A Note From Erik:
Dear Friends,
How are you doing?
I know this is a strange time for all of us, and many of you have been so kind to reach out to me to ask this question. I'll share my answer and ask you to consider answering it for yourself! I'm doing well. It is a strange time indeed, but it has also been a time of reconnection and a purpose-filled time as we've been coming together as a community. I'm anxious about being far from family right now, but also reassured knowing that I have a loving community here at PCWS.
Thank you all for loving me and for loving one another!
As we continue on this new and different chapter of our journey together, I wanted to let you know a couple of changes we’re making in the way we communicate. First, starting with this email, we’re including the prayer list and the birthdays in our Weekly Connection email. We will not be publishing a
Glad Tidings
in April since so many events are in flux. The emails will include all of the other announcements about upcoming events taking place online.
The Weekly Connection will come out on Tuesday morning and on Saturday afternoon. The Saturday edition will be smaller and have a link to the bulletin for the next morning
as well as any other updates since Tuesday.
I had a chance to connect with several of you this past Tuesday on the telephone. My goal was to provide updates about the life of the church and to connect with as many people as possible. By now you should have heard from your deacon as well. My hope is that everyone is finding ways to connect with others in our community.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me by email or telephone if you’d like to talk with me or connect with others.
I also want to remind you of our
midday prayer gatherings that we’re doing each weekday
at noon. There’s more information below, including the link to join in. These have been a great chance to pause in the day, have some interaction with others, and learn some new and different techniques for prayer.
I hope you’ll join us!
Finally, I also hope you’ll join us for worship this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. What a wonderful time we had interacting with one another on Facebook Live this past Sunday! If you would like help with accessing the worship services, please reach out! There are people ready to help you get connected, so just say the word.
This Sunday we’re going to be looking at a text that is full of vivid and dramatic imagery. In
Ezekiel 37:1-14
there is a valley of dry bones … meant to signify the weary and confused people in exile.
I wonder if you’re feeling weary and confused in this strange time?
Join us on Sunday morning as we look at how God says that new life will come to those dry bones!
See you online this week!
Peace,
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Until further notice, the Session has determined that our PCWS community will continue to worship … but online only! You are encouraged to worship from your computer, tablet, or phone through the Facebook website. You do NOT need to sign-up for Facebook to participate. If it asks you to sign-up, simply cancel or select the option to do so at a later time. Our PCWS Facebook page can be found at
www.facebook.com/presbyws
, by clicking on the graphic above, or by clicking on the graphic on the PCWS website.
We will begin the live feed at about 9:20 a.m. and the prelude will begin at a few minutes before 9:30. I encourage you to grab a cup of coffee, light a candle or two, gather your family, and enjoy our time of worship. We’ll have the bulletin available so that you can join in the singing and responsive prayers. The weekly bulletin will be available on the PCWS website and will be emailed to this distribution list on Saturdays (see Pastor Erik's note above).
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
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Click the button above to listen to last Sunday's sermon,
or click the button below to view last Sunday's Worship.
No matter where you may be in the world, you can feel close to PCWS!
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Let’s Fill the Can!
During Lent it was our plan to increase our contributions to the Second Baptist Church of La Grange food pantry. We support them all year, but we wanted to make an effort to increase our contributions this season. Even though we’re not meeting in person, please come by and do a “drive by” drop-off!
Click here
for a fun video announcement. Let’s fill the can!
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Weekday Mid-Day Prayer
Please join us for a break from the other activities of your day. Whether you are working at home, or out and about, you can pause and join me as we center ourselves on God, hear some scripture, and engage in some ancient and modern spiritual practices. It will be brief and a chance for you to see the faces of people you love.
Set-up your Zoom account and if you need help, please email Pastor Erik (
[email protected]
) and he can help walk you through it!
You can also join directly through the Zoom app on your phone, tablet, or computer by entering this Meeting ID: 571 092 483.
If you would prefer to just join with audio through your telephone (landline or mobile) you can call 312-626-6799 and enter the Meeting ID when prompted (571 092 483).
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Story Time With Pastor Erik & Friends
The children of the church are invited to join Pastor Erik (and some of his - and your! - friends) for evening story time on Zoom Thursdays and Mondays at 7:00 p.m.! Gather your family around a computer or TV, get your jammies on, and join me for
Story Time with Pastor Erik
! I’ll read a book, share a few encouraging words, and close in prayer. Setup your Zoom account and
click on this link
to join the story time. This is a fun and encouraging way for us to stay connected with one another.
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PCWS Office Closed
The PCWS office is closed for the immediate future. Our office staff are still working remotely and on a limited basis. You can continue to
email Patrick
with any questions about financial issues, including setting up electronic giving on a one-time or recurring basis. If you need immediate assistance, please email
Pastor Erik
or leave a message for him on his church extension which he checks regularly, or call his cell - (708) 505-5409
.
Pastor Erik is checking the U.S. Mail daily. The mailbox is also now a locking box, so please feel comfortably dropping off correspondence directly (including contributions).
Please do not come to the church office.
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Online Giving
Have you ever considered using online tools as a way to manage your contributions to PCWS? You can have your bank send contributions directly to PCWS or you can use our giving site to set-up recurring or one-time payments. Since we’re not gathering in-person each week, this would be a good time to get yourself set-up with electronic payments. Please contact our
Financial Secretary Patrick Rivers
, with any questions or instructions for setting up payments through your bank.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our ministries, particularly during this uncertain time.
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Our siblings at Nueva Paz Presbyterian Church in Cuba
Our men & women serving our country in the Armed Services
The people of Syria,
and especially the relatives of PCWS’ Interfaith Women’s Book Group
Betty Toft
Betty Anderson
Billye Dvorak
Brent Young,
son-in-law of Larry & Becky Glasscock
Brian, f
riend of the Smyers family
Cheryl Donchez,
friend of Theresa & Condy Dixon
David DeFrance,
nephew of Becky & Larry Glasscock
Dorcas Dvorak,
friend of the Merrifield family
Elsie Anderson,
mother of Michelle
Hennessy
Gary Mirlenbrink,
uncle of Lori Carsten
Holly Oliver,
daughter of Mary Kae Headland
The family of Inez Martinez,
friend of the Merrifield family
Jan Keeler,
friend of Amy Malone
John Kregg
Joshua Haberkorn,
grandson of Shirley Pine
Kathleen Kircher
The family of Kim Rae,
friends of Amy Malone
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Laura Querry,
daughter of Becky & Larry Glascock
Linda Bell,
daughter of Margot Walsh
Marc Goldstein,
friend of Carol Ulreich
Marc Ladene,
friend of the Slezaks
Marge Sandrik
Mary Kate Miller,
step-mother of Julie Garino
Mary,
dear friend of Bruce Geary
Michael De Vries
Michael,
friend of Jane Norman
Mike Slesicki,
cousin of Barb Farr & Joe Benson
Nate & Joann Dardick,
friends of Laurie Merrifield
Norb Mirlenbrink,
Uncle of Lori Carsten
Pat McTiernan,
friend of Phyllis DiFrancesco
Pat White,
friend of Becky Glasscock
Paulette Erickson,
friend of Carol Ulreich
Peggy Mirlenbrink,
aunt of Lori Carsten
Peter Wilkie
Phil Kasik
Ruth Kaduke,
niece of Herb & Joyce Smyers
Teri Tuffner,
aunt of Candice Mares
Theresa Ybanez,
great niece of Laura Fruit
The family and friends of Toni Potenza Moya,
daughter of Harriett Potenza & Craig Harris
Parents of Tiffany Sellman
Paul,
cousin of Elizabeth Slezak
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Christian Cloutier 3/16
Ali Goetz 3/16
Rex Lee 3/17
Emily Skeels 3/18
Emersyn Williams 3/18
Stacia Farrar 3/19
Carly Booth 3/20
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Val Blough 3/22
Elaine Haeske 3/24
Luke Mosher 3/27
Cindi Karstens 3/28
Rachel Galloway 3/29
Stephanie Carlisle 3/30
Frank Adelphia 3/31
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Remember PCWS in your will and estate planning.
Please contact Pastor Erik for more Information.
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