Highlights from this month's Announcer.

From the March 2010

The Announcer

Our Ministries
BUNCO NIGHT FUND RAISER FOR HAITI
Thanks to all who helped! More on this next month, but the quick report was that we raised over $630 EACH for Hatian relief and St. Peter's UCC, with the total profit at $1260! Blessings to all who came, played, donated, and helped!

CLICK HERE for our flyer.

ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING
The One Great Hour of Sharing Offering, administered by Wider Church Ministries, is the refugee, relief and development fund of the United Church of Christ. It provides support to people in more than 80 countries.

The 2010 OGHS theme is inspired by John 20:15017 when Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” If you are familiar with this scripture, you know that after Peter confesses to loving Jesus, Jesus tells him, “Feed my sheep.” We too are called to care for all who are in need, just as God cares for each of us. The initial monies we sent to Haiti after the earthquake came from last year’s OGHS donations; this year’s will go there too, as well as to other places in need. So we hope you can give generously!

In 2008, OGHS funds were invested in the following ways: 62% went to Education, Health, and Agricultural assistance; 9% to National Disasters; 9% to Refugees Ministries; 7% to International Emergencies; 6% to Administration; 6% to Program Materials and 1% to Program Monitoring. We received $3,048,840 for the One Great Hour offering. In addition, our churches and members gave more than $924,440 to UCC special appeals for domestic and international emergencies.

Our One Great Hour of Sharing focus Sunday will be SUNDAY, MARCH 22nd. We’ll receive donations throughout the month of March.

Upcoming Events

HOLY WEEK
PALM SUNDAY, March 28th, features members of the Sunday school in the play, “Mission Easter.” We remember the entry of jesus into Jerusalem as holy week begins.

MAUNDY THURSDAY, April 1st, worship is at 7:30 PM. WE will remember jesus’ last supper with holy communion and hear the story of that fateful night when he is betrayed, arrested, and put on his first trial.

GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 2ND, WORSHIP IS AT 7:30 PM. We are still planning this service; there may be a chancel drama instead of our usual good Friday service. We will still remember the 7 last words from the cross.

EASTER WORSHIP will be SUNDAY, APRIL 4TH at both 7:00 and 10:00 am. There is no Sunday School that day; we hope for the easter breakfast to be in full swing from 8:15 to last serving at 9:00 AM in between the two services. Holy communion will be celebrated at both services but other details are still in the planning stages (music and so on).

Please plan to come if you are able to these services that mark the events that are foundational to our faith.

SILENT AUCTION
The Chicago Rocks and Minerals Society which meets in our building monthly, is holding its annual Silent Auction at St. Peter’s. There will be lots of stuff to bid on: jewelry, minerals, fossils, books, equipment and more! Free admission; first table closes at 5:45 PM. Cash only. It’s fun for the whole family and everyone is welcome. For more info go to www.ChicagoRocks.org.

Our People

YVETTE GETS THE CALL!
St. Peter’s member Yvette EBER was called to become the next Pastor and Teacher of Immanuel U.C.C. of Evergreen Park after she led worship and preached on January 24th. She began her service there on February 15th, after concluding many years of faithful service as the Director of Christian Education Ministries at Northminster Presbyterian Church, Evanston. She is applying for licensure from the Chicago Metropolitan Association so she can celebrate the sacraments prior to ordination (she still has one last requirement to fulfill before she can move on in the ordination process).

We wish God’s blessings upon her and Immanuel church as they begin their new ministry together!

NEW OFFICERS, BOARDS INSTALLED
On Sunday, January 25th we held our Annual Congregational Meeting. We passed the budget, elected our Board members and Officers, and received annual reports. Thank You to the Dinner Committee for preparing the lunch to tide us through!

Here are your 2010-2011 Officers and Boards:

President: Rich SCHNEIDER
Vice President: Amanda STEEGMUELLER
Treasurer: Peggy REINS
Secretary: Marlene RUSSELL
Financial Secretary: Ralph BURMEISTER

ELDERS: Heidi Tarzian, Carol Iannotti, Sue Bailey, Maria Altmayer, Alice Schaller, (and our V. P.!)

TRUSTEES: David Rees, Rich Miller, Kathy Zipperer, Errol Mitchell, Louie Lopez

FINANCE: Jim Todd, Beth Brzozowski, Bill Schaller, (Plus Peggy R. and Ralph B.)

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: Jennifer Schwartz, Susan Garcia, Barb Poddig, Laurie Mitchell, Annie Uchtman

DEACONS: Roy Svenson, Don Kahn, Beth Lanford, Peter Svenson, David Iannotti

HOSPITALIZED
Evelyn PETERSON went to the hospice unit of Skokie Hospital (formerly Rush North Shore) in mid-February.

Ken ITTER was at St. Francis Hospital for heart surgery and is currently rehabbing at Alden Estates on Touhy Avenue before a 2nd unrelated surgery later.

Please keep these persons and their families in your prayers. Thank you.

IN MEMORIAM
Robert J. Springer, 38, died unexpectedly at the Florida home of his mother Rosemary on February 2nd. Robby was the Confirmation Class of 1986, and was a celebrated bowler. He bowled a perfect 300 five times and was a member of the American Bowling Congress. He also belonged to the Skokie Athletic Association and was known as a helpful, kind-hearted person who made friends easily and was ready to lend a hand when friends asked. He also enjoyed fishing and visiting his friends in Antioch when he was growing up.

Survived by his mom Rosemary and his brothers Joe, Richard, Ted, Lee, Chuck and Michael, his funeral was held on Tuesday, February 9th at the Haben Funeral Home and he was buried in the church cemetery. Rev. Lanford officiated. Please remember the family in prayer.

Fundraising
FAIR TRADE COFFEE ORDERS
You can order our fair trade coffee through our web site, www.stpeteruccskokie.org/fairtradecoffee.html. Or you can email Kathy Zipperer. Or you can see her to order in person in any time - orders are ongoing!

The flavored coffees are $9 and the “regular” coffees are $8 each. We have both decaffeinated and regular.

Items of Note

LENTEN MIDWEEK WORSHIP SERIES
Having started on Ash Wednesday, St. Peter's is holding a series of half-hour Lenten worship services in the sanctuary. We start at 11:30 a.m.

The Wednesdays following Ash Wednesday, we are looking at “The Seven Deadly Virtues”

COURAGE Was Feb. 24th

PURITY & HUMILITY March 3rd

HONESTY March 10th

DILIGENCE & CHARITY March 17th

FIDELITY March 24th

Anyone can come at any time. An offering plate will be out for free-will offerings. We share prayer requests and sing a pair of hymns. It is a good way to get a mid-week re-charge of the spiritual battery in the peaceful setting of our sanctuary.

THE LENTEN MIDWEEK BIBLE STUDY
“THE BOOK OF ACTS 7 - 15”

Our Lenten Soup-n-Study returned to actual Bible Study last year, and in 2010 we will again have an actual discussion of the Word. No videos! This year we are going to read, re-read, and talk about the chapters 7-15 of the book that tells us about the earliest version of Church!

The study workbook we are using is published by our own United Church Press and is part of the “God is Still Speaking” family of publications. The author of this year’s study booklet is the Rev. Lillian Daniel, a local United Church of Christ pastor. Each week we have some homework to do in the reading of the chapters and answering some questions in the workbook before the session.

We began on Thursday, February 18, the day after Ash Wednesday.
We need saints who are coming to volunteer to make soup for these Thursday evenings!

Our Wider Church

CHANGES IN THE CMA
Our Chicago Metropolitan Association is undergoing more transition these days. In March, the Rev. Edward Goode, one of our two Association co-ministers, resigned after ten years of ministry here. Then, the CMA office moved its location from downtown on South Michigan Avenue to 809 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL. THEN the Rev. Dr. Rita Root, who is the interim co-minister for the post formerly held by the Rev. Michael Denton, announced her resignation as she will leave in November to become the interim Conference Minister for the New York Conference! A search committee has been working for some time to provide a candidate that will be a settled Association minister next year; due to budget shortfalls (OCWM giving is down in Illinois), although with Edward and Rita we had two co-ministers in Chicagoland, now we will only have one.

Please remember our Conference and Association in your prayers for the Church.

St. Peter's United Church of Christ
8013 Laramie Street
(Laramie and Oakton Streets)
Skokie, IL 60077
Phone: 847.673.8166
Fax: 847.674.7691
Email: RevLanford@aol.com

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		From the March 2010 The Announcer

		Our Ministries BUNCO NIGHT FUND RAISER FOR HAITI Thanks to all who helped! More on this next month, but the quick report was that we raised over $630 EACH for Hatian relief and St. Peter's UCC, with the total profit at $1260! Blessings to all who came, played, donated, and helped! CLICK HERE for our flyer. ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING The One Great Hour of Sharing Offering, administered by Wider Church Ministries, is the refugee, relief and development fund of the United Church of Christ. It provides support to people in more than 80 countries. The 2010 OGHS theme is inspired by John 20:15017 when Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” If you are familiar with this scripture, you know that after Peter confesses to loving Jesus, Jesus tells him, “Feed my sheep.” We too are called to care for all who are in need, just as God cares for each of us. The initial monies we sent to Haiti after the earthquake came from last year’s OGHS donations; this year’s will go there too, as well as to other places in need. So we hope you can give generously! In 2008, OGHS funds were invested in the following ways: 62% went to Education, Health, and Agricultural assistance; 9% to National Disasters; 9% to Refugees Ministries; 7% to International Emergencies; 6% to Administration; 6% to Program Materials and 1% to Program Monitoring. We received $3,048,840 for the One Great Hour offering. In addition, our churches and members gave more than $924,440 to UCC special appeals for domestic and international emergencies. Our One Great Hour of Sharing focus Sunday will be SUNDAY, MARCH 22nd. We’ll receive donations throughout the month of March.

		Upcoming Events HOLY WEEK PALM SUNDAY, March 28th, features members of the Sunday school in the play, “Mission Easter.” We remember the entry of jesus into Jerusalem as holy week begins. MAUNDY THURSDAY, April 1st, worship is at 7:30 PM. WE will remember jesus’ last supper with holy communion and hear the story of that fateful night when he is betrayed, arrested, and put on his first trial. GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 2ND, WORSHIP IS AT 7:30 PM. We are still planning this service; there may be a chancel drama instead of our usual good Friday service. We will still remember the 7 last words from the cross. EASTER WORSHIP will be SUNDAY, APRIL 4TH at both 7:00 and 10:00 am. There is no Sunday School that day; we hope for the easter breakfast to be in full swing from 8:15 to last serving at 9:00 AM in between the two services. Holy communion will be celebrated at both services but other details are still in the planning stages (music and so on). Please plan to come if you are able to these services that mark the events that are foundational to our faith. SILENT AUCTION The Chicago Rocks and Minerals Society which meets in our building monthly, is holding its annual Silent Auction at St. Peter’s. There will be lots of stuff to bid on: jewelry, minerals, fossils, books, equipment and more! Free admission; first table closes at 5:45 PM. Cash only. It’s fun for the whole family and everyone is welcome. For more info go to www.ChicagoRocks.org.

		Our People YVETTE GETS THE CALL! St. Peter’s member Yvette EBER was called to become the next Pastor and Teacher of Immanuel U.C.C. of Evergreen Park after she led worship and preached on January 24th. She began her service there on February 15th, after concluding many years of faithful service as the Director of Christian Education Ministries at Northminster Presbyterian Church, Evanston. She is applying for licensure from the Chicago Metropolitan Association so she can celebrate the sacraments prior to ordination (she still has one last requirement to fulfill before she can move on in the ordination process). We wish God’s blessings upon her and Immanuel church as they begin their new ministry together! NEW OFFICERS, BOARDS INSTALLED On Sunday, January 25th we held our Annual Congregational Meeting. We passed the budget, elected our Board members and Officers, and received annual reports. Thank You to the Dinner Committee for preparing the lunch to tide us through! Here are your 2010-2011 Officers and Boards: President: Rich SCHNEIDER Vice President: Amanda STEEGMUELLER Treasurer: Peggy REINS Secretary: Marlene RUSSELL Financial Secretary: Ralph BURMEISTER ELDERS: Heidi Tarzian, Carol Iannotti, Sue Bailey, Maria Altmayer, Alice Schaller, (and our V. P.!) TRUSTEES: David Rees, Rich Miller, Kathy Zipperer, Errol Mitchell, Louie Lopez FINANCE: Jim Todd, Beth Brzozowski, Bill Schaller, (Plus Peggy R. and Ralph B.) CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: Jennifer Schwartz, Susan Garcia, Barb Poddig, Laurie Mitchell, Annie Uchtman DEACONS: Roy Svenson, Don Kahn, Beth Lanford, Peter Svenson, David Iannotti HOSPITALIZED Evelyn PETERSON went to the hospice unit of Skokie Hospital (formerly Rush North Shore) in mid-February. Ken ITTER was at St. Francis Hospital for heart surgery and is currently rehabbing at Alden Estates on Touhy Avenue before a 2nd unrelated surgery later. Please keep these persons and their families in your prayers. Thank you. IN MEMORIAM Robert J. Springer, 38, died unexpectedly at the Florida home of his mother Rosemary on February 2nd. Robby was the Confirmation Class of 1986, and was a celebrated bowler. He bowled a perfect 300 five times and was a member of the American Bowling Congress. He also belonged to the Skokie Athletic Association and was known as a helpful, kind-hearted person who made friends easily and was ready to lend a hand when friends asked. He also enjoyed fishing and visiting his friends in Antioch when he was growing up. Survived by his mom Rosemary and his brothers Joe, Richard, Ted, Lee, Chuck and Michael, his funeral was held on Tuesday, February 9th at the Haben Funeral Home and he was buried in the church cemetery. Rev. Lanford officiated. Please remember the family in prayer.

		Fundraising FAIR TRADE COFFEE ORDERS You can order our fair trade coffee through our web site, www.stpeteruccskokie.org/fairtradecoffee.html. Or you can email Kathy Zipperer. Or you can see her to order in person in any time - orders are ongoing! The flavored coffees are $9 and the “regular” coffees are $8 each. We have both decaffeinated and regular.

		Items of Note LENTEN MIDWEEK WORSHIP SERIES Having started on Ash Wednesday, St. Peter's is holding a series of half-hour Lenten worship services in the sanctuary. We start at 11:30 a.m. The Wednesdays following Ash Wednesday, we are looking at “The Seven Deadly Virtues” COURAGE Was Feb. 24th PURITY & HUMILITY March 3rd HONESTY March 10th DILIGENCE & CHARITY March 17th FIDELITY March 24th Anyone can come at any time. An offering plate will be out for free-will offerings. We share prayer requests and sing a pair of hymns. It is a good way to get a mid-week re-charge of the spiritual battery in the peaceful setting of our sanctuary. THE LENTEN MIDWEEK BIBLE STUDY “THE BOOK OF ACTS 7 - 15” Our Lenten Soup-n-Study returned to actual Bible Study last year, and in 2010 we will again have an actual discussion of the Word. No videos! This year we are going to read, re-read, and talk about the chapters 7-15 of the book that tells us about the earliest version of Church! The study workbook we are using is published by our own United Church Press and is part of the “God is Still Speaking” family of publications. The author of this year’s study booklet is the Rev. Lillian Daniel, a local United Church of Christ pastor. Each week we have some homework to do in the reading of the chapters and answering some questions in the workbook before the session. We began on Thursday, February 18, the day after Ash Wednesday. We need saints who are coming to volunteer to make soup for these Thursday evenings!

		Our Wider Church CHANGES IN THE CMA Our Chicago Metropolitan Association is undergoing more transition these days. In March, the Rev. Edward Goode, one of our two Association co-ministers, resigned after ten years of ministry here. Then, the CMA office moved its location from downtown on South Michigan Avenue to 809 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL. THEN the Rev. Dr. Rita Root, who is the interim co-minister for the post formerly held by the Rev. Michael Denton, announced her resignation as she will leave in November to become the interim Conference Minister for the New York Conference! A search committee has been working for some time to provide a candidate that will be a settled Association minister next year; due to budget shortfalls (OCWM giving is down in Illinois), although with Edward and Rita we had two co-ministers in Chicagoland, now we will only have one. Please remember our Conference and Association in your prayers for the Church.