  |
|||
|
|
  |
Events and Programs Beyond Grace
|
|
 |
|||
Events of interest to Grace members and others
Annual Uptown Luncheon and Fashion Show
Enjoy fashion and fellowship on Saturday, March 10, at a luncheon and fashion show to benefit Chicago Uptown Ministry. The event will be held at Avalon Banquets in Elk Grove Village, and features a boutique, grand raffle and silent auction, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Lunch will be served at 12:00 noon. Event tickets are $50.00 each, or $500.00 for a table of ten. Raffle tickets are two for $50.00, or $30.00 each. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Lutheran Child and Family Services web site or call 708-448-5558. Or contact Grace member Julie Christopher at 312-213-9440 or jac1-2-3@hotmail.com.
An Invitation to a Unique Holy Week Experience
from Dean and Beverly Lueking
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, is a UNESCO World Heritage city, several hours north of Mexico City. The bright daily sunshine and cool nights at 6700-foot elevation provide a gorgeous setting for the flowers, music, pageantry and Mexican hospitality which distinguish this city of cobblestone streets and brightly colored buildings. Those familiar with art know San Miguel as an international mecca for artists from everywhere.
The San Miguel Community Congregation, an ecumenical congregation of mainly American retirees, invites you to an Easter Week Tour, April 2-9, an imaginative combination of sightseeing and support of mission outreach to children and adults in need.
The Easter Tour begins on Monday of Holy Week, April 2, when guests are met at the airport in Leon/Guanajuato, then transported for the hour ride to their San Miguel host family. Tuesday through Thursday activities include visits to the surrounding countryside to see varied outreach programs of the congregation, an opportunity to help serve a Wednesday noon dinner to the elderly poor of San Miguel, a guided tour of a newly opened site of pre-Columbian pyramids, a look at Maundy Thursday customs in the city, as well as other events and shopping opportunities along the way.
The Good Friday experience is unlike any known here in the Chicago suburbs. From 10:30 until mid-afternoon virtually the whole population of San Miguel lines the main streets to watch in reverent silence as the solemn procession of 1500 costumed men, women, and children pass by, tableau after tableau, depicting the events of the Savior’s Passion. It is truly unforgettable and moving in a way that can’t be replicated inside a church.
On Holy Saturday morning the Easter Week Tour guests gather at a countryside villa for breakfast and small group conversations on Easter meanings. Afternoon is open for sightseeing and shopping. In the evening it’s one more elegant dinner with the host family and further conversing in friendship. Easter morning worship is at San Miguel Community Congregation, followed by lunch at a countryside hacienda with music and visiting. On Monday, transportation is provided to the airport for the return flight home.
Last year during February and March Beverly and I were guests of the San Miguel Community Church. I helped with preaching and pastoral care, and in no time flat we learned to cherish our friendship with these hospitable Americans who have taken up residence in San Miguel. They provide a personalized hospitality in elegant homes that hotels and resorts can’t match, for far less and with no knowledge of Spanish required. What’s not to like about that! The cost of the Easter Tour Week is $1100 per person (add $347 to $650 for air fare). It goes entirely to support the varied mission outreach programs initiated by the congregation.
San Miguel is blessedly free of drug warfare problems that plague other cities of Mexico.
Beverly and I loved San Miguel and encourage you to consider this unique experience in mission tourism. Reach us at 708-366-8599 or dean@deanlueking.com for anything more we can add. For on-site answers to questions, and for reservation information, write Luke Rich at mollyandlukerich@gmail.com or call him at his Vonage US phone, 716-773-4899. February 29 is the deadline for the $600 down payment required for the Easter Week Tour.
