Dearly Beloved,
THIS SUNDAY, APRIL 26, GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY
ADULT FORUM AT 10:10 AM— JOSEPH MALHAM ON SACRED ART
Joseph Malham is of Greek and Assyrian descent, and credits his Near East and Mediterranean heritage for his love of sacred art and iconography.
He studied art in Rome through Loyola University's Rome Center.
Since 1997, he has been a full time iconographer, and since 2001 the artist-in-residence at St. Gregory the Great Church in Chicago.
Using the traditional techniques and materials iconographers have utilized for centuries, Mr. Malham writes his icons on poplar panels in egg tempera and 23k gold leaf.
His panels and icon banners, a meld of traditional Byzantine and Russian images with his own unique style, have been acquired by churches, institutions and individuals around the country.
He is also an author and his first book, By Fire into Light, a biography of four Christian martyrs of the Nazi Camps, was published in 2002.
His most recent book, John Ford: Poet in the Desert, an award-winning biography of the great Irish American film director, was published in 2014.
For more information, you can go to his website by clicking here.
1. PRESCHOOL MANNA GIFT CARD UPDATE AND ALERT!
Please help our Preschool by purchasing Manna Gift Cards— 100% on the dollar for you, and a percentage from the vendors for the Preschool.
And you can purchase them by check or cash.
April Manna orders may be picked up this Sunday.
May Manna orders— the last of the School Year— are due Sunday, May 3, for delivery on May 17.
2. PLEASE MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD
Earlier we announced the Preschool Board's approval to form a scholarship fund to provide tuition support for under-resourced families.
The Preschool has accepted the applications of 5 students who need full or partial scholarships to our Preschool, totaling $10,485 of tuition assistance.
The Missions Board has already approved $7,500 of tuition support for 2015, and we have received one $100 contribution to the Scholarship Fund.
That leaves a goal of $2,885.
Please consider making a tax deductible donation St. Gregory's Preschool with the notation "scholarship fund" in the memo line. Your employer's match could increase your gift. Director Debbie Ham-Bolger and the Preschool Board.
YOUTH GROUP BETTER TOGETHER EVENT
Last Sunday, St. Gregory's Youth Group, along with St. David's, Glenview; Christ Church, Winnetka; St. Augustine's, Wilmette; Holy Comforter, Kenilworth; and Church of the Holy Spirit, Lake Forest, all gathered together for our "Better Together" event.
We enjoyed an evening with a progressive dinner, hosted by Christ Church and Holy Comforter, games, fellowship, worship, and service through A Just Harvest.
A good time was had by all, with about 60 youth participating from all the churches combined!
First stop: Christ Church, Winnetka.
Next stop, Church of the Holy Comforter, Kenilworth (where I grew up, and Fred and Mary Herlocker worshiped):
JON AND SUSIE DUTCHER'S EXCELLENT CUBAN ADVENTURE
Jon's and Susie's Adult Forum presentation included this map of Cuba and some interesting facts, some of them astonishing:
Cuba has a 99.8% literacy rate, one of the highest in the world.
The national sport is baseball.
The smallest bird in the world is Cuba's Bee Hummingbird, which grows only 2 inches in length.
In 2000, Castro declared John Lennon a music revolutionary and erected a statue of him.
Cuban food is a mixture of Spanish and Caribbean dishes that incorporates a lot of spices and includes black beans, shredded beef, rice, and plantains.
Every child in Cuba between the ages of 6 and 15 is required to attend school and there are no private schools.
The birthrate is among the lowest in the world.
Cuba operates under a universal health care system, their doctors and medical community have contributed greatly to world health, and there are no private hospitals.
Cubans refer to the island of Cuba as El Cocodrilo, or "crocodile," because from an aerial view, the island resembles a crocodile.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba went through a time termed the Special Period when their economy rapidly declined. To help recover, they legalized the use of the US dollar in business and began allowing self-employment.
Here are some pictures of:
An immaculate 1955 Pontiac convertible. Classic cars like this one, not always in this great condition, are taxis in Cuba, especially in Havana. . .
A view of Sugar Cane Valley, near Trinidad. At one time, over 10,000 slaves worked the sugar cane fields in this valley. Slavery was only outlawed in 1886;
The home of Cuban artist Jose Rodriguez Fuster. He re-decorates the homes in this neighborhood with his ceramic art as part of a community development project;
A sculpture in an Old Havana square entitled "Female Domination." One of Susie's favorites!
A banyan tree on the grounds of Ernest Hemingway's estate. These two ladies were part of our tour.
Ernest Hemingway's typewriter in the studio at this house near Havana.
A reception to celebrate Father Bill's 27 years of service will be held at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, Ten Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, IL, on May 31, 2015, from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
To RSVP, please click here.
RSVP by May 1!
GET READY FOR OUR NEXT DIALOGUE SERMON ON SUNDAY, MAY 3!
After reading the Lessons, ask yourself:
1. What did I learn?
2. What mired or inspired, depressed or impressed me?
3. Is God inviting me to change?
First Letter of John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
We love because he first loved us.
Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
John 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples,
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit.
Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
In your prayers this week, please remember the sick, especially Ardene Ejnik, Malcolm McGee, Allen Fine, Irene Besthoff, Doug Schwert, Sheri Parry, Ed Collins, Roger Loeffler, Peter Eshoo, Richard Babcock, and Maryellen Davis; and
for our companion parish in Madagascar, Santa Grégoire, Tolagnaro, and Dean Donné; and
for the faithful departed, especially remembering Ursula Krappel.
Keep on loving and taking care of each other,
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