Highlights from November 2008
The Announcer
Our Ministries
CROP WALK THANK YOUS
Lots of people pledged me and our other St. Peter’s walkers and we all want to thank everyone who pledged us. If you did pledge someone and have not yet paid the pledge, PLEASE get it to them, or to me, Rev. Lanford, ASAP. The organizers of the walk do have a deadline for mailing in late pledges and it is very soon.
It was great to have more walkers this year! This year our walkers representing St. Peter’s fight against hunger and poverty were Kaitlin and Susan Garcia, Randy, Maria, Olivia and Erik Altmayer, and yours truly!
Thanks again for your support of a worthy cause, fighting hunger here and abroad!
GOOD NEWS KITCHEN THIS MONTH
Yes, it is our turn to cook for, and serve at, the Good News Community Kitchen on Saturday, November 29th!
Gena Zelenka and Beth Lanford are asking the fine cooks of St. Peter’s (and their friends!) to help us out by preparing a batch (or more) of the famous Beef Stew (recipe below). ALSO as always we need folks to help serve, and we also make good use of cash donations which help us buy the other parts of the meal for which we are responsible. Another way to help is to buy a bag of apples and bring them to church!
The Kitchen now likes to receive the main meal from us the day before (Friday the 28th), and we prepare it for “shipping” after work on Thursday. But that is Thanksgiving Day this time. So we are asking those who prepare stew to please drop it off at St. Peter’s no later than the end of Tuesday, November 25th. We’ll prepare it Friday before bringing it over but it cannot be frozen at that time!
The Kitchen just celebrated 25 years of doing God’s work in their community, and are hard at work doing advocacy work in the neighborhood and region so that they won’t be needed for another 25 years -- because the hope is that the living conditions will have been so greatly improved with justice broadly spread the Kitchen won’t be necessary!
Here is the Beef Stew Recipe:
The Beef Stew Recipe
2 ½ lbs. of Beef stew meat (1" cubes)
2 Sweet onions, medium – large (1" slices)
3 Stalks of Celery (1" slices)
8 Carrots, medium (1/2" slices)
3 Large or 5 medium potatoes (bite size)
2 ½ teaspoons of Salt
1 ½ Tablespoons of Sugar
4 Tablespoons of Tapioca
10 oz Tomato sauce
10 oz V-8 Juice
Mix tomato sauce & V-8 juice,
Stir in tapioca, sugar and salt.
Pour over other ingredients.
Cover with foil, cook for 4 hours at 275 degrees.
!
Fundraising
OUR ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS!
St. Peter’s U. C. C. once again has Entertainment Books to sell! They remain at $20 apiece. Roberta Smith is our contact person and would be the one to speak to on a Sunday morning to buy your book. However, she is undergoing hip replacement surgery at the end of September so we will try to make do in her temporary absence. In addition to buying one on a Sunday morning, you can also call the church office (847) 673-8166 to ask us to hold a book or two for you! A portion of the proceeds of each book’s purchase stays at St. Peter’s.
JEWEL SHOP AND SHARE
Thanks to everyone who used Shop and Share coupons on October 13-15. Every little bit helps! Also, thanks to those who shopped in August. Our August check was recieved from Jewel and totaled $77.61.
We have one more upcoming Shop and Share period. Those dates will be December 15, 16, & 17. This is just before Christmas and New Year's so you can plan your holiday menus and us the ID slips when shopping for them.
Our escrip program continues at Dominicks. This ongoing program brings to St. Peter's a percentage of all purchases when using a registered "Fresh Values" card.
Upcoming Events
PASTORAL VACATION IN NOVEMBER
Look for Pastor Richard, who has 28 days of vacation and has taken 15, to take the majority of his remaining time off in mid-November. This would be eleven days, starting Sunday, November 9th through and including Wednesday, November 19th.
One guest preacher is lined up as of this writing: the Rev. Merritt Berg will return after a few years away, to preach on Sunday, November 16th. Rev. Lanford is working on reserving someone for November 9th as our in-care member Yvette Ever is not available.
TOTENFEST COMING UP ON NOVEMBER 23RD
This year Totenfest, the Sunday before advent begins, is November 23rd. We will remember those church members who have died since last Totenfest and light a candle on the altar for each one. For those who had name tags, they will be placed by their candle. It is also thanksgiving Sunday.
THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE
This year, St. Peter Roman Catholic Church is hosting the annual Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Worship service! It is sponsored by the Niles Township Clergy Forum. We hosted last year. The Skokie Concert Choir will participate too. Offerings of food will be gladly accepted, for the Township Food Pantry, and any cash offerings will go to the Village of Skokie Assist-a-Family program. The date is Wednesday, NOVEMBER 26th and the time is 7:30 PM. We hope lots of you can get away to come in this unique interfaith service giving thanks to God!
Items Of Note...
HALLOWEEN PARTY THANKS
Thanks to the St. Peter’s Youth Fellowship, Laurie Mitchell, and everyone who helped put on the annual Halloween Party on October 25th! This includes parents, relatives and friends who helped that night, who bought, baked, made, or donated items for the event, and who helped spread the word. It includes those who came to the Party and contributed foodstuffs which will go to the Niles Township Food Pantry. It includes the person or people who take / took the food up to the Pantry. It includes Marty Troyk our church custodian who set up the tables and chairs and then put them back. Thanks to all who had a hand in pulling this community gathering off!!
ELDERS AT WORK
Your Board of Elders has “jurisdiction” over issues of membership and membership status. This comes into play whenever we update our Church Directory of Members and Friends. We’re doing that now! If we have not seen you nor heard from you in quite a while, this is a “heads up” that you may be getting a letter asking you about your current relationship to the church and how you’d like us to list you, if at all.
Our People
IN SYMPATHY
We extend our sympathies to the Christianson family (Ken, Karen, Erik, Britta) on the death of Ken’s mom Jean. We also extend our sympathies to the family of Chuck Bailey on the death of his cousin Edith, who lived into her 90s.
HOSPITALIZED
Sam RUSSELL, reported in last month’s newsletter to be at Rush North Shore, has returned home to continue regaining his strength.
Bernice KAROL had her 2nd leg vein / bypass surgery, underwent rehab, and is back home.
Bill KAROL had successful hip replacement surgery at Rush North Shore and at this writing is undergoing physical therapy at Alden North on Touhy.
Roberta SMITH had her surgery and at this writing was undergoing rehab at Alden North.
Gene LAUTENSCHLAGER was hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial Medical Center, Chicago, and underwent a myriad of tests. As of this writing he is going through physical therapy and further tests while at Lincolnwood Place.
Julia GRADDY was hospitalized at Northwestern Memorial in October also, but was released after a weekend there, returning to the Choir. Bill Graddy had been hospitalized in September and released.
Please keep these persons and their families in your prayers.
