July 2023 Mars Hill Proclaimer

Mars Hill Proclaimer

St. Paul's Episcopal Church July Newsletter 2023

FROM THE SENIOR WARDEN

Dear St. Paul's Parish,

Just a girl and her dog.... Oskar and I took a long walk today at Afton South Prairie Forest Preserve. Oskar loves to run into the tall prairie grass and leap in joy and race back and forth leaping again and again. He stops and watches me peeking from behind the blades of grass. I stare back at him and we start a game of tag..... It's hard to be sad with my dog smiling at me with his big tongue hanging out.

We are sad though and the loss of our friend and treasurer, Rick Johns, will be felt for a long time. For me, a comforting memory of Rick is the Sunday when we unexpectedly didn't have a rector. We had determined that we would go forward with the Liturgy of the Word. With just a few minutes of preparation, Rick just led the parish with such grace that I found it beautiful. As Marilyn reminds me, "we are the church." Rick seemed led by the holy spirit as he delivered a sermon with as much ease as breathing. It felt empowering and special to do this service on our own. Thank you, Rick, for all you did and were for St. Paul's. You will be missed.

Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, " Peg recited. In preparation for the visitation and funeral, Peg and I asked Pastor Dan Shutters to bless water for the baptismal font at the entrance to the sanctuary. Our Betsy Pool threw this beautiful piece of pottery and Rhys created the well-matching wooden stand. Then, Pastor Shutters lead Peg and me on page 306 of the Book of Common Prayer for the Thanksgiving over the Water.. This simple blessing touched me more than I expected.

Pastor Shutters and his wife, Jean, are from Grayslake. Pastor Shutters brought his Magic Show for coffee hour on June 25, "Magic in Ministry." He knew we were sad. He was very kind and his show was offered with great love and respect. He brought copies of his books too. On June 18, Pastor Dave Peters of Frankfort, IL presided on Father's Day. On June 4, Pastor Ron Larson of Mount Morris presided services and the blessing of our parish garden. His wife, Karen, plays the organ at their home church in Mount Morris. Pastor Larson is coming back on August 6.

I want you to know that St. Paul's has supply clergy scheduled through September 24. Please help us welcome Fr Alonzo Pruitt from Oak Park back for the first four Sundays in July. When a newer visitor requested a Bible, Father Pruitt made it a joyous occasion on June 11 when a gift of a Bible was given during the service.

We have had a recent request for a baptism of an adult. We are working out plans to offer a Catechism class. The Outline of the Faith can be found on page 845 of the Book of Common Prayer. Please contact the office or me if you wish to join in this class.

I am looking for volunteers for a Rectory Advisory Committee. This committee will prioritize and plan work needed to be done in the rectory. Please contact me directly.

I am looking for a volunteer to see that the St Timothy Childrens Area in the basement & the children area in the sanctuary is all in order. The blessing of children in a joyous gift & to see them enjoy our space is a gift.

I've learned of a Retreat Center in Hampshire, IL that Mother Hiede H. recommended. Please let me or Peg know if this might interest you. https://www.newmorningretreat.org/group-retreat

While our parish is in transition, arrangements have been made if you or your family need a priest. If there is a surgery or a serious illness, we have made arrangements for your pastoral care. Please contact the church office during office hours or contact me. I am appreciative to Father Georges Jallouf of St. Peter's Sycamore and Father Mike Dwyer of our Rockford Deanery for their joyful commitment to us.

Recently, I've learned of a third option for online Christian Education. Local Pastor John Seraphine teaches classes on Thursdays at 11:30 AM. and Mondays at 7:00 PM. From our Rockford Deanery Father Mike Dwyer teaches a Bible Study on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Please contact the church office or me to connect with either.

I ask for you to continually pray for the priest that is searching for us and for whom we are searching. God bless our visiting clergy. Many thanks to Fr. Jallouf, Fr. Dwyer, and Pastor Hansen for being present and supportive.

Your Senior Warden, Jennie C.

WEEKLY DEVOTIONS AND

OCCASIONS TO CONNECT

Green Team meetings variable due to weather

MONDAYS

Zoom Bible Study - 7:00 PM

WEDNESDAYS

Zoom Bible Study - 10:00 AM

THURSDAYS

Zoom Bible Study - 11:30 AM

Green Team 8:00 AM

SUNDAYS

9:30 AM

Liturgy of The Word and Table

We have Supply Priests for Sundays

In Sanctuary and on Zoom

Coffee Hour following

11:00 AM

Catechism Class, July 2nd and 9th

A CELEBRATION OF A LIFE AT ST. PAUL'S

In the afternoon of July 25th, over 175 people came to St. Paul's to comfort family and to be part of recognizing the life of one of St. Paul's most active and beloved members.

Rick Johns joined St. Paul's in late 1999 and has sung with Choir, played guitar for special services, built garden structures, served as Junior and Senior Warden, Treasurer, chaired the Lobster Boil Fund Raiser, and helped repair and refurbish many things around the building and grounds.

His memory surely is present in almost every corner of the building and every plant growing outside in the grounds.

GRANTED!

St. Paul’s is delighted to partner with Episcopal Charities – the social outreach arm of the Diocese of Chicago – to fund the Fostering Food Security and Fellowship Project. We recently applied for their Parish Partner Grant and were notified today that we will receive the award. The Parish Partner Grants Program of Episcopal Charities funds projects that are designed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in local communities. We are grateful for the grant and excited to be in partnership with Episcopal Charities this year. To find out more about Episcopal Charities, click on this link: www.episcopalcharities.org.

CATECHISM CLASS

There will be a class on the first two Sundays in July at 11:00 AM talking about the Catechism of the Episcopal Church from the Book of Common Prayer and also using Welcome to the Episcopal Church by Christopher Webber.

You can find the Book of Common Prayer on line and we will have a few copies available. Christopher Webber's book is available at several on line sellers.

MAY 2023 APPROVED

VESTRY MINUTES

TREASURER'S REPORT

June, 2023

We will include a Treasurer's Report for June in next month's Mars Hill Proclaimer.

GREEN TEAM NEWS

The month of June was simply like no other month at St Paul's in recent times. In June we experienced great sorrow, and also great joy.

The month began with excitement as the Green Team began expanding our existing garden. Our partnership with NIU brought us a young, energetic intern, Thomas, who quickly began turning the garden into a thing of beauty.

The Green Team expanded its membership with Rick, Steve, and Jane pitching in to help doing whatever was needed. Dolce Vita helped get us a generous supply of wood chips, and Barb Mart gave us cardboard every Thursday to help with our expansions.

But by the middle of the month, St Paul's and the Green Team suffered a great loss of one of our most faithful members. Rick Johns passed away on June18th, peacefully, at his home. Earlier that day, he had been working with Steve, cleaning out the back yard of the rectory, while other members were gardening.

His death was a great blow to the church. But, as families do, the family of St Paul's banded together, and Rick's funeral was an expression of teamwork and love. During the funeral, we announced that the church garden was to be named in Rick's memory.

Late June brought the Green Team a second intern, Odi, a recent NIU graduate. And it brought us wonderful news! St Paul's had been awarded the grant to expand our garden operations through Episcopal Charities!

Now, much more information about the grant, and what that means for us as a church, will be coming in future announcements. But we can at least thank Kris and Tom for their hard work and for bringing this all to fruition!

And meanwhile, Kris and I will be looking for a suitable plaque for The Rick John's Memorial Garden. Rick's memory will live on over something much greater now than just a small, humble church garden.

Our work schedule is variable recently due to the poor air quality. We are still hoping to meet on Mondays and Thursdays, but Kris can be contacted with more information.

Respectfully submitted by Jo Plenger-Schulz

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ECW REPORTS

St. Paul's

Episcopal Church Women (ECW) News

The ECW met on June 17^th. Our time together included sharing remembrances and thanksgivings for Rick Johns. We also reflected on how losses affect us and shared those experiences. Our first effort at charitable giving has now ended. Barb Food Mart is the first recipient of our giving. A final total of monetary collections and tally of personal products will be available soon. We voted to match the monetary collection with ECW treasury funds. The next meeting will be on July 15^th at 10 a.m. in Parish Hall. The main topic will be our next charitable event. Bring ideas! Please join us!

Submitted by Peg Newby

DONATION RECOGNIZED

On Tuesday, June 12, Shatoya Jackson, Director of the Youth Services Bureau; Pat Brown, Assistant Treasurer at St. Paul’s; and Lucinda Brunner stood together in front of the door to the Youth Services Board, where a check for $2000 was presented from St. Paul’s and accepted by Director Jackson. The funds will be utilized towards the Family Service Agencies Little Campers Summer Program which focuses on social-emotional learning along with life skills and other activities. Jackson explained that groups are focused on creative expression, anger management, bullying prevention, empowerment and leadership.

This $2000 donation from St. Paul’s will go a long way towards supporting this summer’s program. You can find the DeKalb Chronicle article here.

ZOOM BIBLE STUDIES

We have invitations to three Zoom Bible Studies. On Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM you can join Fr. Mike Dwyer, our Rockford Dean, for a study of the the Book of Genesis. On Monday evenings you can join the Rev. John Seraphine, a member of Salem Lutheran Church, for a study of the Book of Exodus. The Rev. John also hosts a Zoom discussion group on Thursdays at 11:30 AM titled "Lunch and Learn". Contact the Parish Office for links if you'd like to participate.

Music Ministries

Though the choir is off for the summer,

watch for "pop up" choir times!

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Sound Cloud Choral Anthem Archives

Streaming Ministries

Enhancing the Quality of In-Person and On-Line Worship Services

Our streaming ministries sound and video system

continues to enhance our:

Intelligibility of spoken and sung worship in-person and on-line;

Ability to stream live via YouTube in tandem with Zoom to our Parishioners and community;

Ability to offer an Assisted Listening System (ALS) "Listen EVERYWHERE" to enhance their ability to hear the service more clearly.

Lynn Hansen, who has played flute at St. Paul's for Taize services and has attended services with her husband, the Rev. Bob Hansen, is a member of the Crosswinds Flute Choir.

A Senior Health Fair is being sponsored by several of DeKalb's local politicians and all are welcome to participate in the event at DeKalb High School.