Week of April 13, 2025

See you on Sunday!

Join us for Palm Sunday worship at 10 AM on Sunday, April 13. Rev. Dr. Brian R. Paulson is preaching in the sanctuary and Alex Barnes, M.Div., is preaching in the chapel. The services will also be available on our YouTube channel.

Sunday School & Child Care: Students in PreK-Grade 8 are invited to Sunday School this week. Caregiving is provided for kids ages birth through age 2 in the nursery and for ages 3-4 in the PreK-K caregiving room (105/106) for those kids who don't feel quite ready to sit through worship.

Congregational Meeting on Sunday: Join us in the sanctuary after worship for a brief Congregational Meeting to elect church officers. 

Easter Plant Dedications due April 13

Honor a loved one by dedicating an Easter plant! Click here for the form. Cost: $13. The dedications will be printed as an insert in our Easter bulletin.

Join us for our Maundy Thursday Communion Service on April 17 at 5:30 PM in the Chapel. Rev. Nicole Chapman-Farley has created a special family-friendly service that brings the story of the Last Supper to life for everyone.

On Good Friday, April 18 at 7:30 PM in the Sanctuary, we will hold our Tenebrae Service. Led by Rev. Amy Heinrich, this service is a powerful meditation on Christ’s suffering, through readings, music, and the gradual descent into silence and darkness.

On Easter Sunday, April 20, we'll celebrate the joy of the resurrection! Join us for worship at either 9:00 or 11:00 AM in the Sanctuary, where Rev. Dr. Brian R. Paulson will be preaching at both services. We look forward to celebrating with you!

SAVE THE DATE

Earth Care Worship & Frog Lady Eco-Fair (April 27)

Women’s Spring Retreat at Prairie Crossing Farm (May 3)

iConfirm Service & Celebration (May 10)

Chancel Choir Major Work (May 11)

Confirmation & Baccalaureate (May 18)   

THE WEEK AHEAD

Sunday, April 13

Palm Sunday

10:00 AM Worship (Sanctuary & Chapel) & 10:15 AM Sunday School

11:00 AM Congregational Meeting to Elect Officers (Sanctuary)

11:00 AM Social Hour (Social Hall)

11:15 AM Alpha Chimers & Trinity Choir

11:15 AM First through-Third Friends (Youth Lounge)

1:30 PM Green Oaks Worship Service (Offsite)

4:00 PM Junior High Fellowship (Youth Lounge)

5:30 PM Youth Bells

6:30 PM Youth Leadership Meeting (Youth Lounge)

Monday, April 14

9:00 AM Habitat Quilting (Social Hall)

1:00-7:00 PM Lenten Labyrinth (Social Hall)

2:00 PM “Hard & Holy Work” Lent Book Study (Social Hall)

6:00 PM “Hard & Holy work” Lent Book Study (Zoom)

6:30 PM Vesper Bells

7:00 PM Caregiver Support Group (Zoom)

7:00 PM Deacon Meeting

7:00 PM Troop 71 Meeting (Social Hall)

Tuesday, April 15

7:00 AM Men’s Bible Study (Zoom)

7:00 PM Stephen Ministry Training (Dougherty Room)

Wednesday, April 16

7:30 AM Morning Bible Study (Zoom)

12:00 PM “Lent of Liberation” Discussion (Zoom)

4:00-5:30 PM PADS Donation Drop Off

6:00 PM “Lent of Liberation” Discussion (Zoom)

6:30 PM Motet Choir (Sanctuary)

7:30 PM Chancel Choir (Sanctuary)

Thursday, April 17

Maundy Thursday

9:00 AM Bel Canto Ringers

9:00 AM Women’s Disciple Bible Study (Conference Room)

5:30 PM Maundy Thursday Worship (Chapel)

Friday, April 18

Good Friday*

3:30 PM Chamber Choir Rehearsal

7:30 PM Good Friday Tenebrae Service (Sanctuary)

*The church office will close at Noon.

Saturday, April 19

8:00 AM Mobile Food Pantry

Sunday, April 20

Easter Sunday

9:00 AM Easter Worship Service (Sanctuary)

10:15 AM Easter Egg Hunt (Dougherty Room)

11:00 AM Easter Sunday Worship (Sanctuary)

1:30 PM Sedgebrook Senior Living Worship (Offsite)

Egg Hunt for Ages 5 - 5th Grade on Easter Sunday

Come to church with your own bag or basket and meet in the Dougherty Room at 10:15 AM (or 5 minutes after 9:00 AM worship ends, whichever is LATER). Not sure where that is? Signs will point you there that morning!

The doors to the CE Wing 2nd floor (where our hunt will happen) will open five minutes later.

Ages 2-4 will have their own hunt in rooms 204-205 (the PreK-K Sunday School room) and kids ages 5-5th grade will have access to all the open rooms in the remainder of the CE wing.

We hope you're able to join us for some fun between the 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM Easter services!

*Any candy in eggs has been selected with the most common food allergens in mind.

Earth Care Sunday: Don’t miss the special worship service on Sunday, April 27. After worship, join us in Social Hall for our Eco-Fair featuring the Frog Lady and her friends. 

Women's Retreat Early Bird Discount through April 14

Come find grounding in God, community and our inner selves amidst the restorative prairie landscape of the Prairie Crossing Farm in Grayslake. Led by Rev. Amy Heinrich, Rev. Nicole Chapman-Farley, and Alex Barnes, M.Div., this retreat will nourish your spirit through conversation, nature, prayer, and the warmth of community.

Saturday, May 3 from 8:45 AM - 12:00 PM*

Doors open at 8:30 AM and the program starts at 9:00 AM.

What to Expect:

• Continental Breakfast at the Yellow Farmhouse
• Moments of quiet reflection and deep connection with nature.
• A supportive community of women on a shared spiritual journey.
• Tools and practices to cultivate inner peace and resilience.
• Leave feeling refreshed, renewed, and deeply rooted.

Spring Harvest Food Drive

Our Deacons are calling for your support this April to collect 1000 items for the Libertyville and Saint Joseph's food pantries. This food drive replaces Meal-A-Month and will be the only Deacon-led food drive this year! Donate by dropping food items off in the narthex, order from the Amazon list, or give a financial gift.

Contribute to the Lenten "One Great Hour of Sharing" Offering

PCUSA's "One Great Hour of Sharing" supports efforts to relieve hunger through the Presbyterian Hunger Program, promote development through the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People, and assist in areas of disaster through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. You may use the "One Great Hour of Sharing" envelopes in the pews or click the button below to give online.

Saturday, May 10th 2:00 - 4:00 PM

Join Us for the iConfirm Service!

iConfirm Service & Party on Saturday, May 10: Come meet our confirmation students at a special service where they share the scripture passages they’ve memorized and explain why the scripture is meaningful to them. Everyone in the congregation is invited! Please help spread the word—we’d love to see a big turnout this year! Come celebrate our confirmation students in this special service held in the chapel, followed by a party under the portico.

It's a special event where our confirmation students share the scripture passages they’ve memorized and explain their choices. It’s a chance to learn more about these students and to recognize their hard work, whether they choose to be confirmed or not.

Everyone in the congregation is invited to come and support our students. Please help spread the word—we’d love to see a big turnout this year!

June Book Study: Tending the Wild Garden

Sundays at 11:15 AM in the Library (June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29)

In a world fixated on outward appearances, discover the joy of cultivating an inward relationship with the Spirit, where virtues like love, joy, and self-control blossom naturally.

Join us after worship in June for an enriching Bible Study led by Rev. Dr. Brian R. Paulson. Together, we'll explore the Fruit of the Spirit as outlined by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians. Our guide for this journey will be the insightful book “Tending the Wild Garden” by Rev. Eugenia Gamble.

Gamble helps us to move beyond the checklist mentality of traditional understandings of the fruit of the Spirit, to cultivate our relationship with God, and to uproot the "weeds" that could threaten the flourishing of the fruit in our lives.

Email Megan at mhuber@boxp.net to register.

Flower Calendar

Would you like to honor a loved one or celebrate a special occasion with a beautiful floral arrangement in our worship spaces on Sunday mornings? Simply fill out the form below or contact the church office at 847-362-2174 to make your dedication.

PADS Food Collection

Drop off on Wednesdays between 4-5:30 PM in the Sanctuary Narthex. Please only bring items from the list below:

Breakfast: Bagels, cream cheese, instant oatmeal, store-bought muffins, granola or breakfast bars, meal replacement drinks

Lunch: Crackers, chips, ramen noodle cups or packages, protein bars, tuna or chicken salad packs, beef jerky, microwave popcorn, Jell-O cups, apple sauce pouches

Dinner: Non-perishable microwave dinners, canned baked beans, mac and cheese in boxes or cups, canned chili, microwave rice packs, sardines

Drinks: Fruit juice packs, water bottles, hot chocolate packs, small containers of milk

Other: Can openers, plastic cutlery and plates, baby food

Chapel Music Director (Contemporary)

Click here for the job description.

Sermon Podcasts

Podcasts of previous Sunday sermons are available on the listening platform of your choice, including Spotify, Apple, and YouTube Music. The links are also available on our website at www.firstpreslibertyville.org/podcasts. New podcasts are generally uploaded midweek.

Libertyville Senior Center News

Click here to read the April newsletter from our friends at the Libertyville Senior Center.

How to contact a pastor or staff member

Call 847-362-2174 or email office@boxp.net.

The office is open next week M-TH 9 AM - 4 PM and on Good Friday from 9 AM - 12PM.

Pastoral Emergencies

If you are a church member and need to reach a pastor in an emergency, please call 847-367-6460. Leave a message and a pastor will return your call as soon as they are able.

Beware of Scams!

To avoid falling victim to scams, please verify the sender's email address before responding to any messages that appear to be from our pastors or staff. Our pastors only send email from boxp.net and will never make personal requests for money, gift cards, or any kind of assistance through email. If you have any doubts, please call the church office at 847-362-2174 to verify before taking any action.