The Heartbeat of
St. Charles’ Episcopal Church
630.584.2596 scecoffice@sbcglobal.net www.stcharlesepiscopal.org
You are cordially invited to the
Annual Meeting!!!
Sunday, January 27 @ 9:00 AM
■ We will be voting for new Vestry members and Wardens!
■ We will hear a narrative budget presentation -Where does your money go?
■ We will receive our Annual Report for 2007!
■ Come hear about the health of our church!
CLERGY NOTES
Dear Friends-
The Wise Men, or Magi, followed the light of a star to Bethlehem to welcome and acknowledge the birth of Jesus, the “Light of the World.” We commemorate this event at the Feast of the Epiphany every January 6th. Epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning to show forth or to shine, hence the weeks after the feast are the season of showing forth – or the “Season of Light.” And what a season it is!
This month, much light will shine on the Diocese of Chicago.
· Ordinations of new deacons at St. James’ Cathedral – 11AM - January 19th
· Annual Meeting at St. Charles’ Episcopal Church – 9 AM - January 27th
· Consecration of the Twelfth Bishop of Chicago – 1 PM - February 2nd.
Please join me as we celebrate the Season of Light.
As we seek to look into our future, please understand the importance of attending our Annual Meeting, Sunday January 27th between the 7:30 AM and 10:45 AM services. At that meeting, we will elect the future leadership of St. Charles Episcopal Church, decide whether or not to drop an apostrophe and a patron from our church name, and approve a budget for 2008. It is you who will decide how we will move ahead together in bringing the Gospel news to the world. Hopefully each one of you will make a special effort to attend this meeting. Childcare will be available.
We also hope you will celebrate with us as the Diocese of Chicago consecrates its twelfth bishop, The Rev. Jeffrey Lee. It is a mesmerizing ceremony – and we are blessed to have the Presiding Bishop of the United States, Katharine Jefferts Schori, coming to preach and consecrate our new bishop. The tickets themselves are FREE, but each person attending needs a ticket, so be sure to sign up – even if you aren’t sure you’ll be able to make it. (Better to be safe than sorry!) As we firm up plans for transportation, we will let you know.
Grace and peace to you in this Season of Light –
Deacon Liz
I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations.
Isaiah 42: 6
From the Wardens....
Well, it's Christmas and I'm writing this newsletter article with very mixed feelings. Amid all the joy and excitement of
the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, I am feeling a little sad because this is my last Warden's letter. My year as your
Senior Warden ends on January 27th at the Annual Meeting. It has been a joy to serve you and I thank you for the privilege.
However, between now and the Annual Meeting, there is a lot happening at St. Charles' Episcopal Church and still a lot
to be done.
We continue to remember those in our community who are in need, especially at the Aurora Soup Kitchen and Hesed
House. Inside our church we are electing a new Junior Warden and vestry members at the Annual Meeting. As I write
this letter, we still need a minimum of three parishioners to fill expiring terms on our vestry. I pray that each of you will
seriously pray about this opportunity to serve and volunteer. It is an exciting time at our church and an exciting time to
be involved.
Also at the Annual Meeting we need to pass a 2008 Budget. At this writing, our 2008 pledge total is about $60,000 less
than what we need to run the church next year. We have only two choices - cut programs and outreach back or find the
needed funds through an increase in pledges. I truly believe you don't want us to go backwards and that everyone will
review their situation and pledge the additional funds we need to serve our parish and our community.
The Annual Meeting will also give us the opportunity to vote on whether we should continue to be named after King
Charles I or change our name.
Our new House Committee has evaluated our church and grounds and has come up with an impressive list of things
that need attention. The Vestry has already started to address some of the priority items and we hope members of the
parish will be willing to help.
Finally, we have the opportunity to participate in a grand celebration as our Diocese will consecrate its new Bishop,
Jeffrey Lee, on February 2nd in Chicago. Let's rent a bus and all go!
Thanks to each of you for your help and support this past year. I know you will continue to support our new Wardens
and Vestry.
Be sure to witness the miracle that is Christmas!
God's peace,
Bob Parks (Sr. Warden)
Bo Smith (Jr. Warden)
Lent
A time of fasting and prayer, as we consider the magnitude of the sacrifice that God made for us at the cross. As you consider what to “give up” for Lent, also consider what you might take on. A discipline of weekly service to our local food pantry or our parish? A daily time of scripture reading and prayer before the world awakens? A weekly visit to someone who is older and doesn’t get out much? God honors and blesses all of our efforts to seek after Him.
And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him!” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart, He is calling you.” Mark 10:49
UTO UPDATE
Thank you to those of you who donated so generously to the United Thank Offering Blue Box program this fall. With our nickels, dimes and quarters, we managed to raise over $400 for UTO grants. In conversation with the area director for the UTO, we asked that 100% of our monies go directly to grants that are helping to realize the Millennium Development Goals. The great news is that we, St. Charles’ Episcopal Church, helped to convince the national UTO organization to look at this issue and make changes. Their new vision statement includes these words:
We will significantly impact the lives of women and children because of God’s love.
Sounds like Millennium Development Goal #3 to me!
There are always Blue Boxes available if you’d like to jumpstart your collecting for next Fall’s drive. Please see Deacon Liz or ask in the office.
Thanking God, every day,
with my little blue box.
Words to live by....
...Greed I’ve often regretted;
Generosity never!
...Pray always. If necessary, use words.
...God forgets the past. Imitate Him.
...Don’t ask God to do what you want. Ask Him what He wants you to do.
It’s all about Community!
Our parish community relishes the time together spent over coffee and refreshments each Sunday after the three services. Lately our “coffee hour” duties have fallen to a few, who go above and beyond in their efforts (especially in the area of cleanup!) for the benefit of the many. To help spread out the tasks more evenly, please be sure to sign up on the Coffee Hour sheet. If you sign up, please understand that you are signing up to help with setting up and cleaning up for your chosen service, not just providing delicious treats for all to share. This is particularly important after the late service, since few people remain for very long, and dishes are left to the “last man standing”. Please do not merely drop off food, as the result of that well intentioned gesture is that someone else has to clean after those who partake of it. Consider joining forces with another person/family/group when signing up. After all, many hands make light work! Let’s make our coffee hours a truly shared ministry of fellowship and outreach for each other by contributing our time and effort, in addition to our food. It is, after all, about OUR parish community!
It’s Mardi Gras time!!!
Our annual Mardi Gras celebration will be held on Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 6:30 pm cocktail hour with dinner at 7:30 pm at Krewe's Ballroom (Ludtke Hall).
Menu is authentic Louisiana Crawfish Boil, Cajun Red Beans & Rice, Jambalaya, Gumbo, Salad, French Bread, Fried Chicken, Beignets & King Cake for dessert with Cafe' du Monde Coffee. Cash Bar.
Entertainment of Cajun, Dixieland and Mardi Gras Music, Costumes and Games. The Crowning of 2008 Mardi Gras King and Queen. Tickets $20 per person. RSVP: Kathy Hari at 630-513-0404 or Matt Rhead at 630-443-4061
Web note:
If you haven't started using www.goodsearch.com as your search engine, please check it out. Type in St. Charles Episcopal Church and hit verify. You could set www.goodsearch.com as a bookmark and use it regularly. Every search you do gives money to our church. You can watch the pennies add up. If more of us start using this search engine, we'll be able to watch the dollars add up for more good works!
From the
Prayer Shawl Ministry...
Thank you to all of you who purchased ornaments to support this ministry. Our prayers and shawls bring love, hope and prayers to so many people in our parish and around the country. Our next gatherings are:
Tuesday, 1/15 at 10:00 am
Thursday, 2/7 at 7:00 pm
Tuesday, 2/19 at 10:00 am
Please consider joining us. Learning to knit or crochet might be a new goal this year and a way to participate in an outreach ministry. We haven't met anyone we couldn't teach!!
Gift Card
Fundraising Program
This is such an exciting and EASY way for YOU to increase our funds for our parish programs without YOU giving any money. Simply purchase gift cards--the same ones you would buy at the store. The cost is the same, but the church gets a % of the money. The amount we receive varies--most are from 4% to 9%. Some are a bit less, some are more. For example, Fannie May gives 25%!
Since buying groceries, clothes and gas are a regular expense for most of us, why not buy giftcards from church to make those purchases?
If you stop for coffee or go out to eat, treat yourself with a gift card.
Please check out the list of over 600 participating retailers. (Pick one up at church or look online at www.glscrip.com) You might find that your hair salon, your book store, your sporting goods store, your movie theater, your hardware, home decor or craft store, grocery store and favorite restaurants are on the list!
And, of course, gift cards make great gifts, too.
Here are some examples of how it works..
Spend $100.00 at Jewel.
SCEC receives $4.00.
Spend $25.00 at Borders.
SCEC receives $2.25.
Spend $50.00 at Carson Pirie Scott .
SCEC receives $4.00.
Spend $10.00 at Chipolte.
SCEC receives $1.00.
Make a major home improvement or buy furniture or appliances, and SCEC receives a lot!
These amounts may seem small, but they add up very quickly. We just started the program in November and we have already raised almost $150.00. Thank you to everyone who has placed an order and raised funds for all the important work our church does.
Communications...
The Communications Team will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, January 24 at 7pm.
This Team handles the advertising and press releases for our parish, accomplished the photo directory, started the gift card program, reorganized the bulletin boards and sign-up space, and added the magnetic nametags, for example. We are always working on ways to improve communications within the parish and to the outside community.
Join us if these areas of parish life interest you!
The Frederick N. Ludtke Scholarship
Applications were available as of January 6th for the Ludtke Scholarship. If you are a High School Senior and did not receive one, you may contact Liz Ryan, Director of Youth & Children.
In 1985, to honor Father Ludtke, the first rector of St. Charles' Church, Jim Kelly, a former parishioner, established the Ludtke Scholarships. Each scholarship was $250 a year for four years, given annually to a graduating senior from the parish, as long as he or she remained a full-time student in a four-year college.
After Father Ludtke's death in 1992, Mr. Kelly discontinued funding the scholarships and the Ludtke family requested that they be continued with Ludtke memorial contributions. The scholarship became a one-time award of $500 to one person or $400 to each, if there were two or more scholars.
When Ludtke Memorial Funds were depleted, the vestry made the Ludtke Scholarship a line item in the annual operating budget of the church and increased the scholarship to $500 annually for four years.
The Scholarship is available to a graduating member of the Episcopal Church and is payable for four years as long as the student maintains full-time status as required by his or her college or university.
The Scholarship must be applied for with a letter from the applicant telling the selection committee why he or she is a good candidate for the Scholarship. Supporting letters of recommendation from a teacher and from an adult who is not a family member, a youth group leader or the rector are also
suggested.
A committee of at least the Rector, the vestry member responsible for Formation and one Youth Group leader will review applications to determine who will receive that year's Ludtke Scholarship.
Past scholarships have been awarded to (probably not a complete list and certainly not in chronological order): Carolyn Bachman, Lauren Hillard, David Miles, Melanie Glenn, Ben Hawley, Tupper Hillard, Colin Kaiser, Bing Koch, Chris Straley, Barton Koop, Elizabeth Barnes, Jason Mosshamer, Jessica Birk, Lisa Punch, Paul Heinemann, Brittany Hildebrand, Jessica Elfring, Ryan Thomson, Thomas Van Nortwick, Gilmour Hildebrand and Damon Heikkinen.
Ten years after receiving the Ludtke Scholarship, Melanie Glenn received a grant for her doctorate in aeronautical engineering. Shortly thereafter, we received a letter from Melanie that expressed her gratitude for the Ludtke Scholarship she received when she first went off to MIT. Enclosed was a
check for a "tithe" of the grant so others might continue to benefit as she had.
This year the scholarship recipient will be announced on Formation Graduation Sunday, June 1, 2008. All interested graduating high school seniors should have their applications and letters into Liz Ryan or the church office by Sunday, March 3, 2008.
What’s Up in Kids’ Formation?
Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and we’re wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
The Jr. High Class did a wonderful job of running the Epiphany Pageant on January 6th! From the Roman Guard to the little lamb, each child did a terrific job! And kudos to Sarah Travis and Lisa Parse for their hard work!
This month will be busy for all the classes. The Purple Atrium is learning about Jesus as a boy and John the Baptist. The Green Atrium is also learning about John the Baptist and about the Disciples. The Blue Atrium is learning about the geography of Bible stories. The Middlers are learning about the way we respond to Hunger in the world. The Jr. High is finding spiritual lessons in Media and the Sr. High is researching and choosing the location of their Pilgrimage for 2009. Busy, busy, busy!
Announcements:.
☺New Beginning is a retreat weekend for 6th through 8th graders. The next weekend will be held on the weekend of Jan. 25-27 with our very own Kim Ingraham as one of the Co-rectors (or leaders). Applications are available from Liz Ryan and are due to her by Jan. 18th . If you have any questions or would like further information please contact Liz.
☺Ludtke Scholarship Applications were made available to graduating Seniors on Sunday Jan. 6th . Duplicate copies are available from Liz Ryan.
☺There will be NO FORMATION classes on Sunday January 27th . That is the day of the Annual Meeting. Youth 16 and up are encouraged to attend the meeting.(You can vote!) Youth under 16 will be provided with activities including but not limited to: games, videos/dvds; arts & crafts; snacks; etc. (Anyone would like to help out can contact Liz Ryan for more information. 630-584-2596.)
Looking ahead...
➔February 2nd - The Consecration of the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago.
➔February 3rd - Boy Scout Sunday! All Boy Scouts should wear their uniforms to church!!!
➔February 5th - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper!
➔February 10th - The Middlers deliver the Food collected to the Salvation
Army Food Bank.
Kids’ Activities will be available during the Annual Meeting! Kids can be dropped off down in the Formation area at 8:55am and should be picked up immediately after the meeting!
Something to think about...
“We are all born with wonderful gifts. We use these gifts to express ourselves, to amuse, to strengthen, and to communicate. We begin as children to explore and develop our talents, often unaware that we are unique, that not everyone can do what we're doing!” ~ Lynn Johnston (Canadian cartoonist who created For Better Or For Worse)
Vestry Nominees!
Katie Ditch
My name is Katie Ditch and my husband Michael and I have been members of St. Charles’ Episcopal Church for about 4 years. We are the parents of Sarah (12), Grace (10) and Will (8). I enjoy working half-time as a family therapist for Stream-wood Behavioral Health, and Michael is a pilot for Southwest Airlines. We have lived in St. Charles for 6 years after 11 years “here, there and everywhere” in the United States Marine Corps.
When looking for a church home, it was important to us to find a place that would reflect the values and beliefs that we wanted to share with our children; a place that put love into action and respected the dignity and value of all God’s people. We hoped for a place where our children would be supported, challenged, held accountable, taught and most of all loved...all the same hopes we had for ourselves. We found what we were searching for!
Many new families have begun finding a home at St. Charles’ Episcopal and it is my hope that we can continue to explore fresh and exciting ways to engage and support these families as they face today’s unique challenges. Marriage and family life is joyful and exciting but it can also be exhausting, stressful and scary. The church community provides needed support, guidance, solace and love. As a member of the Vestry, I would love to continue and even expand ministry to our young couples and families, strengthening connections to our faith as we serve God and one another.
Karen Flood
Karen Flood has an undergraduate degree in health information management and master’s degree in health services administration. She has served as director of medical records in a small, rural hospital and as a general manager of a health information management company. She has also been a software trainer for ExecuTrain.
Currently she is a community volunteer serving on the Shelter Assistance Committee, assisting at Delnor Community Hospital and counting the collection for St. Charles’ Episcopal. She is a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, recently completing her term as president for Chapter OB. Karen is an avid duplicate bridge competitor.
Karen’s vision for this church, if elected is not only to make sure that this house of worship makes all feel comfortable, regardless of where they are in their faith journey, but also to provide tools and experiences to further this journey.
Karen and her husband, Tom, began visiting St. Charles’ Episcopal Church in the summer of 2004. They transferred their membership from St. Mark’s Episcopal, Geneva in February 2005. They regularly worship at the 9:00 am or 10:45 am service. Karen and Tom were received in the Episcopal Church in 1991 in De Peer, Wisconsin. They have been married 29 years and have lived in St. Charles for the past ten years. They are parents to two adult children, Leslie and Michael.
Kathy Heikkinen
I was born and raised Episcopalian in Racine, WI. I loved the majesty and awe of the church from a young age. I tried to be involved during my high school years, helping teach Sunday School and forming a youth group. When I left for college, a new church was one of the first things I sought out in Madison while attending the University of Wisconsin. I found St. Francis House, just on the edge of campus and it became a second home for me, literally, while earning my Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. During summers I would live upstairs from the church with a dozen or so other college students in exchange for doing work, as sexton or secretary, etc. When Dallas and I were married, we chose St. Francis House for the ceremony because the church was so inviting to everyone. I was just starting on the Vestry at St. Francis when Dallas took his job at FermiLab in the Spring of 1985. I became a member of St. Charles’ Episcopal Church that summer, and began teaching in District U-46. Since then I’ve earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction, and in 1989 Damon arrived. Damon is currently a freshman at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.
During the last 20+ years at St. Charles’ Episcopal, I have been a member of the choir; taught in the children’s Formation program and sang with them on Sunday mornings; helped with Soup Kitchen; made altar bread; sat on various committees; and am a new member of the Altar Guild. Being a “cradle Episcopalian”, there are many traditions I hold close to my heart and would like to see continue in our church. But as someone who has not reached age 50 quite yet, and teaches 9-13 year old children, I see that we have to be open to new ideas in order for our parish to flourish. I like to think of myself as being someone who sits in the middle to mediate between the old and the new, tradition and change. I’ve waited a number of years before offering myself as a nominee for Vestry; now the time seems right, and I’m anxious to be a part of it.
[Editor’s note: Please be sure to attend the Annual Meeting to cast your votes!]
More Bishop information...
Not only will the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago be consecrated next month, there is also a little known tradition called “Seating the new Bishop” which happens the following day (February 3rd ) at St. James’ Cathedral. There will be a choral Evensong at 4pm at which then-Bishop Lee will be ceremonially escorted to the Bishop’s chair to begin his tenure as Diocesan Bishop. For more information you can go to www.episcopalchicago.org and click on the link to “Seating of the 12th Bishop of Chicago”.
St. James’ Cathedral
Huron and Wabash Streets, Chicago
Phone: (312) 878-7360
January
Jan 6 Epiphany Sunday – Formation classes resume
Jan 6 Ludtke Scholarship Applications go out (Due March 3, 2008)
Jan 8 Standing Committee
Jan 10 Vestry
Jan 16 Clergy Deanery Meeting–Aurora
Jan 18-19 Hesed House
Jan 24 Soup Kitchen
Jan 25-27 New Beginnings # 19
Jan 27 Annual Meeting @ 9 am
VESTRY
Bob Parks, Senior Warden
Bo Smith, Junior Warden
2008 2009 2010
Joe Ryan Henry Mora Dick Hattan
Mary Zupke Cathy Koch Katie Thomson
ST. CHARLES’ EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The Rt. Rev William Persell, Bishop
The Rev. William R. Nesbit, Jr. Rector
The Rev. Elizabeth G. Meade, Deacon
Dan Williams, Director of Music
Liz Ryan, Director of Youth & Children’s Formation
Beth Burnette, Administrative Assistant
phone: 630-584-2596
Fax: 630-584-8633
email: scecoffice@sbcglobal.net
Web site: www.stcharlesepiscopal.org