Church Life
RENOVATION UPDATEThe Renovation Committee has been meeting regularly since the early part of this year. Here is a look at what it has been doing since the Capital Campaign funds have started to come in.
We did a wonderful job raising funds for this project, but unfortunately did not raise enough to do the entire project. Using the figure of $665,000 pledged, $275,000 currently in the Jehle account for capital costs, and securing a long term loan of $400,000, we would have around $1,340,000. Deducting interest to be paid on the construction loan and costs for the Construction Manager, etc. we will have just over $1,000,000 for the actual construction.
The committee met with Chuck Cassell, architect, and John Shales and Keith York, both of Shales McNutt Construction, who offered to put together some current costs for individual pieces of the project. At the meeting in June, they presented costs for five options, or pieces of the project. After lengthy discussion the committee consensus was to attempt three options now and defer the remaining options for the near future in, perhaps, a phase two. The options selected are the exterior, the parking lot and canopy with handicapped accessibility to the Sanctuary, and the main level toilet rooms. Should there be no surprises as this work is done, there would remain some funds for interior enhancements.
Before the work can actually proceed, the church must have the approval of Elgin’s Heritage Commission, Elgin’s Arterial Roadway Corridor Commission, and Elgin’s Fire Marshall. These approvals will likely take most of the rest of the summer and into the fall to obtain. This may delay the actual exterior work until warmer weather in spring, but work on the toilet rooms can begin as soon as all approvals are granted.
The Church Council is calling a Congregational Meeting for Sunday August 24 to receive the approval of these choices by the membership and to address using the Edward Jones account as collateral for the 3 year construction loan in order to obtain the best possible rate on that loan. Please mark your calendars now and plan to be in attendance.
ADULT FORMATION RESUMES SEPTEMBER 7!Living Letters – An overview of Paul’s letters in the New Testament.
Controversial Conversations with Carl – Designed to spark spirited discussions.
Stepping Stones – FCC’s own ministry of mental health and recovery
Breakfast will be served each Sunday morning, beginning at 9:00.
FAITHWALKThe Journey from Membership to Discipleship
Coming this fall!
• First Steps: What’s It All About?
• DiscipleWay: A Christian’s Toolkit.
• LifeKeys: Discover Who You Are
Check out “
Paris Originals” for more information.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
On June 29th these new members were received into our church family:
Joe & Whitney Anderlick
Sponsors: Frank Kottmeier & Penny Donehoo
Joe is a native of Park Ridge and a graduate of Devry University. He is currently employed as a computer programmer at Paynet in Skokie. He enjoys watching and playing sports. Whitney also grew up in Park Ridge and graduated from Northeastern Illinois University. She teaches Fourth Grade in School District 89 and is an avid reader. Joe and Whitney are expecting their first child in September.
Robert and Lori Carrara
Sponsors: Pat & Shannon Lile
Robert was born in Park Ridge and raised in St. Charles. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago and currently works as a dietitian and diabetes educator at Northwest Community Hospital. His hobbies are playing guitar, sports, gardening, walking, and cooking. Lori was born in Arlington Heights and raised in Palatine. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in psychology. Lori was employed for 15 years by First American Title Insurance, but she is now a stay-at-home Mom for Bobby (10) and Andy (8).
Evan Hennessey Brenda Zeid
Sponsors: Kevin & Letty Jocius
Evan is a native of Portland, Maine and graduated from Syracuse University. Currently he works as a credit analyst for GE Distribution Finance, and in his spare time enjoys running, swimming, and biking. Brenda was raised in Schaumburg and has a degree from Illinois State University. She works for Newell Rubbermaid as a supply planner. “Anything that is a physical challenge” Brenda considers a hobby, including marathons and, recently, an Olympic Triathlon. Evan and Brenda plan to be married at FCC in October.
Mary Hill
Sponsors: Carl and Mary Ellen Flaks
Mary was raised in the former Ontarioville neighborhood (now Hanover Park), and is a graduate of Elgin High School, National College of Education, and Elgin Community College. After working for 33 years at Elgin Mental Health Center she retired in 2002 and currently does volunteer work for several organizations. She has two children, ages 45 and 44, and four grandchildren. Mary enjoys researching old houses, reading, baking, cooking, and being of service to others. She also likes visiting New York City.
Lyndon and Susan Humbracht
Sponsors: Mich & Mary Ellen Barbezat
Lyn is a native of Bartlett and a graduate of the University of Illinois. He is self-employed, providing accounting services and consultation to small businesses. He enjoys video photography as well as cheering for the White Sox, Blackhawks, the Illini, and the Bears. Sue is a native Elginite and a graduate of Lake Forest College. She works for Travel Plus, Inc. as a travel agent out of her home. Sue is active in the Kiwanis Club, and enjoys knitting, needlepoint, playing cards (Pinocle and Bridge), and “of course” travel! Lyn and Sue have five children: Meredith (41), Win (39), Rani (37), Christopher (36), and Eric (35), as well as 3 grandchildren. Lyn and Sue are delighted to be “rejoining this church after a layoff of many years.”
Rick and Meg Pfister
Sponsors: Steve Stauffacher & Angie Garcia
Rick is a native of Park Ridge and a graduate of Maine South High School. Currently he is employed as a store manager for Game Crazy, Inc. He enjoys video games, movies, and watching sports. Meg was raised in Powder Springs, Georgia and Park Ridge, IL. She is a graduate of Loyola University and Elgin Community College. Currently she works as a nurse at Dreyer Medical Urgent Care Center in W. Aurora. In her spare time she enjoys reading, working out, and shopping. Rick and Meg have one daughter, Natalie (14 months).
After a stay at Sherman Hospital,
Doug McDonald has been transferred to Sherman West Court for rehab.
David McClure was admitted to Sherman Hospital with a lung infection. He has now returned to Sherman West Court.
Marjorie Bye was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital for gall bladder surgery and a blocked bile duct. She is now home and recuperating well.
Michael Blackwood’s father, Stanley, died on July 9 at Tower Hill nursing home in South Elgin.
Caroline Hopkins, mother of
John Hopkins, passed away on July 17 in New York. (Last month’s newsletter printed her passing in error.)
June Krueger,
Jackie Flood’s mother, passed away on June 20.
Mike and
Laura McMinn celebrated their 25th anniversary with a party and a renewal vows ceremony at their home led by Pastor Donehoo.
SUNDAY SCHOOLSunday school begins on Sunday, September 7th.
We are making plans for another great year of Christian education for the children and youth of our church. Our Sunday school classes will begin on Rally Day, September 7th. Please plan to join us as we kick-off another great year. Are there new families in your neighborhood? How about inviting them to come to church and Sunday school?
ALL CHURCH POOL PARTYJoin us for the second ever all church pool party at Wing Park Pool on Tuesday, August 12th 8pm – 10p.m. This is an after hours event so we’ll be the only ones in the pool. Yea! The pool won’t be overcrowded and there won’t be long lines at the water slides. If you pay in advance the cost is only $5 per person or $15 per family and $5 for guests. The cost at the door will be $7 per person. In case of rain the event will be rescheduled or your money refunded. Complete the order form included in this newsletter to get the advance ticket price. Please note we will not be issuing actual tickets – we’ll have a list at the door.
DINE WITH NINEOnce again it is time to get in on the fun of being part of a dinner group. We have had many very successful years of Dine with Nine (or Dinners for Eight). Each group consists of eight or nine adults. The group takes turns meeting for dinner in each other’s homes. The hostess decides on the menu for the evening and lets the other guests know what to bring. Following dinner there is time for games, discussion, movies or whatever. A couple of dining out groups are also available for those who do not like to cook. If you’d like to be part of a dinner group fill out the insert in this issue of Church Life. This is a great way to get to know the people you worship with each Sunday. Please sign-up by September 14th so our new groups can be up and running by mid October. Please complete the form enclosed.
Calling all children ages kindergarten – 6th grade! Hop on down to church on the third Friday night of each month (Sept 19, Oct 17, Nov 21, Jan 16, Feb 20., & Mar 20) for our FROG (Friends Relying on God) children’s youth group. We begin each session at 6:00 p.m. with a pizza dinner and then follow dinner with singing, story, games and crafts. Our evening concludes at 8:30 p.m. It is a great time for the children of the church to play, learn, and grow together. It provides an opportunity for parents to go out for a nice quiet dinner. We do ask that parents volunteer one Friday night during the year. Please complete the registration form and return it to the church office so we can plan accordingly. The cost remains $15 for the fall semester (Sept., Oct. and Nov.) if paid at one time. The cost if paid on a month by month basis will be $7.00 per time.
Please contact Lois if you have any questions or you’d be willing to volunteer to help with this program.
Our programs for the fall will begin on Sunday, September 14, 2008. At 9:15 am Marie McKee and her West Highland white terrier Rosey, who are members of Delta Society Pet Partner, will be presenting a program on “P
et Therapy and Mental Health.” Marie is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Chaplain and works part time at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital
Delta Society began in 1977 in Portland, Oregon as an organization that not only promotes the human-animal bonding, but also creates standards, based on research, in order to help promote that bonding for positive health between humans and animals. Human-animal bonding has been shown to have positive effects on children and adolescents, adults and older adults. The relationships that develop can help people become or stay healthy, cope with life’s challenges, and form lasting positive social interactions. This bonding has been shown to reduce loneliness, mitigate depressive symptoms, and aid in stress reduction.
Families are invited to attend this special fall kick-off together. Come and find out how a pet therapy dog is trained and how they can help a person with a mental illness. You will enjoy meeting Marie and Rosey!
Also save the date of Sunday, October 5, 2008 from 3:45-6:00 p.m. for a wonderful workshop entitled, “
Embracing Forgiveness: Letting go of your backpack of rocks and leaping into the arms of God.” Our own Joan Schneider-Cooper, LCSW, RDDP will be presenting the workshop. The workshop will be followed by a healing service led by the Ministry of Mental Health. There will be a follow up discussion on Sunday, October 12th, at the regular Stepping Stones meeting.
Thank you to all who supported the
garage sale. We made just over $2600 for the renovation effort. Your participation in the form of items to sell, help setting up, selling, and cleaning up, or in buying items was greatly appreciated. Special thanks, again, to the Murphy family for use of their property.
Calendars are still available for the
Calendar Raffle which will begin the first Sunday in 2009. We will be awarding winners a total of $1350 over the course of the year. Buy yours now so you can be eligible for some of that prize money! They make excellent gifts. You may not realize it, but the church can make a profit of over $10,000 if we sell all 500 of the calendars! That is significant money.
But we need your help. We need you to get your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and relatives involved in buying the calendars. We will have bundles of 10 calendars ready for you to sign out beginning in late August. Sign out a bundle, get others to purchase them, and turn in the stubs and money or turn in the calendars if you are unable to sell them. Please help.
Please continue to support
Danny's Pizza Day, the third Tuesday of each month.
You will soon be hearing of a
gift card sale where you will be able to buy gift cards for things like gas, restaurants, and stores. The church receives a percentage of the value. Watch for more details.
As always, your help and your suggestions are welcome. The meetings are the fourth Monday at 7:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. The next meeting will be August 25. Contact Jeanne Rothlisberger for more information.
The Soup Kettle is in vital need of volunteers! If you can spare 2 hours on a Wednesday we sure could use your help.
Here is what we need:
Early shift: 4 pm – 6 pm – Duties can include setting up dining room, preparing food, serving food and some clean up.
Second shift: 5 pm – 7 pm – Duties mostly include serving food and clean up.
We are looking for all types of volunteers: Those willing to help once per month, those willing to help occasionally, and those willing to put their name on a sub list. From experience this is a very rewarding ministry. Also, if you happen to be a member of any group looking to do service work, this is a great place to get involved.
Please contact Janet Aldred at 630-715-7494 or Janet@jqdesigns.com if you can help.
Thanks,
Janet Aldred
Would you happen to have?Our Ministry of Christian Ed is hoping some of our families might have some back issues of children’s magazines such as Highlights, Ranger Rick, Cricket or others. We could definitely use them for our Activity Bags. If you have some please drop them off in the office or give them to me.
Thanks,
Jan Embree
Damaris, women's fellowship group will be dining out at The Olive Garden at 800 N. 8th St. West Dundee, Spring Hill Mall, on Thursday, August 28th at 6:30 p.m. This is an informal group. We would love to have you join us for dinner and conversation. If you have any questions about this group please contact Lois.
FCC INFO CARDSThe Ministry of Evangelism and Membership has created, thanks to Kevin Jocius, a business or calling card for our church which you can carry in your purse or wallet. It contains some information about FCC that you can hand to people when you are talking about your church and what goes on here. (You
are talking about your church aren’t you?) When someone expresses an interest, you can hand them a card. They are available in packets of 5 in the vestibule outside the office. Pick up one or two today and start spreading the word.
01 Joanie Steffen
02 Helen McClure
03 William Schnell
04 Susan Smith
05 Kate Reuter
05 Tianna Louaillier
07 Charlotte Flanagan
07 Steve Stauffacher
07 Mary Ehret
07 Chase Sund
09 Delores Kagel
10 Sandra Magana
11 Jesse Vickers
11 Kerry Sund
11 Andrew Duncan
11 Abigail Garcia
12 Steve Munson
14 Clifford Hokanson
14 Paris Donehoo
16 Colleen Stauffacher
18 Dorothy Cook
18 Fred Steffen
20 Eric Turnquist
21 Krista Leith
22 Janet Banwart
26 Nick Kemmler
27 Kenia Solis
28 Andrea Fisher
29 Shirley May Byrnes
31 Betty Hargrave
31 Nancy Bye
03 Ron and Liz Schaaf
10 Janet Banwart & Sandy Dalton
17 Stewart Crockett
24 Paul and Tracie Grote
31 Pat Henrys
03 Janet Banwart & Penny Donehoo
10 Karen Carlson & Glenna Preradovic
17 Jennifer Bero & Lee Ellsworth
24 Janet Banwart & Shirley May Byrnes
31 Curt & Jennifer Phillips
03 Kenzie Fahnestock &
Abby Kottmeier
10 Bailey Stark &
Matt Halfpenny
17 Taylor Stark &
Emerson Lewis
24 Cassidy Sell &
Abby Kottmeier
31 Grace Ann Aldred &
Abby Garcia
03 Janet Aldred
10 Deb Sell
17 Walt & Carole Kilmanas
24 Liz Shaaf
31 Heather Arnold
03 Walt Kilmanas
10 Kevin Jocius
17 Shirley May Byrnes
24 Brian Stark
31 Jennifer Green
03 John Diehl
10 Ron & Karen Carlson
17 Dorothy Cook
24 Roger Dieringer
31 Penny Donehoo
03 Jodie Stackowiak, Kirsten Pedersen, Laura McMinn, Cherie Murphy, Sandy Dalton
10 - Chase Sund, Anna Mitchell, Mary
Taylor, Grant Powell, Alessandra Castillo
17 - Walt & Carole Kilmanas, Jerry Powers, Ron & Karen Carlson
24 - Jim Schock, Jim Breunlin, Chuck
Zimmerman, Charlie Rantz, Mike Powers
31 Jim Schock, Jeanne Rothlisberger,
Steve and Colleen Stauffacher
Yesterday, I held the first stewardship meeting with the new ministry that was elected at the annual meeting in January. (ministry?) It was just John Cooper, Paris and me. Doug McDonald is also on the Ministry of Stewardship, but was unable to meet with us due to health concerns.
The first question John asked me was, “What is the goal of this committee?” I responded, “To raise the funds to carry on the operations and ministry of this church.” It’s a tall order especially in these challenging economic times. With gas and food prices going through the roof, many of us are forced to make tough decisions and are consequently cutting back on discretionary spending. I hope you don’t consider your pledge to the church discretionary. It is part of who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is one of our “six marks of discipleship.”
I know most people do not like to talk about money in church, but like it or not, it is one of those necessities we must acknowledge at least once a year.
The church has asked a great deal of this congregation this past year; with many of you pledging to the capital campaign as well as continuing your “normal” pledge. I for one appreciate every single one of you for doing everything you can to keep this church a beacon in downtown Elgin for all of those who need us.
I would ask each of you, as we approach the “dog days of summer” and look forward to the start of a new school/church year, to consider how God has blessed your life and the lives of those in your family. Consider how grateful you are to your Creator and how best to express that gratitude. Please use another of those six marks of discipleship, and pray.
Our God wants what is best for us and wants us to have life, and have it abundantly. Between now and October 19th (Stewardship Sunday), please reflect on the things that are important in your life and how God has provided and continues to care for you.
Shalom,
Patti Scroggins
The United Church of Christ.