The Magnificat Weekly
St. Mary's Episcopal Church Crystal Lake IL
Thursday, October 29, 2020
“From the Rector”

Dear Friends and Parishioners of St. Mary’s,

As most of you know by now we are under new restrictions for our county. The Bishop’s office has informed me that we are to have no more than 25 people in the church at any given time. Our 8:00 a.m. service has 8-10 people on average, and our 10:30 a.m. service is averaging 18-20. Please consider watching our live stream or attending the 8:00 a.m. service, where we have more space. We do not wish to turn away anyone but we must follow the guidelines set up for our safety and the safety of all who come to St. Mary’s.

This is a big weekend here at the parish as there is a lot going on that you will not want to miss. It is the Feast of All Saints and we will be remembering all the saints of the church, known and unknown. Many of you have submitted names of those who have died this past year to be read during the Prayers of the People, and some of you have made prayer flags and sent in pictures of loved ones and friends who have died. These are now hanging in our sanctuary and they will remain there until November 22. As most of you know, St. Mary’s has a long tradition of processing out to the Churchyard following our services, to read the names of all those who are buried there. We do plan on doing this weather permitting. We have also made a video of the Churchyard service so that you can see the plaques and hear all the names being read. An extra bonus in this video is a recording of our own St. Mary’s choir singing “For All the Saints” with guest musicians. This is a lovely recording from All Saints’ Day 2010. You are invited to listen and to watch the video here. Thank you to Tom and Amy Koegel who did the filming and editing, and John Amrein who assisted me in the churchyard. Let us remember all the Saints of the Church, known and unknown, and all those who we love and see no longer. This Sunday Gail Head will be providing us with organ music for our celebration. Many of you know that Del Smith has been playing the piano during the month of October, and I am grateful to both Gail and Del for sharing their musical gifts with us, most especially in this time when we cannot sing in church.  

This Saturday, October 31 at 11:00 a.m., Mike Choquette will be ordained to the Diaconate and that service is being live-streamed. On Sunday at both our 8:00 a.m. in-person Eucharist and at our 10:30 in-person and live-streamed Eucharist, we will celebrate Mike’s new ministry with us as a Deacon. Many gifts will be given and we hope you can celebrate with us on live stream or in person. Additionally on Sunday we will have our Morning Prayer Service on ZOOM at 9:00 a.m. The links for the ordination and our Sunday services are in this newsletter.

We are now in the midst of our 2021 stewardship campaign and I invite you to join me in making a pledge to the parish. Our pledge money is our main source of income that sustains our ministry in this place. Please prayerfully consider a pledge and know that all pledges matter and all pledges are needed. Some of you have already sent in a pledge and for that we are so very grateful. Thank you for your commitment to this parish. We are asking that pledges are returned by Sunday November 22, 2020. 
 
See you on Sunday virtually or in person,
Rev. Fran
Time Change This Weekend!

Don't forget to set your clocks BACK ONE HOUR before bedtime on Saturday.
A Very Special Virtual Invitation! THIS SATURDAY!!
By the grace of God
and with the consent of the people of God,
The Right Reverend Jeffrey D. Lee,
Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, will ordain
Michael Choquette
Anne Smith
Ann Smith
To the Sacred Order of Deacons
in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

Saturday, October 31
at eleven o’clock in the morning.
Service will be available via Livestream

Your prayers and virtual presence are requested.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1 WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

8:00 a.m. IN-PERSON EUCHARIST
  • Celebration of a New Ministry for Deacon Mike Choquette
  • Following the service, weather permitting, we will have a brief liturgy in the Churchyard for those family and friends whose remains are interred there.

9:00 a.m. MORNING PRAYER & VIRTUAL COFFEE HOUR
  • 9:00 a.m. ZOOM Link 
  • To participate by phone only: 312-626-6799; phone meeting ID: 826 0737 1151 *Please note that the ZOOM link and Meeting ID is different again this week.*
  • If you are participating by phone, you can access the same service document that Zoom participants can see. Click here to view the service on your computer. (The Zoom link, phone number, and ID will remain the same every Sunday.)

10:30 a.m. IN-PERSON EUCHARIST
  • Celebration of a New Ministry for Deacon Mike Choquette
  • Following the service, weather permitting, we will have a brief liturgy in the Churchyard for those family and friends whose remains are interred there.

10:30 a.m. LIVE-STREAMED SERVICE
ReVive Christmas Basket Program

St. Mary’s is once again participating in the ReVive Center’s Christmas Basket Program. This is a wonderful opportunity for members of our Parish to purchase Jewel gift cards or shop for individual Christmas gifts for some of the most impoverished families of our metropolitan area. This year we have been asked to sponsor 15 individuals. Because we have so many parishioners who are not attending in-person worship right now, and/or don't feel comfortable doing any shopping, we are offering 3 ways you can participate in the program.  The need is great, and your gifts are often the only ones that these individuals will receive. 

Option 1: Sign up to sponsor an individual to purchase gifts or a grocery gift card. See the display in the front of the church for the sign-up sheet and all the details. If you sign up on this list, please remember to pick up the gift request sheet, as signing up here means you intend to do the shopping.

Option 2: Mail a $50 Jewel gift card to the parish office, or send a check for $50, and we will purchase a grocery gift card for you.

Option 3: Mail or drop off a check in any amount and we will shop for you. We will use all donated funds to purchase gifts or gift cards for any individual that is not sponsored.

Thank you to everyone for continuing to make this fun
outreach ministry so meaningful and successful!
Need Meals?

You've been seriously ill, had surgery, or you are caring for a family member who is ill or recovering and you still have to make dinner. Too worn out, sick, or incapacitated to cook? Your parish is here to help in your time of immediate need!  

Amy and Tom Koegel are putting together a list of people who would like to part of a care team to sign up to make or buy a meal for a parish family. There are no committee meetings involved! Here is how it works:

  1. Amy Koegel will reach out to the family or individual to determine how many meals are needed for the week. This is meant to help a couple of times on a one-week or two-week schedule. For example: a family of 2 needs meals on Tuesday and Thursday for two weeks (4 meals total).
  2. An email will go out to all of the members of the Good Samaritan Care Team explaining what is needed and people will sign up to make (or buy) and deliver a meal. Don't have a car? No problem! Just let Amy know that you can only make the meal and she'll coordinate how to get it to the family.

It's that simple! Do you have to make a meal every time? No. The goal is to get enough people who like doing this type of ministry that many hands will make light work. This is an opportunity to care for people in our own parish without overwhelming them (or ourselves). Those of us who have received bread from the Bread Brigade know how much that simple delivery with a smile can brighten someone's day and make you feel like people are thinking of you.

How do you sign up? Please email Amy Koegel and we'll get you on the list.

 Galatians 6:2 - Bear another one's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Holding on to Hope: A National Service
for Healing and Wholeness

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will lead a live-streamed interfaith prayer service from Washington National Cathedral, Holding on to Hope: A National Service for Healing and Wholeness, on All Saints' Sunday, November 1, from 3:00-4:30 pm CST. The service will be simulcast in English and Spanish.

The Episcopal Church and Washington National Cathedral are hosting the service and a live prayer hotline will be open during the service in partnership with TryTank. To receive a reminder about this service, text HOLDING to 51555.
Election News: 13th Bishop of Chicago
The Diocesan Standing Committee has announced the slate of candidates for the 13th Bishop of Chicago. Information about the candidates, including each candidate's short introductory video, spiritual autobiography, resume, and answers to the essay questions asked by the Search & Nomination Committee, can be found on the Bishop Search and Transition website. The Electing Convention will take place virtually on Saturday, December 12, 2020.
The Transition Committee has scheduled a series of virtual Candidate Conversations to provide the people of the diocese the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the candidates for bishop prior to the election. The conversations are scheduled for various times from November 5-14.

The links for each of the dates below are available here, as well as answers to any questions you may have connecting to the ZOOM platform.
  • Thursday, November 5 at 6:00 pm, hosted by the Joliet / Peoria Deaneries
  • Friday, November 6 at 10:00 am, hosted by the Elgin / Rockford Deaneries
  • Saturday, November 7 at 12:00 Noon, hosted by the Hispanic Affairs Committee
  • Thursday, November 12 at 6:00 pm, hosted by the Evanston / Waukegan Deaneries
  • Friday, November 13 at 10:00 am, hosted by the Chicago-North and Chicago-South Deaneries
  • Saturday, November 14 at 12:00 Noon, hosted by the Aurora / Oak Park Deaneries
Clergy/Staff    
Amy Noe, Parish Administrator

Parish Vestry (term expires)
Co-Wardens Steve Brooks (1/21), and Mike Higgins (1/22)
Treasurer, Cate Williams
Stacy Cook, Amy Koegel (1/21); Heather Horeled, Lorraine Taylor (1/22); Cheri Dudek, Dorothy Nyberg (1/23)

We Pray For
Parishioners: Cameron, Peter, Tracy, Betsy & Galen, Sue, Cindy, Gail, Heather, El & Dorothy, Matthew, Emmett, Kristi, Elizabeth, Glenice, Shirley, and Margaret
Family/Friends: Mark, Chris, Douglas, Tom, Mark, Andi, Bill, Maria, Greg, Wayne, Scott, Rev. Bill, Sue, Sarah, Dave, Brynn, Neil and Des, Sarah Margaret, Rick, Sylvia, Jess, Joanne, Lauren, Lynn, Rachel, Kay, Saul, Brian, Billy, Sue, Nicci, Sarah

Those Serving in the Armed Forces
Jeremy, son of John & Carolyn Kuykendall

Anniversary October 29- November 4
10.29 Scott & Stacy Cook
Fall Coffee Hour
With the weather turning colder, it seems that our Fall outdoor Coffee Hours have come to an end.  Our last Coffee Hour, on October 11, featured apple cider doughnuts and hot apple cider! A huge thank-you to Eileen Flynn, who has been our Coffee Hour hostess these past few months, setting up, taking down, and providing coffee and other treats.  It’s been wonderful to be able to gather outside and have in-person conversations with our St. Mary’s friends.
Long-time friends of the parish,
Jim & Kathy Kent, were visiting
from Michigan, and joined us for the 10:30 a.m. worship service.