Dearly Beloved,
Our Companion Parish and "The Scandal of Particularity," Part 2.
Two weeks ago I introduced the idea of the Scandal of Particularity, and talked about both the Great Scandal of the Incarnation and Christ Crucified, and the lesser scandals of, for example, the companion relationship between St. Gregory's and the new church in Tolagnaro (Fort Dauphin). I also traced the history of our nearly 20 year support of a missionary family in Madagascar, and my Sabbatical goal of forming a companion relationship. There was of course nothing inevitable about fulfilling that goal. Ingrid and I might not have experienced the strong bond we felt with the people of Fort Dauphin; and they might not have reciprocated our sense of call. But, as Meredith gave witness in her sermon last Sunday, sometimes the most "unlikely friendships between unlikely people in unlikely circumstances" happens.
For several years now the Diocese of Chicago has had companionship relationships with the Diocese of Southeast Mexico and the Diocese of Renk, Sudan. Part of this diocesan-level relationship has entailed companion relationships between parishes in our diocese and parishes in the other dioceses:
Parishes in the Diocese of Chicago that have initiated formal parish partnerships with the Diocese of Southeast Mexico include: Christ Church, Winnetka; Christ Church, Winnetka; Holy Family, Park Forest; St. Chrysostom's, Chicago; St. John's, Chicago; St. Mark's, Glen Ellyn; St. Mary's, Park Ridge; Transfiguration, Palos Park; and Trinity Church, Wheaton.
Parishes with partnerships with the Diocese of Renk include: All Saints' Episcopal Church, Chicago; Christ Episcopal Church, Winnetka; Church of Our Savior Episcopal Church, Elmhurst; Emmanuel Episcopal Church, La Grange; Grace Episcopal Church, Galena; St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Glen Ellyn; St. Charles Episcopal Church, St. Charles; St. Lawrence Episcopal Church, Libertyville; St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Evanston; and St. Michael's, Barrington.
One of the things I observed when visiting growing churches in Wales and England this summer was that each of them had a significant companion relationship with a parish in a developing country, and proclaimed that relationship boldly and often, both as a reminder to parishioners about the importance of making the world-wide Body of Christ a concrete and particular reality, and as a statement to visitors and newcomers that the parish has a mission and vision beyond its "parochial" challenges and opportunities. Which brings me to. . .
St. Gregory's Mission and Vision
One of the unfinished pieces of the parish's Sabbatical is the development of new Mission and Vision statements. One person suggested that our Mission Statement should be concise and powerful enough to work as our Dismissal at the end of the Eucharist, something like "Let us go forth into the world to _________."
To begin the process of finishing this piece I have been reviewing the work that LoriLee Bielski did two years ago as part of our Giving Campaign and did an exercise on "Visioning our Future," and Susan Czolgosz' work with the Sabbatical Committee, including the Church Assessment Tool, or "CAT." Some of you may remember that there was an open-ended question which asked, "What other ideas for ministries/activities would you suggest for St. Gregory's. One of the responses was this: "Active participation in Deerfield's annual Thanksgiving ecumenical service, to increase our visibility & show a commitment to our community. We should host this service!"
For those of you who remember the television program "You Asked For It!" guess what? This year, on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving Day, at 7:30 pm, St. Gregory's is hosting the Deerfield Thanksgiving service! More details soon. (We will still have our own service at 10 am on Thanksgiving Day itself, with our customary bagpiper!)
Faithfully yours,
THIS SUNDAY'S ADULT FORUM ON ONE OF OUR MISSIONS BOARD GRANT RECIPIENTS
We welcome friends of Jon and Susie Dutcher, Scott and Jill Hayward of the Oasis for Orphans ministry in Kenya.
FALL CLEAN-UP THANK YOU
Perfect weather and enthusiastic workers made Clean-up Sunday a great day! Every "job board" chore was accomplished. The "Haunted House" set-up and the not-quite-finished boiler installation did not deter our workers from carrying hoses, screens and air conditioning units to the basement for winter storage. All the indoor cleaning tasks were cheerfully accomplished in record time. Additionally, a tree limb that had split and was hanging precariously was trimmed out and a dead bush was removed. Our labyrinth was checked for weeds, the perennial gardens were cleaned out, and our Pumpkin Patch was even reorganized for the Youth Group's Pumpkin Olympics that evening!
Our work accomplished, we put away our tools and shared a sumptuous board contributed by parishioners. The "kitchen team" coordinated and arranged our buffet, set tables and cleaned up, of course. This year, we even had a volunteer dishwasher! Whether you cleaned, cleared or prepared food for the lunch, the Buildings and Grounds team appreciates your help and thanks you. – Dori Carlson for the Buildings and Grounds Maintenance Team [We also thank the Deerfield Panera Bread restaurant at 190 Waukegan Road for donating bread for our feast!]
CATHEDRAL SHELTER CHRISTMAS BASKETS – Part 1
"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" to the many parishioners who sponsored a senior or family on St. Gregory's Christmas Basket list. The Cathedral Shelter is delighted to report that not only was each St. Gregory's recipient matched with a sponsor, but every applicant the Cathedral accepted this year was, as well!
Please review the materials you have received carefully. If you have any questions, call Marilyn Knilans. Remember that your Christmas Baskets/boxes are due in Founders' Hall by Wednesday, December 2nd, and, when packing your boxes:
1. Consider wrapping clothing items directly, unboxed. Boxes they can be hard for recipients to properly store or dispose of.
2. If you are packing multiple boxes, spread the contents so that the boxes are of similar weight. It is not necessary that all gifts going to any one individual be in the same box, nor that gifts, candy and paper goods cannot be packed together.
3. Pack boxes small enough that one person can carry them alone. And reproduce your label sample so you have enough to put a label on each side of each box. This is crucial to help keep all the boxes going to any recipient together.
In addition, Marilyn is looking for a volunteer to co-ordinate loading our boxes into Cathedral Shelter's large truck on the morning of December 3rd because Marilyn will be working at the Shelter that day. If you can help with this, please call her at 847-945-5068. There will also be a sign-up sheet for individuals to help with the loading itself, but an organizer is needed.
AND SPEAKING OF CHRISTMAS
The Christmas holidays will be here before we know it. Decorating the church is always a wonderful ministry and the Greening Committee has been chaired for several years by Nancy Nichols, who now needs to recruit one or two new people to carry this fun activity forward. She writes: "We've developed a very detailed list of assignments and most of our materials are well packed and labeled. In addition, our wonderful Altar Guild is always on hand to lend support and advice. I'm happy to mentor the new chairs through this season and provide any insight I can so that they may have a smooth transition. Please let me know if this is something you'd like to lend a hand with this year." A ministry that's a short time involvement, well-documented, fun and so much appreciated; what more could one want? Please contact Nancy at 847-913-5836 or nancy-nichols@comcast.net to get involved!
BISHOP TODD MCGREGOR AND COMPANION PARISH LUNCHEON ON NOVEMBER 22
On Sunday, November 22ND, we will be hosting a luncheon for Bishop Todd in Founders' Hall. Bishop McGregor will preach at all three services that day, and the luncheon will begin after the 11:00 service ends. Please come to learn more about his wonderful ministry in Madagascar and about our companion parish in Fort Dauphin.
The luncheon will be pot-luck and everyone is asked to bring a contribution. There is a sign-up sheet on the table across from the Office, so please look for that next time you are at the church.
YOUTH GROUP TO VISIT THE NIGHT MINISTRY
Joint Youth Group will be visiting The Night Ministry in Chicago on December 6th. The Night Ministry, which is another Missions Board recipient, directly serves some of the 10,000 homeless teens in Chicago. They also have a shelter for homeless pregnant or parenting teens. At this visit we will be learning about teen homelessness in Chicago and about how we can partner with The Night Ministry in the future for an ongoing service relationship.
For this Joint Youth Group event, students will be asked to donate cookies, basic toiletries, and other needed items (see the list by Erica's door. We will meet at the church at 4:00p.m., eat supper together in the city, and return at 8:30p.m.
TROOP CARE PACKAGE REMINDER
The Troop Support Ministry always appreciates your donations of toiletries, socks, books, snacks, etc. for their care package preparation. However, at the moment there is an over-abundance of candy in their "pantry" in the coatroom! Until the new year, please do NOT include candy in your donations, so that we can better diversify our packages and also avoid potential critter problems over the winter! Thank you.
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In your prayers this week, please remember our companion parish in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, and its leaders, Deacon Donné and Evangelist Tomboasy; the sick, particularly Joshua Potter (H1N1), Irene Besthoff (recovery) and Beverly Falbe (rehab after surgery); and the men and women serving in our armed forces and their families, especially Justin Cloe, Robb Dunlap, Greg Hirsch, Jamie Mitchell, Brian Adamson, Daniel Fitzpatrick, Hunter Levine, Owen Leewis, Chad Field, Cary Clark, Richard Hayward and Alex Koltanowski.
