Clergy Notes

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Greetings!

At the first Home Eucharist and House Blessing of the season, Fr. Nesbit read the text of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s remarks after she had been elected to succeed Frank Griswold as Presiding Bishop. In her remarks, the Bishop spoke of fear and how it can paralyze us and derail us. It was an appropriate topic for her to address, given the state of the church.

Fear is an unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, and in naming it, the Presiding Bishop-elect did us a favor. She drew attention to the fact that as disciples, we must not let church politics distract us from doing the work God has for us to do. Hand wringing over the future of the church will do nothing, for example, to feed the hungry, or to rebuild the lives of the people who have suffered so in the wake of last year’s catastrophic hurricane season. Sure, we need to be aware, but to allow ourselves to be drawn into the vortex of fear is counter productive.

This summer, reflect on the fact that Jesus has called us his friends. He speaks to us of the Kingdom of God being at hand. What is at hand for you this summer? Camp? Travel? Sitting by the pool? Maybe a baseball game or two? As you enjoy your summer, also remember that there are many opportunities to serve that don’t stop just because its summer. Trinity Soup Kitchen still has people expecting lunches. Hesed House and Lazarus House are still full every night, and our VBS program, Bibletimes Marketplace, is in need of volunteers. Oh yes, and we still worship regularly! Think about how you can help. Do you want to build houses locally for Habitat for Humanity? Or perhaps take a few vacation days and head for the Gulf Coast? Offer to be a substitute acolyte or usher for the summer?

We don’t have time for fear. It’s summer, there is much to do, and the kingdom of God is at hand.

See you in church!

Deacon Liz+

From the wardens...

HAPPY SUMMER

July – boy, is it hot and humid, almost reminds me of the Florida humidity. You know that feeling when the dishwasher just finishes and you open the door. It would be like that from May to November. Good thing it only lasts a few days in St. Charles.

We are still looking for candidates to fill the vacant Junior Warden’s position, if you feel you are being lead in this direction, please give Father Bill or me a call.

We will be attending the Kane County Cougars baseball game on July 18^th, hope to see you there. Why not stick around after the game for the post game fireworks show and then finish up the evening by running around the bases.

We are still waiting for another contractor to bid on our construction project. So far only one company has done so. We will keep you up to date on our progress. It would be nice to have more than one bid to compare costs.

With summer time here and all the traveling that goes with it, drive safely and enjoy your vacation. During this time do try and keep your pledges up to date, we still need to pay the church bills, especially with the air conditioning. Speaking of the air conditioning, thanks for your continued patience while we get the airflow and fans coordinated.

Have a great summer

God Bless

Joe

Joe Ryan (Senior Warden) 630-762-0353

A Note of Thanks...

Dear St. Charles’ Parish

Thank you so much for selecting me as the 2006 Ludtke Scholarship award winner. The church has been a large part of my life and it is a great honor receiving the scholarship.

Sincerely,

John Gilmour Hildebrand

TEEN NEWS

Hello everyone, this is Nate and I’m want to tell you about my experience at General Convention (GC) as a youth. First let me explain why I was there. I had been asked to join a design team for E3. E3 stands for Educate, Experience, Empower, and it was the high school age youth event at General Convention. Each day that we were there was symbolized by one of the three E’s.

The first day everyone arrived there was opening. We had a picnic with games, food and music so that when all the youth arrived they would feel welcomed. It was a great time. Kids from all over were playing and talking together. It was a God inspired moment. I myself was involved in an amazing game of ultimate frisbee. Later that night we had an Afro-American worship service (Music, Prayer, and Praise). It was a fun way to inform everyone that God was going to be involved this weekend.

The first day that we got to spend time at the convention center was the “educate” day. Everyone got a tour of the convention center led by the E3DT youth members (E3 Design Team). We also played a game of Jeopardy to see what they already knew about what happened at GC. To help show them how committees were run we set up a meeting and let them talk about the resolution we were discussing and taught them some of Robert’s Rules, etiquette in committees. We also held a Latino based worship service, which was cool. There was a live band and some of the service was in Spanish to help show us what it was like to not always understand what was going on without a translator.

The second day was the “experience “ day. We spent most of the day going to committee hearings and we got to sit in on the House of Deputies. We also had the privilege of talking to some of the PB candidates. We were a part of the send-off of George Werner (The retiring President of the House of Deputies) and we had some time to reflect on all that we’d seen that day.

The final day was the “empower” day. This day was devoted to helping show us that while the youth are the future of the church, we also a part of the present church as well. We had a special time where we made rosaries while praying for the PB elections. Then we had each diocese write a resolution for their own diocesan convention. That night we had our closing service and had a whisper circle, one of the coolest “God activities” I’ve ever joined in. That night we had bishops talk to us and empower us, and we heard the most amazing sermon from Maggie Foster telling us that we can change the world now.

This was a fun time for me, I got to meet some cool people from all over the US, the youth from the diocese of Iowa are especially cool, and I did some really cool stuff. For me the first time I saw the House of Deputies in session I was awed, there were so many people. For those who don’t know, when we hold our GC, it is the largest legislative body in the world. It was an eye-opener. The other really cool thing was the exhibit hall. There were so many stands with everything from chalices, to chasubles, to episcopal colleges to Amish fudge, which was excellent. It felt so awesome to talk to adults about your opinion on important matters, to feel fully immersed in the church. I now feel more a part of the church then ever and I think all the young adults felt the same way. It’s a shame that no youth from St. Charles besides myself came to this event because it was so empowering. I hope that from now on the youth will become more involved. I feel the need to cut this short, but if you have any questions, you can ask me, Fr. Bill or Liz Ryan. Or if you’d like to e-mail your questions I can answer them that way too. nesbitfamily@comcast.net

Happy Birthday to:

5          Liz Ryan

5          Colton Benjamin

6          Mary Jo Blaschak

6          Bing Koch

8          Barry Cottrell

11        Emily Van Zandt

11        Michelle Moore

13        Maura Hoffer

16        Dan Williams

16        Edie Stickler

17        Scott Bell

19        Michael Owen

20        Bernice B. Ward

21        Dick Babcock

21        Lela Lowe

23        Wil Madura

26        Bill Van Nortwick

26        Janet Craft

28        Marilyn Wicks

29        Kurt Druffel

30        Rod Parsons

Happy Anniversary

3          Cory & Alison Blane

18        John & Amy Groskopf

18        Steve & Lela Lowe

19        Jim & Susan Deodhar

20        Ken Dunham & Janelle Fallan

21        Joe & Cathy Stephano

25        Ross & Lisa Parse

31        Andrew & Jacki McCullough

Our hearts go out to...

The family of Mary Lou Jenkins upon her death, June 2^nd.

Barbara Ross upon the loss of her brother-in-law Edd on June 7^th.

Carolyn Campbell who lost her husband Chris and Colin who lost his brother on June 22

Staff on Vacation?

Father Bill will be on vacation July 3 until July 12.

He will also be on vacation from August 10 until August 15.

Lela will be on vacation July 17 until July 24

Liz Ryan will be on vacation from September 19 until September 25.

Who’s Who in the Church...

Grace & Matt Rhead

Matt is one of the guitar players for the 9am service as well as a Home Eucharistic Minister. Grace is a former Formation teacher and they have two handsome sons, Ian (who’s 10), and Gabriel (who’s 6).

The story of “Matt & Grace” started in 1986 when they were both working for Mexicana Airlines. They started dating the next year and were married at the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale in 1993. Matt has been an Episcopalian since his baptism at Grace Church in Hinsdale when he was a child. Grace joins us from the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1995, they moved to St. Charles and chose St. Charles’ Episcopal church as their new church home. Ian was “on his way”and Matt and Grace wanted to be part of a church where he would be baptized and the family could be comfortable. They feel like everyone is family here at St. Charles’ and the “reformed but still Catholic” position of the church means a great deal to them.

Some interesting tidbits you might not know about them include:

Grace was a member of Ensemble Espanõl, an internationally recognized Flamenco and Spanish dance company in Chicago. She traveled to Mexico, dancing in several cities for the “Festival International Cervantino” (a well-known festival that promotes the arts). She even spent 6 weeks in Spain in ‘83 with several members of the dance company soaking up the culture and studying dance from the masters. Olé!

Both Grace and Matt speak Spanish and Portugese, and Grace speaks French as well. (Matt has been told he speaks Spanish with a Portugese accent!) These languages have been a great help as this pair loves to travel, having visited Mexico, Brazil, England, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Norway, Finland, Greece and Egypt together, and Morocco, Argentina, Holland and Colombia individually. Phew! It gives you jet lag just to list them!

A musical pair, Matt plays guitar and mandolin, and Grace sings and would like to learn to play the guitar “one of these days”. Their sons are “chips off the old block” in that respect, and can be heard adding the “rhythm section” to our 9 am music.

The boys have the “wandering” gene too. Ian would like to go to Italy and visit Pompeii as well as China and Japan. (His love of Italian food makes Italy the first stop!) And Gabriel is fascinated with and wants to visit “Nessy” the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. Both boys want to see the pyramids in Egypt!

Who knows where this family will be in ten years...with their love of travel, it could be anywhere in world! But we hope they’ll always call St. Charles’ Episcopal home!

WANTED: CROP WALK Coordinator

Church World Service (CWS) is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States. Working in partnership with indigenous organizations in more than 80 countries, CWS works worldwide to meet human needs and foster self-reliance for all whose way is hard. CROP WALKS form the foundation for the work of CWS-- without them they would not be in a position to respond to disasters like Hurricane Katrina. Because of CROP WALKS, CWS had staff trained in emergency response immediately available and could begin shipping material assistance to the affected areas within hours. In addition, twenty-five percent of the monies collected from CROP WALKS are given to local charities for their food distributions.

Our next Church World Service CROP WALK is scheduled for Sunday October 15. St. Charles' Episcopal Church has participated in these walks many years. We need a person (or persons) who will attend a "kick-off" meeting on August 29, advertise the walk to the parish, explain the guidelines for the walk to potential walkers, distribute the walker's packets, collect the packets back, if necessary, and drop them off to the walk treasurer. The coordinator(s) does not have to walk, but by choosing this ministry they will be doing their part in distributing loaves and fishes throughout the world. If you have questions please call Jim Bachman, 584-1190.

EVANGELISM

Evangelism or "Invitational Ministry" is something to which we are all called upon to contribute. In Columbus, the Evangelism Committee reminded the General Convention that personal evangelism (sharing your faith story with others) is one of the best ways to "grow the church".

For every person in the congregation a short "to do" list was suggested:

✪    Invite our neighbors to church - summer may be a good time to encourage people to try something new - come for a visit!

✪    Learn or refresh our memories as to what we believe and be able and willing to articulate it

✪    Know why you are an Episcopalian and be willing to communicate your own faith story

✪    Serve Christ in every moment and see Jesus in those around you

✪    Pray that our church will grow

This is EVERONE'S MINISTRY !!

Katrina Clean up Trip Planned

Calling all able bodied volunteers!

We are planning a trip back to Mississippi August 14^th – August 19^th to continue cleaning up the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Please sign up in Ludtke Hall if you are interested coming. TEACHERS! This is your chance! There will be an informational meeting Sunday, July 9^th after the 10:30 am service for those wishing to know more, and for those already committed to going.

Estimated cost is about $200 per volunteer.

Can’t go, but want to help?

The following items are most useful and will be brought by the missioners to Camp Coast Care to buy supplies as needed in home refurbishing.

- Home Depot gift cards

- Lowe’s gift cards

- WalMart gift cards

Please called Deacon Liz Meade (262-8541) as soon as you are able for flight information and details. The sooner you sign up, the less expensive it will be!

Summer House Blessings and Eucharist

During the Summer, we take our midweek Eucharist service into homes. This is a potluck, Eucharist and House Blessing (optional for part or all of the house) on Wednesday evenings beginning at 6:30 pm.

July 12    Is still available if you would like to host.

July 19    Michelle & Gib Moore

July 26    Linda & Bob Saxer

Aug 16    Ellen Johnson

Aug 30    Is still available if you would like to host.

Look for sign up sheets in Ludtke Hall.

Men’s Book Group

The next Men’s Book Group will be on Sunday July 9^th. The book will be Silence by Shusaku Endo. Many believe Endo is the premier Japanese Christian author. This is a fictional story is about the last missionary into Japan during the warlord period. It raises troubling questions about assimilation of the faith in a foreign culture. We will meet at 7:00 pm at the church and be finished by 9:00. Questions call Gary Meade.

Soup Kitchen

Are you looking for a way to help hungry, needy people in the Fox Valley? Would you like to get to know more people in our Parish? Join us in working with our Soup Kitchen Ministry. Summer is an especially busy time, so we need a lot of help.

We provide a hearty lunch on the fourth Thursday of each month at Trinity Episcopal Church, Aurora. We prepare the main dish the Wednesday evening beforehand in our parish kitchen, starting at 7 pm and finishing before 8:30 pm. Thursday morning at 9:30 am we leave our parish to transport the food and serve the meal. We’re usually on our way home before 2 pm.

We’re also looking for someone to be in charge of the meal in September, October, or December. There are printed guidelines available and a supply of large-quantity recipes. We serve a casserole (or in warm weather a hearty pasta salad), bread, cheese, cold meat for sandwiches, a tossed green salad, fresh fruit, and dessert. We depend on parishioners to provide all but the casserole ingredients.

Please see the sign up sheet each month to see ways in which you can help this wonderful ministry. For more information call Liz Ryan at the church (584-2596) or Barb Ross.

Pray for Peace

You are invited to an Interfaith Prayer for Peace on Friday July 28^th at 7 pm at Calvary Episcopal Church in Batavia. For more information contact Ed Manning (208 9136.)

Out of the Darkness Overnight

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)

Dear Friends:

Most people have heard the saying, “It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” Unfortunately, many who do not hear this are those suffering in silence from depression and other forms of mental illness. Many times suicide is the tragic end result.

Depression and suicide have deeply affected me and members of my family. As a child, adolescent and adult, I have suffered from depression. My symptoms were at times unrecognized or denied -- and went untreated for years. Despair, sadness and shame were a part of my existence. It was not until 1995 that a physician correctly diagnosed depression, prescribed medication, and I began an effective treatment regimen.

On August 12^th and 13^th, I will be participating in a twenty-mile overnight walk, from dusk until dawn, on behalf of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Each walker agrees to raise a minimum of $1,000 to fund crucial research, education, survivor and awareness programs -- both to prevent suicide and to assist those affected by suicide. My goal is $5,000.

I would sincerely appreciate your help by making a generous donation to the AFSP. For more information log on to “www.theovernight.org.” Click the link “support a participant.” If you prefer, a check may be written to “AFSP,” which I will be happy to forward to them.

Sincerely yours,

Lark M.C. Schuetz

Pig Roast News

The Pig Roast Committee is looking for a few good men and women to help with the fellowship and fundraising event scheduled for Sunday, September 10^th. The silent auction especially needs items donated by your company or purchased by you and donated. Take advantage of the summer sales coupons and find some treasures. Tax receipts are available. The usual set-up and clean-up committees are essential, but, we also need help cooking on Saturday, September 9^th. Because we invite the general public, we must cook all food at the church; nothing may be made at home. Other committees include fun and games for all ages, entertainment, Sunday food servers and publicity. Tickets will be available in August, but circle the dates on your calendar and join in the fun at PIG ROAST 2006.

Questions and/or to volunteer call Mary Benjamin 587-5834, Ellen Johnson, Kathy Hari, Wendy Bangs or Chef Extraordinaire Matt Rhead.

Funeral Committee

The Funeral Reception Committee needs some help, especially from parishioners who do not work full-time weekdays. Please call the office or sign up in Ludtke Hall to indicate your daytime availability to assist with this most important ministry. Remember Jesus' first miracle was one of hospitality at the Wedding Feast. Call Wendy Bangs 377-1174 with questions.

The Prayer Shawl Ministry

You are invited to join the prayer shawl gatherings at 7 pm on the first Thursday of the month (July 6) or at 10 am on the third Tuesday of the month (July 18). We will teach you to knit or crochet or help you remember your skills. There is always interesting conversation and blessing of shawls. And, as always, we appreciate all of your shawl requests and financial support. Please know you are always welcome to join us.

From the Treasurer

Dear Parishioners,

As of Sunday, June 25, 2006, we are $11,161 behind on pledge payments. With our tight budget this year, this is causing a cash flow problem for the church. Your help in bringing pledges up to date would be greatly appreciated.

I know that summer is vacation time. However please keep your pledge to the church in mind when planning your vacation. Paying your pledge before you leave on vacation really helps us out in meeting our obligations in a timely manner.

Just a quick review, pledge income is budgeted at $5,098 per week. Our expense budget is $6,062 per week and pledge income makes up 84% of that number.

Thank you for your help and support of Saint Charles' Episcopal Church.

Tom Miller, Treasurer

A letter from the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington...

The Reverend William R. Nesbit, Jr., Rector June 9, 2006

St. Charles’ Episcopal Church

994 N. Fifth Avenue

St. Charles, IL 60174

Dear Father Nesbit; Grace to you and peace from God our Father, greetings from the mountains of eastern Kentucky and St. James’ Parish!

Before running off to General Convention, I wanted to pause long enough to thank you for the wonderful gift of Liz, Bob, Holly and all those who traveled here to be a part of Mission in the Mountains this week – it was like family coming to visit and it was great! The work they completed on the Collett home (Tim, Noretta, and Christy) was wonderful. They repaired plumbing, replaced windows, installed underpinning and built a flower garden for the family. For the first time the family grilled out and ate in their front yard (get them to tell the story). Yet all their sweat cannot match the work that they were able to accomplish in the hearts of the Collett family and indeed ours. Before falling asleep one night my eight year old said, “Dad, I want to thank you for caring and for bringing people like St. Charles’ Youth Group here to work on the house. Every time I see that family and their house my heart breaks, but people from St. Charles have it made it so much better for them and that makes me happy.”

This is but a small testimony to the changes brought about by the heart of Christ and the hands of the people of St. Charles in this place. Thank you so much for that gift, your prayers, your dedication, and your presence with us. I hope to meet you one day, but until then, please know that God is doing wonderful work there, for I have seen the evidence of it here. Please come and visit us for you will always be welcome. Please pass along our greetings to the parish, particularly the youth group and leaders who traveled so far to do so much.

Blessing on you and your ministry,

Johnnie +

The Reverend Canon Johnnie E. Ross, Rector

562 University Drive Prestonsburg, KY

606-886-8046 Fax 606-886-8042

VESTRY

                                                               Joe Ryan, Senior 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