General eNewsletter | January 11, 2023
Welcome to the Diocese of Chicago email newsletter. Please forward this email to your congregation and colleagues and invite them to sign up.
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Fundraising report planned for Martin Luther King weekend interfaith service
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On Sunday, 18 faith communities in Evanston—including people from St. Mark’s, St. Matthew's, and St. Luke’s Episcopal churches—will gather for a Martin Luther King Jr. weekend interfaith worship service. At the event, they will report to the Reparations Stakeholders Authority of Evanston the initial results of their effort to raise money for the Evanston Reparations Community Fund. The service takes place at 3 pm at Faith Temple COGIC and will be livestreamed.
The congregations first gathered in June to pledge their support for reparations in the form of education and atonement about structural racism; education in religious communities about racism and their communal history of racism; education about the reparations efforts in Evanston; and raising money to support reparations in Evanston, including establishing the fund. St. Luke’s was part of the group that organized the effort, which is separate from a city-sponsored housing reparations program that has recently faced criticism.
“There’s a pretty robust interfaith community in Evanston that has been gathering for years on issues of justice and protest,” the Rev. Kat Banakis, rector of St. Luke’s, said. “When the concept of reparations came up, there was a whole history of years and years of working together. Sometime last winter, we started talking about, ‘oh you’re doing something about it, so am I, so is this person — could we do something bigger and better as an interfaith community?’ That resulted in the pledge commitment … with the expectation from one another that we would report on our results together on MLK day of 2023.”
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Weekend Services Honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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Window honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at St. Edmund's, Chicago |
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This weekend, dioceses and congregations across the Episcopal Church will honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the weekend of his birthday with services and events both in-person and online.
King, who would have turned 94 this year, spearheaded the national movement for racial justice and civil rights as a Baptist preacher in Montgomery, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, during a trip to Memphis, Tennessee, to support city sanitation workers who were striking for better pay and working conditions. He is honored in The Episcopal Church’s Lesser Feasts and Fasts calendar on April 4.
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Companion Diocese Sunday
January 15
The Diocese of Chicago's Commission on Global Ministry encourages congregations to observe Companion Diocese Sunday on January 15. The commission has produced bulletin inserts in English and Spanish that highlight our diocese's companion ministries in the Diocese of Southeast Mexico and the Diocese of Renk, South Sudan. For more information, email Conrad Selnick.
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Religious Life Sunday
January 22
The 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church established Religious Life Sunday, which will take place on the third Sunday after the Epiphany each year.
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Register for "Confronting Israel's Apartheid" Webinar
January 12 at 7 pm
On Thursday, January 12 at 7 pm, the Peace and Justice Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network will host a webinar on confronting apartheid. The webinar builds on Resolution F-184, approved at the 2021 diocesan convention, that recognized that Israeli treatment of Palestinians constitutes apartheid as defined in international law.
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As the Episcopal Church reckons more deeply with its past involvement in Indigenous boarding schools, the Office of Indigenous Ministries invites all Episcopalians to register to watch Winter Talk 2023, an annual conference that highlights Indigenous and Native American traditions and contributions within the church.
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IAF 3-day Leadership Training
Introductory organizing training February 18-20 in Elmhurst
The Illinois Metro Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) will offer a 3-day version of IAF national leadership training from February 18 to 20 in Elmhurst. This training provides an overview of key concepts essential to building strong community groups and connecting those groups to create power. Learn more and register by February 6.
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One Book, One Diocese: Resurrection Hope
An invitation from the Peace and Justice Committee
Individuals whose congregations do not offer discussions will be invited to attend online discussions on Zoom on April 13 and April 25 at 7 pm.
Scholarship funds are available for individuals and congregations that need financial assistance purchasing the book; please contact Ellen Lindeen.
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Pre-Lenten Men’s Retreat 2023
February 10-11
The 20th Annual Diocesan Pre-Lenten Men’s Retreat will be held at the DeKoven Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin from Friday, February 10 to Saturday, February 11. This 24-hour event will be the first in-person Diocesan Men’s Retreat since February 2020, following a two-year break due to COVID.
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"Coming Home" Play Written and Performed by Grace House Alumni
January 25 at Christ Church, Winnetka
On Wednesday, January 25, Christ Church, Winnetka will host an original play, Coming Home, which was written and performed by alumni of Grace House, the residence for formerly incarcerated women at St. Leonard's Ministries in Chicago. Doors open at 6 pm, the performance begins at 7 pm, and a Q & A session with the actors will follow.
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St. Mark's Evanston Concert Series
St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Evanston resumes its free concert series on Monday, February 20 at noon. The concert will feature vocalist Monica Perdue accompanied by Westley Art Hodges. An offering will be collected to support the music ministries of St. Mark’s. For more information, please contact Westley.
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Illinoisans Urged to Get Fully Vaccinated for COVID-19 & Flu and to Stay Home and Seek Treatment Immediately if Sick
“After the holidays, we are once again experiencing a rise in counties at elevated COVID-19 community levels, with 28 currently at High Level," said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. "As we monitor emerging variants, including a new more transmissible strain spreading in the northeastern U.S., I continue to recommend our residents take steps to prevent the spread of infection, protect those most vulnerable to serious illness, and preserve our hospital capacity. It is not too late to get your COVID-19 bivalent booster or yearly flu shot. And if you are sick, please stay home if you are able and reach out to your provider about treatments for COVID-19 and the flu.”
As a reminder, the diocesan COVID-19 advisory team recommends that congregational teams continue to meet regularly, monitor local conditions, and make changes as necessary.
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New Safe Church, Safe Communities Policies Designed to Safeguard Vulnerable Adults, Children |
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Winter Publication Schedule |
From September through June we publish both a general email newsletter and Leadership News, a publication for lay leaders and clergy in the Diocese of Chicago, on alternate Wednesdays.
The deadline to submit items to be included is noon on the Tuesday before publication. Please send news about your congregation's ministry, mission and events to Jen Boyle-Tucker.
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