I am forever grateful to all of you generous individuals. I vow to live my life paying this generosity forward in hopes of someday touching someone else’s life the way I have been so touched.
For those that are unaware, a little update on our situation is that my husband has returned home from Afghanistan on compassionate reassignment as a result of some complications I encountered while undergoing my cancer treatment. Around Easter, we thought my cancer had metastasized to my lungs when we found seven spots. One spot was biopsied and miraculously showed to be a residual side effect from my treatment, not cancer! I also experienced (and continue to struggle with) adrenal shut down which has a spectrum of significant side effects. Since then I have stopped my cancer treatment and am working with a team of specialists at Mayo Clinic to continue observing the remaining spots on my lungs, monitoring my progress through regular tests and scans and eventually we hope that my adrenal glands will begin working on their own again so I won’t need to continue to be dependent upon steroids. This journey is not over, but is definitely becoming more manageable since I have the support you’ve given and Andy back home by my side. Thank you again for everything! God bless you!
Love, Michele and family
P.S. thank you so much for all the support you showed my family with baked goods, cards, diapers.com & Peapod gift cards. Not to mention all the support you gave Andy and all of his men. You are a truly amazing group!!
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A birthday box was sent to a marine who was stationed in Baghdad when he turned 21 on June 21. We sent a battery operated fan/water mister, phone card, several wrapped gifts, etc. and pinata, birthday plates, hats, napkins, and candles for the Twinkies! Below is a letter from his sister:
I just wanted to send you a note thanking you for what you've been doing for my brother. I just talked to him today and he said he and his buddies enjoyed the box. They have the pinata hanging somewhere, waiting for the right time to break it open. He also said that he enjoyed the Girl Scout cookies you sent them earlier.
I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to my family to know that there are people like you who help us to show support to our loved ones overseas, even though you have never met them. I know that you do this for so many people and I feel blessed to know you so that I can let you know that you are appreciated.
Thank you and God bless you!
Sister of a Marine in Baghdad
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Thank You
Thanks so much to all of you who baked cookies or donated money, and/or helped that evening, and made the third Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church Ice Cream Social at the Woodstock Band Concert such a huge success. In spite of the 95-degree heat, many people came to buy the cookies, and they saw our sign advertising our 2009 RCLPC Cookie Walk. Sean Sullivan, manager of the McHenry Culver's Frozen Custard, donated 25% of his sales that evening, bringing our total proceeds to $808.00 – almost double the proceeds in the past.
 Families of the Woodstock National Guard accepted our invitation to be special guests, and we were honored to have them with us. 1st Sergeant Andrew Fowles came to thank us for our support of his soldiers in the Woodstock National Guard’s Delta Company, 1-178th INF who are stationed in Afghanistan. He gave a fascinating commentary on the picture boards that we had prepared using the photos that he had sent of his soldiers providing humanitarian assistance to the children. He told us that when he and his soldiers passed out the almost 500 pairs of shoes that church and community members had donated, the Afghani boys were delighted if they could find a pair of pink shoes that fit!
Mary Moltmann and Ed Bennett
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Faith in Action of McHenry County is an inter-faith volunteer caregiving organization that connects volunteers to their neighbors in need. We bring together volunteers of many faiths to help seniors age 60 or older maintain their independence for as long as possible by providing non-medical assistance with daily activities.
Volunteer opportunities include:
• transportation for appointments
• light housework and home maintenance
• companionship through visits and respite care
• Senior Connection - connect directly with a senior in your neighborhood for ongoing needs
Considering Volunteering?
For some of our neighboring seniors, something as simple as changing a light bulb can mean the difference between maintaining or losing independence. Thankfully, Faith in Action volunteers are helping maintain the quality of life of our senior neighbors. Our volunteers are also rewarded with an incredible opportunity to serve. The seniors of our community need your time and your talents. Just a few hours can make a world of difference. Contact us today to get started.
Need Assistance?
If you are a senior in need that is:
• age 60 or older
• living at home in McHenry County
we would delight in sending out one of our wonderful screened and trained volunteers through our regular service as well as Senior Connection, a program that matches you with a volunteer in your neighborhood for assistance on an ongoing basis.
815.455.3120
fax 815.455.3813
fiamchenrycounty.org
staff@fiamchenrycounty.org
Preserving the Independence of McHenry County Seniors
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