The Heartbeat of
St. Charles’ Episcopal Church
630.584.2596 scecoffice@sbcglobal.net www.stcharlesepiscopal.org
Service Times for Holy Week and Easter
Sunday April 9, 2006 The Sunday of the Passion – Palm Sunday
(Starting outside)
7:30 am Holy Eucharist w/Hymns and Palms
9:00 am Holy Eucharist w/Songs and Palms
10:45 am Choral Eucharist with Palms
Tuesday April 11, 2006
7:30 pm Tenebrae (w/ Incense)
Thursday April 13, 2006
7:30 pm Maundy Thursday
8:30 pm Vigil at the Altar of Repose until 9 am morning service
Friday April 14, 2006
9:00 am Good Friday service to end vigil
11:00 am Intergenerational Stations of the Cross
7:30 pm Good Friday service
Saturday April 15, 2004 (Starting outside)
7:30 pm Great Vigil of Easter (Incense)
Sunday April 16, 2006 (Note Special Times) EASTER
8:00 am Easter Day w/ Choir
10:30 am Easter Day w/ Choir
Clergy Notes
On the altar during Lent there is an arrangement of gnarled twigs. For all intents and purposes it looks dead. It doesn’t look that different from most of the trees and bushes outside. But that is all about to change.
Last Friday when I was outside walking I smelled dirt for the first time this year. You know that smell; that rich, loamy, living smell that goes away during the winter when the ground is frozen. When I can smell that smell I know that winter no longer has a chance. It may still snow or freeze, but they will be brief occurrences. Spring is coming.
The change is not limited to the outdoors though. God is about to do a new thing again as we remember the ultimate April Fool’s Joke. Sunday, April ninth we will begin the week-long remembrance of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we call Holy Week. Throughout the week there will be many different ways to engage, through liturgy, the mystery of this world altering event. I encourage you to participate as often as you can in this sacred journey to Golgotha and beyond. There are so many stops along the path that give richer meaning to the surprising joy of Easter.
The walk of Holy Week is a time set apart; a time of conflicting sorrow and joy. Sorrow as we examine ourselves and our church in the light of truth and face the horrible fact that we have fallen from the ideal God has created us to be. Each of us has failed to live up to the simple expectations put before us. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. But mingled and intertwined with this profound sorrow is a wild joy as well, as we confront again the ridiculous length to which God goes to love us and rescue us from our folly. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” God really loves us that much.
Like the surprise of spring, even though we know it is coming, Holy Week and Easter never fail to surprise us with a new awareness of Gods power. Taking us with all our frail strength and wandering hearts and lifting us to new life in him, working miracles to reveal the kingdom of God in our midst.
Don’t miss this opportunity to be made new.
See you in Church!
Bill +
From the wardens...
By the calendar spring has arrived. We wait for the flowers to bloom, while anticipating the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Easter morning. We pray that you have been able to observe a Holy Lent. Check the rest of the newsletter for our complete Easter schedule for opportunities to worship and serve.
We have signed a new license agreement with the Robinson’s for the next 3 months. They will be paying all their utilities. Beginning in July we will sign a new license agreement, which will include a gradual rent payment schedule.
The vestry would like to thank all those who have been able to catch up on their pledges. When we first mentioned our pledge deficit we where almost $10,000.00 behind, as of March 20th we are just over $2,000.00 behind, way to go, keep up the good work. You have helped lower Treasure Tom Miller’s stress level.
The vestry has also been looking into information about planned giving to the church more information will be coming in the future.
We would like to thank all the people who came to dinner at Beef O’ Brady’s on Sunday March 12th. What a way to raise money! We had over 40 people come for dinner. Look for more information about when and where we will eat again.
Have a Holy Lent and a blessed Easter Season.
Joe Ryan (Senior Warden) 630-762-0353
Ken Dunham (Junior Warden) 630-587-1861
Happy Birthday to you!
1 Mary Zupke
2 Beth Parks
4 Jim Lyng
4 Andy Meade
4 Amy Senn
8 Kevin Enberg
10 Josie Weyman
11 Larry Engel
13 Trann Kelly
14 Elizabeth Blaschak
14 Henry Zupke
15 Katie Thomson
16 Samantha Heffron
18 David Schuetz
20 Fay Viverito
20 Andrew Schuetz
21 Kathy Heikkinen
21 Terry Andrew
21 Larry Windel
22 Gwynne Wright
23 Grace Rhead
28 Jane Hutchings
30 Jack Zupke
Happy Anniversary to...
9 Greg & Sheryl Vitel
12 Bob & Barbara Haase
16 David & Lark Schuetz
30 Jack & Mary Kerr
30 Lisa-Ann & Rob Barnes
Welcome!
Sophia was adopted into the family of Melanie and Kevin Enberg
Rest in Peace
Our former Music Director Michael Pavone died from liver failure on Tuesday March 21, 2006.
The Parish Life Committee Needs YOU!
Tuesday, April 18th,
7:30 p.m. in Ludtke Hall
Do you like to plan things? Are you the "social type" and like to meet others? Are you the kind of person who likes to help out and have fun at the same time? If so, the Parish Life Committee needs you!
The Committee is looking for people to help plan activities to enhance and strengthen our community! The Committee oversees events such as Mardi Gras party, pig roast/parish picnic, the Foyers groups, and various others. Please come to the planning meeting for this committee and become a part of what is happening in the parish! We need you and your ideas! For more information, please contact Mary Benjamin @ 232-2426.
The Women’s Book Group will discuss Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson on Thursday, April 20th from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. Please join us. If you have any questions please contact Deacon Liz Meade.
Lazarus House Events
Lazarus House is on a Mission from God
Lazarus House invites you to attend its annual dinner/auction event, “Sweet Home Lazarus House,” starting at 6 PM on Saturday, April 22 at the Q Center in St. Charles. The theme is loosely based on the Blues Brothers--Lazarus House is on a “Mission from God.”
Enjoy music, a home-style menu, the chance to bid on fabulous silent and live auction packages, and the company of wonderful people while helping raise general operating funds for Lazarus House.
Tickets are $50. Call Lazarus House at 630-587-2144 by Monday, April 10, for reservations and details on how to donate items to the auction.
Celebrate the extraordinary talent of Michael Card!
Saturday May 13th, 7 pm
Christian singer/songwriter Michael Card will perform in a special benefit concert for Lazarus House at 7 pm Saturday, May 13th at the Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St. in St. Charles. Tickets cost $30, $25 and $20 and are available by calling the theater at (630) 587-8400 between 9 am-6 pm weekdays and noon-4 pm Saturdays or by logging onto www.thearcada.com. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity!
Lazarus House is a community home at 214 Walnut Street, St. Charles, offering safe shelter, food, and support services to men, women and children connected to St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and western rural Kane County who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless.
Sr. High Mission Trip
FYI, the High school class wanted to share some information about their upcoming Mission Trip with you as your generous donations and contributions to Youth fund raisers have helped make this possible. Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare themselves to serve the Lord in this new and challenging way.
On Monday June 5, 2006 many of the High School youth and their leaders will be leaving for Prestonsburg, Kentucky where they will lend their skills and energy to the “Mission in the Mountains”. Organized by the Rev. Canon Johnnie E. Ross, Canon Missioner of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Kentucky, (who is also the Rector of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Prestonsburg) this program has been helping care for those in their community who have difficulty caring for themselves. For four days the group will work on home repairs and improvements for the low income and elderly of St. James’ parish and community.
The High School group has gone to Kentucky before. In June of 2004, the group went down to do the same sort of work. Unbeknownst to us, Eastern Kentucky had terrible floods a week before our arrival. The mission became a flood relief project and the young people and adults helped 5 different families as they struggled to recover from this disaster. It gave our youth an opportunity to find Christ in a totally different environment. We look forward to seeing the people of St. James’ parish and Fr. Johnnie again this summer.
We thank you for your financial support as it has enabled these important missions to continue. This is another way the family of St. Charles’ Episcopal church has responded to Christ’s call to “tend my sheep” from John 21:16. May we continue to serve the Lord with willing hands and loving hearts, supporting one another in prayer.
Rummage Sale
Saturday April 29 from 9:00 to 2:00
$5.00 a bag sale from 1:00 to 2:00
Needed:
☞ Workers
Day of Sale – April 29
April 24th to April 28th to prepare for the sale
☺ Donations of clean items in working order (no large appliances)
Donations may be dropped off beginning Sunday afternoon,
April 23rd until Thursday, April 27th
☞ Paper Bags for the Bag sale
What’s Up in Formation?
It’s almost Easter!
We can’t wait to say “A------a”again!
April in the Atriums is full of fun and activity. The Green Atrium will be finishing their lessons about the great letter writer Paul and starting their lessons on several of the Sacraments. The first Sacrament they will explore is Eucharist. The Blue Atrium will be learning more about the last days of Jesus and his resurrection.
Meanwhile, the Middlers are learning about Faith and that it’s not unusual to ask questions. The Jr. High Class will be finishing their section on World religions and what they mean to us. And the Sr. High Class is continuing in their exploration of the Old Testament and preparing for their mission trip. The location will be Eastern Kentucky where they went two years ago.
Liz Ryan is looking for some help with the Atrium Easter Celebration on Palm Sunday, April 9th! It would be great to give the teachers some “time off” and let you see what great kids we have in the Atria! Please contact Liz before April 3rd if you can help during the 10am to 11:15am time slot.
We are also looking for some Easter Egg stuffers to help prepare for the Easter Egg Hunt that will take place between services on Easter Sunday. Please contact Liz Ryan for more information.
Now... What’s coming?
☺ Atrium Celebration - April 9 - 10am to 11:15am for children 3 yrs. through 4th grade
☺ The Great Vigil of Easter - Saturday April 15th at 7:30pm Eucharist
☺ Easter Egg Hunt - 9am - (children 3-10 yrs please - older kids can find the difficult to locate eggs!) Service times that day 8am and 10:30am
☺ Registration for Bibletimes Marketplace starts May 1. Forms will be available as of April 16 (Look for the display in Ludtke Hall.)
Who’s Who in Our Church!
Tom and Sharon Miller
Tom who is our treasurer here at St. Charles’ Episcopal Church and his lovely wife, Sharon, a vestry member, have been members since 2003. Coming from the Rockford area to St. Charles, they tried other churches in the area and joined our church family when they made some connections here. Both Tom and Sharon having a military background (U.S. Navy),they realized what a small world it is when they found out Lela, our Administrative Assistant, was actually working on the same base they were stationed at years earlier and that our then Sr. Warden, George Hillard, was a retired Army General.
Sharon and Tom presently have two Shelties at home, “Annie” and “Dashiell”. (Annie’s full name is “Ainsworth, Written in the Stars”, and Dashiell’s full name is “Lambrook’s Dashiell, Speaker of the House”.) They are the most recent of a series of dogs, mostly Shelties or Shepherds. Tom and Sharon have had as many as four dogs at one time.
Tom was born in Valpariso, IN and Sharon in Oak Park, IL but they actually met at a lunch at the cafeteria at Garrett Theological Seminary while attending Northwestern University in Evanston. (She remembers he sat with the “Tech Weenies & Science Geeks”. But that didn’t put her off a bit because she was a Science Geek herself.) Sharon said “you don’t want to go our with me” the first time Tom asked her out, but Tom remembers she later proposed to him and they were eventually married at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Evanston, IL.
Both Tom and Sharon are pilots. Tom flew P3s while in the Navy and then flew for NorthWest Orient Airlines briefly. At sixteen, Sharon actually won a free flight lesson from the “Flying Disc Jockey” and learned to fly before she had her driver’s license. They have flown all over the world and would like to travel to Spain and Portugal in the future.
One of their most memorable trips in recent years was a Smithsonian Cruise to the beaches of Normandy and with trips to Paris (the engineering of the Eiffel Tower took their breath away) and Mont Saint Michel. Tom’s a World War II Naval Aviation buff and he especially enjoyed their excursion!
Retired now, Tom and Sharon are finally getting to all those things they had “on the back burner” after attending to all their personal repair and maintenance. Including a kitchen renovation that tested the limits of their endurance was worth every annoyance now that it’s complete.
Sharon says they enjoy reading, are members of a local gun club, and love going for long walks with the dogs. But with Sharon’s involvement in Evangelism and Newcomers ministry and Tom’s job as the treasurer and Finance committee chair as well as his commitment to the Building Enhancement Team, this is one busy couple!
Do you regularly shop at Meijers???
Meijer has a program which gives a small percentage of Community Rewards cardholders' purchase amounts to the non-profit organization of their choice. The size of the percentage is based on the number of shoppers and the amount they normally spend in a calendar month. St. Charles’ Episcopal church is one of those non-profit organizations! Our code number is 183130. So far 17 families are participating and we have received over $100. If you would be interested in participating in this program please pick up a Meijer Community Rewards folder from the table in Ludtke Hall. It’s easy and “painless” fundraising! For more information, contact Liz Ryan by phone 584-2596 or by e-mail scecyouth@sbcglobal.net
Bibletimes Marketplace
Listen to the slap of sandals on the dusty ground.
Sit in the temple and tents.
See the Rabbis and children.
Be part of the singing, praying and trades-work.
Give your child a chance to step back into history and walk a path of ancient knowledge.
And have fun while they are there!!!
The ever popular Bibletimes Marketplace (a week of vacation bible school run jointly by volunteers from St. Charles’ Episcopal Church and Bethlehem Lutheran Church) will return this year for the week of July 31-August 4th. Enrollment for children (preschool - 5th grade) begins at the end of April. Please fill out one form for each participating child and give it to Liz Ryan. Registration forms can be found on the easel in Ludtke Hall. The Marketplace is “open” from 9am to 11:45am and is truly an enjoyable time for everyone involved. Registration fee this year is a very modest $5.00 per child to defray snack costs for the week. Please make any checks out to St. Charles’ Episcopal church and we will give the total to Bethlehem with our regular contribution for the week.
We are also looking for adult and older teenaged volunteers who are interested in helping out for the week. Have you got a talent to share or patience to spare? You may be the one we are waiting to hear from! You can even be trained in a “trade”. Rope making, leather working, basket making or pottery to name a few. Look for volunteer forms in Ludtke Hall or speak to Liz Ryan.
April at a glance...
April 4 Aurora Deanery ECW Day @ 9 am
April 4 Study of the Windsor Report @ 7 pm
April 6 Prayer Shawl Ministry @ 7 pm
April 6 Vestry meeting @ 7 pm
April 7 Stations of the Cross @ noon
April 7 Study of the Windsor Report @ 1 pm
April 9 Palm Sunday Services 7:30, 9, 10:45
April 11 Tennebrae Service @ 7:30 pm
April 13 Maundy Thursday Eucharist @ 7:30 pm
Vigil Watch begins after Service
April 14 Good Friday Eucharist @ 9 am
Vigil Watch ends @ 9 am
Intergenerational Stations @ 11 am
Good Friday Choral Eucharist @ 7:30 pm
April 15 Great Vigil of Easter Eucharist @ 7:30 pm
April 16 EASTER SERVICES @ 8 & 10:30 am
April 17 Office Closed
April 18 Prayer Shawl Ministry @ 10 am
April 20 Scrapbook Club @ 7:00 pm
April 20 Women’s Book Group @ 7:30 pm
April 21/22 Hesed House
April 26 Soup Kitchen Cooking @ 7 pm
April 27 Soup Kitchen
April 28 Stuff ‘n Such @ 9 am
April 29 Rummage Sale @ 9 am
VESTRY
Joe Ryan, Senior Warden
Ken Dunham, Junior Warden
2007 2008 2009
Bill Churchwell Christy Becker Michelle Moore
Sharon Miller Mary Benjamin Henry Mora
Marina Morrow Mary Zupke Linda Saxer
ST. CHARLES’ EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The Rt. Rev William Persell, Bishop
The Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr. Rector
The Rev. Elizabeth G. Meade, Deacon
Dan Williams, Director of Music
Liz Ryan, Director of Youth & Children’s Formation
Lela Lowe, Administrative Assistant
phone: 630-584-2596
Fax: 630-584-8633
email: scecoffice@sbcglobal.net
Web site: www.stcharlesepiscopal.org