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April 30, 2009
Welcome new members! IPUMC wins Passionate Spirituality Award!
Last Sunday we welcomed Tracy and Greg Mitchell and Danielle Naurath and Matthew Weis to our congregation as members! On Sunday, May 3, we will celebrate the baptism of Aiden John (AJ) Williams and on May 17th we will join with Cole Keutzer and Kyle Mitchell as they are confirmed. What great celebrations during this very special time of renewal following Easter Sunday.
To add to this celebration, Pastor Vickie received a letter this week from the District Strategy Team for the Chicago Northwestern District. Our church has been selected to receive the Passionate Spirituality Award for 2009! This will be presented at the Aldersgate Celebration on the evening of May 17 to be held at Bethany Retirement Home on Ashland Avenue. This is when the district celebrates healthy, growing churches and leaders in our district who are making a positive, transformative difference in the world for Jesus Christ. This is something we all should celebrate because it has been truly a group effort – with support from those are here with us now and who support us from wherever they are.
This week we celebrated Earth Day 2009 — and last Saturday the Earth Day Park “Green Up” was a success. Lindsey Elton reports that “Fun was had by all as we spent the morning hours helping beautify our local Independence Park. Although it was might clean to begin with, we were ‘raking and rolling’ and they greatly appreciated our work – plus you couldn’t beat the company! If you want to do more, there is a clean-up planned for this weekend in the Old Irving Park neighborhood. Details later in this email.
Church “Green Up” - We still have a lot of work to do around our church. Contact Janet Spencer if you are interested in helping with the gardens this Spring. jan_spencer@yahoo.com. We have some plants that have been donated and need to get in the ground. Stay tuned for more eco-friendly events!
This is the last week to bring in donations toward our goal for the month in support of the Irving Park Community Food Pantry. We need about 170 more items to meet our goal of 600. We are close to meeting our goal of $500 in financial donations. Please bring in your donations this Sunday. Of course you can continue to donate throughout the year. This is just our church commitment for the month! Thanks to those who have participated already. Non-perishable food items they are always in need of include: boxed meals, canned meat, cereal and soup. Non-food items include soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, paper towels, disposable diapers and other toiletries.
Order Equal Exchange Fair Trade coffee, tea or chocolate before April, 26, 2009!
If you want to see Ruby in Waging Peace at Lookingglass Theatre this weekend, contact Vicci asap at: 773-777-1674 or 773-316-9754 or email: vicci@therodgersgroup.com.
A sermon series on Spiritual Practices begins in worship this Sunday. In an effort to "Stay in Love with God" we are using a model that has broken the Spiritual practices into 7 categories. Each week, Pastor Vickie will explain the category (for example – being open or relinquishing our false idols, etc.). Then we will explore one spiritual practice in that category. The way it will be explored will vary. The goal is to give everyone a sampling of various spiritual practices so that one or two of these practices will be a good fit for use during the week.
The Acronym for the seven weeks is WORSHIP: Staying in Love with God takes Practice.
This week, W is Wow! Staying in the moment.
May 3: O – Openness: Making Space for God
May 10: R – Relinquish: Letting Go of False Idols
May 17: S – Share: Moving beyond a personal faith
May 24: H – Hear: Listening for a Word from God
May 31: I – Incarnate: Imitating Jesus' Love for the World (our Rethinking Church Event)
June 7: P – Pray: Communicating with God
Prayer Network. This group of faithful prayer partners pray for everyone that has submitted a request to the group, either spoken, or written on the forms provided with our Prayer Boxes. To become part of our praying group contact Tina & Wally Felckowski, bwf79@sbcglobal.net
Plan ahead now for Rethinking Church, VBS and Annual Church Retreat. More information later in this email! Forms can be found at the back of the sanctuary and are available by contacting the church office.
Other upcoming events/small groups
Irving Park Neighborhood “Clean Up” - Saturday, April 25. See details at end of this email.
Three Brothers Garden/Irving Park Carlson Ministry Community Garden. This is a community effort to plant a garden to help supply food to the Irving Park Food Pantry. If you want more information, contact Vicci Rodgers or Pastor Vickie. The first work day is Saturday, April 25th, 9-12 p.m.
Waging Peace – April 25 and 26 at Lookingglass Theatre. Written by the theatre’s young ensemble, the actors dig into the question: between warring nations, or rival schools, or within ourselves: is peace possible?
Order Equal Exchange Fair Trade coffee, tea or chocolate before April, 26, 2009! APRIL BIRTHDAYS Tuesday - An Hour of Prayer with Pastor Vickie Wednesday – After school program with Pastor Cecilia, 4 – 6 p.m. for school-aged children. Volunteers are needed and appreciated. Contact Pastor Cecilia for more information: ceciobret@yahoo.com Thursdays, Bible 101, 7:00 p.m., led by Lowell Allen. Join in and become more familiar with your Bible. lowelldallen@att.net Adult Choir Rehearsal – Sundays, 9:00, in Bacmeister room with Mary Martell. Spanish Worship Service, Sunday at noon. Planning Ahead! Sunday, May 17 Sunday, May 31 If you are marking your summer calendar, add our Annual Church Retreat on June 19-21 at Wesley Woods in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Vacation Bible School June 22-25 – “Lift Off! Soaring to New Heights with God.” Volunteers will be needed before, during and after VBS, in a variety of ways. Your help, for as little or as much time as you have to give, will be greatly appreciated. An information letter is available by contacting the church office. Please talk with Pastor Vickie and/or Pastor Adam as soon as possible. Together we can all make this summer outreach a success! Summer Camps: Registrations are being taken for summer camps. For more information about Outdoor Retreat Ministries within the Northern Illinois Conference, check out: www.niccamp.org Small Groups In addition to our bible study and prayer groups listed under “Weekly” ... Bad Girls of the Bible – Will meet Wednesday, May 13, at Superosa restaurant on Central Avenue. Please rsvp to: vicci@therodgersgroup.com United Methodist Women – Will meet Saturday, May 30, at 1 p.m. Please contact Joyce Mylander for more information. irvingparkumc@sbcglobal.net WorkNiters – Join this group of men who do odd jobs around the church and gather for fellowship. Regular meetings are the second Tuesday night monthly, 6 – 9, and the 4th Saturday monthly 12-3 p.m. For more information contact Kent Keutzer, coachK1620@yahoo.com or 773-316-9755. “Stewards of Creation” - contact Lindsey Elton for more information on this group dedicated to doing what’s right for our planet. lindseyelton@hotmail.com Ministries of the Church - contact Pastor Vickie. hadvl@comcast.net Gardening Group – contact Janet Spencer. jan_spencer@yahoo.com Prayer Network - To become part of our praying group contact Tina & Wally Felckowski, bwf79@sbcglobal.net Posted by vickie at April 30, 2009 11:04 PM
As you may already know, Irving Park UMC started serving fair trade coffee during fellowship time last September. Wholesale prices are offered from Equal Exchange when ordering by the case. You can share a case with friends or family if you like. Ask Ellen Star for more information.
7 Gregg Mitchell
8 Nicholas and Samantha Knutson
14 Virginia Tappert
21 Richard Kraneis
21 Carter Birch Houchins-Witt
22 Wally Felckowski
26 Mike Blaha
27 Corey Houchins-Witt
29 Eric Orzechowski (Verschoor)
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Weekly
Sunday morning bible study, Book of Matthew, 8:45 – 9:45 a.m. All are welcome. We meet in the third floor chapel, up the stairs inside the Grace Street entrance. Contact David Foster for more information: david.foster2@att.net.
Tuesday’s at noon join Pastor for a time of prayer in the Bacmeister Room. Stay for the entire hour or a portion of the hour. If you’re not in the area, pray from wherever you are at Noon on Tuesdays. For more information, contact Pastor Vickie.
Confirmation for Kyle Mitchell and Cole Keutzer
If you would like to share a favorite bible passage, a spiritual message or other thoughts with them, please send your contribution to their parents or to: Adam Thompson adam.thompson@garrett.edu by May 3.
Special community outreach “Rethinking Church” Sunday.
